Plitvice Lakes Tips – 13 useful things to know before you go

Plitvice Lakes National Park is a must-see while travelling Croatia. But planing the trip can be tricky. For some information you have to search a long time and some of them aren’t mentioned on their website at all. In this article I would like to give you 13 Plitvice Lakes Tips, that I would have been happy to know about in advance.

1. Plitvice Lakes Tips – The park has two entires

You can enter the park at two different locations. Both entries are included in your ticket*. It just depends on what you want to see and how much time you have. The most important sights are near entry 1. You know, the big waterfalls, the arrangement of the lakes that you can see on almost every picture and the wooden paths that guide you over the water. Entry 2 is located in the South, is also really beautiful but doesn’t have that MUST-SEE factor.

* Except online tickets, where you have to be at the entrance that you have bought.

2. You can park for free

Every entry has its own parking slot that you can use for free. It’s not far away from the entrance.

3. Electric boats in the National Park

Because the lakes are quite huge, they also offer to take a shortcut by crossing them with a boat. At entrance 2 it’s necessary to take a boat, otherwise you won’t get to the other side where the good stuff is waiting for you to be explored. You can also cross the long side of the lake Jezero Kozjak with the boat to get faster to the sights of entry 1. All boat rides are included in your ticket. 

4. Shuttle busses in the park

As well as they have boats for the water, they also offer shuttle busses for getting around faster. It rather looks like a little train on wheels, because the cars are connected to each other. You can find 3 stations in the park. Station 1 is close to the entrance 1, station 2 is near station 2 and station 3 is located at the end of the park in the south. The shuttle bus is in included in your ticket.

5. You can get there by bus

There are 2 bus stations around the park – one at every entrance. It is possible to travel there with the bus from cities like Zagreb, Split and many more. Here, you can find the perfect connection and also buy your ticket: https://getbybus.com/en/

6. You can store your luggage

In case you are arriving by bus and carry some luggage, you can store that for free in the luggage room. You have to get the key at the reception of entrance 1 and walk only a few meters across the place. There you will find a small cabin where luggage can be stored. Unfortunately there is no guard or any other kind of security arrangement around the cabin. So you shouldn’t have anything of value in your backpack or in your suitcase. 

7. Plitvice Lakes Tips – Tickets

Due to the high amount of people wanting to go there, the entry is limited per entrance and per hour and maybe even per day. In case you are planing your visit during the weekend in the main season, I recommend booking your ticket online. Be careful to choose the right entrance (this is the place from where you have to start your tour.) It’s possible to buy a ticket for one day or for two. In the main season you have the opportunity to stay a little longer within the park – but then you have to pay extra.

8. Plitvice Lakes Tips – Hiking

The park is perfect to go for a little hike around the lakes. If you have some time and the weather is good, you should definitely do that. At every entrance they sell hiking maps. You could either buy one or just check Komoot for a suitable route around the park. The underground of the trails is good. The distance is quite long. You could easily walk for around 25 km, when you want to see all the sights and don’t take a shuttle car or shuttle bus. Wearing comfortable and safe hiking shoes could be useful.

9. Time spending in Plitvice

You shouldn’t rush this one. If you’ve got some time on your plate you should take it. The park is doable in one day, but you might need a full day. The two-day ticket is a good thing to enjoy the park very late in the evening or very early in the morning. 

10. Sleeping in Plitvice / Jezerca

Around the National Park there are a lot of small guest houses that offer rooms for good conditions. You might have to walk a bit longer to one of the entrances. I recommend checking in advance where the entrances are and then check available accommodations with the map function e.g. on Booking.com. They also have a huge hotel very close to the park. It’s near both entries, but also a bit more expensive.

11. Flixbus station 

Located between Entrance 2 and the main village of Plitvice Jezera, directly on the street 429, the Flixbus station could help you get there by coach. But the connections to this destination are a little poor. In case you are interested you should definitely check that online at Flixbus.

12. It’s forbidden to go for a swim

While in the national park of Krka it’s absolutely allowed to swim, it’s totally forbidden in Plitvice. So unfortunately you have to leave your swimsuit behind.

13. Can I eat in the park?

Of course, you can eat in the park. There are some stations where you can buy some food and drinks. But as in every park – they are quite expensive and not even that special. If you can, bring your own food like fruits and sandwiches. You can find seating areas and little benches all over the park which are ideal for a little picknick. Just keep in mind to remove your waste.