Plitvice Lakes National Park Ultimate Backpacker Guide
If there’s one place in Croatia known for its beauty, it’s Plitvice Lakes National Park. The stunning park is home to over a dozen lakes and countless waterfalls. Seen most often as a day trip from Zagreb or Zadar, Plitvice is 100% worth the hassle of getting there. (even with the summer crowds so I’ve heard)
When Should You Visit Plitvice Lakes?
First things first. Plitvice Lakes is arguably THE most popular destination in Croatia. I’m not kidding. EVERYONE wants to go the park. Makes sense. It’s Gorgeous. Just know that if you’re going in the high season between June and August, or even in the shoulder months of May and September, it’s going to be CROWDED. Like, really crowded.
The park isn’t that big, and even with timed tickets and boats that limit the number of people on the trails, it doesn’t take too many before it starts getting real ~cozy~. It doesn’t help that most of the popular sites in the park are seen via one-way trails that are just over a meter wide.
My recommendation of course is always to go in the shoulder season of April or October. If you get lucky, you may even have some time to enjoy the gorgeous waterfalls all to yourself.
But if you find yourself headed to Plitvice Lakes in the summer, If I were you, I’d do everything in my power to get there for the earliest boat to the trails.
How Long Should You Spend at Plitvice Lakes?
Even though almost every tour operator in the country will offer you a ‘wonderful day trip’ to the park, those day trips mean that you don’t really have all day to spend in the park. Also, you’ll end up in the city where you started. Personally, I spent two nights in the nearby village and a day and a half in the park, But most people would say that you can see Plitvice in a day.
Long story short: A full day is ideal, two days is great if you want to soak up the beauty, but you can do it in 6 hours if you’re feeling efficient :)
Luckily, Plitvice is on the way from Zagreb to the coast, So it’s pretty easy to fit into any itinerary.
Getting to Plitvice Lakes
Even though it’s in the middle of nowhere, Plitvice lakes has become such a popular destination that getting there is pretty easy.
Getting to Plitvice Lakes By Car
You can easily make it to Plitvice by car from either Zagreb or Zadar. It takes about 2 hours from either city. Just make sure you enter your exact destination (your accommodation, entrance 1 or entrance 2) into Google Maps.
Getting to Plitvice Lakes By Bus
There are plenty of buses that run to Plitvice from both Zagreb and Zadar. The bus schedules can be a bit frustrating, but hey it’s all part of the adventure, right? The easiest way to find buses is by using Get By Bus, and Flixbus has the nicest buses if you’re curious.
Getting INTO Plitvice Lakes
Surprise! It’s a little complicated.
Firstly, I recommend you buy your ticket online- it saves paper and more importantly TIME.
Pro tip: Put your phone in landscape mode, make sure your ticket fills the screen, then SCREENSHOT it while you’re in the city when you have Wifi and/or cell coverage. Neither of which are prevalent in the park.
Plitvice Lakes National Park has 2 entrances- and your ticket MUST match the entrance that you are at. Let me repeat that.
YOU MUST BUY YOUR TICKET FOR THE CORRECT ENTRANCE
Tickets are also timed, and they say that you must use your ticket no later than 1 hour after the listed time. In the off-season I had no problem with this rule, and was even let out of and back into the park, but during the high season I would guess they’re much more strict.
You can buy a ticket for 1 or 2 days- if you buy a ticket for 2 days it will be for the same entrance (and same time as far as I can tell) on both days.
How to See Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes National Park is actually a huge park with kilometers of trails. But for most of us, we go to to see the highlights, AKA the lakes.
The Park Has created multiple ‘programs’ to see the beautiful lakes, which you can find HERE.
Some of their ‘programs’ include only the upper lakes or only the lower lakes, but personally I believe if you’re traveling all that way, neither are to be missed.
And here’s what the lake trails look like if you’re interested in making your own ‘program’.
Note: this is a map I found online, you can also purchase a better map at the park entrances!
Image Credit: https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/brochures/
Plitvice Lakes Itineraries
All itineraries can be done either Zagreb->Zadar or Zadar-> Zagreb. (You could theoretically also go back to the city you started in AKA Zagreb->Zagreb or Zadar->Zadar but we’re about efficiency here)
Itinerary 1: For Roadtrippers who’ve got limited time and budget
Length: 1 Day (6am-8pm)
Transport: Car
Best in: All seasons
Use Entrance: 2
Leave your city early (in the high season this is going to mean 6 am) to arrive at Plitvice before the crowds. The Park opens at 7 am and the boats start running at 8 am. Pick your entrance and buy your tickets ahead of time so you’re ready to go.
NOTE: in the high season: Start at entrance 2 and take the short shuttle boat to the Upper lakes. You want to do this trail FIRST because it’s the most popular and gets the most crowded.
Spend the day exploring the park and leave in the late afternoon to continue on to your next city.
Itinerary 2: For Roadtrippers who don’t want to get up at 5 am and have some cash
Length: 1 Night/ 1 Day
Transport: Car
Best in: All Seasons
Use Entrance: 2
Leave your city in the late afternoon and drive to Plitvice. You can stay in any one of the small towns (see below!) near the park.
High Season: Get up early and get to the park as soon as it opens. Catch the first shuttle boat to the upper lakes and enjoy them without the crowds. Take the longer boat ride over to the opposite side of the lake and grab an early lunch or a late breakfast at the cafe. Walk along the lower lakes and maybe take the side trails for some gorgeous views.
Drive to your next city once you’re done enjoying the park.
Itinerary 3: For Luxury Road Trippers
Length: 2 nights/ 1 Day
Transport: Car
Best in: All Seasons
Use Entrance: 2
Same as itinerary 2, except you spend a second night in your hotel, sleep in, and enjoy a lazy breakfast in the mountains before heading on to your next city
Itinerary 4: The Backpacker with no time
Length: 1 night / .5-1 days**
Transport: Bus
Best in: High Season
Use Entrance: 2
**Note: There are more buses to/from Zagreb than to/from Zadar so you’ll have more flexibility on the Zagreb side of your trip. For this itinerary, it’s best to go FROM Zadar because you can spend most of the day at the park- if you go TO Zadar, you have to catch a mid-afternoon bus which makes your day oh-so tiring and rushed (but technically possible).
Leave your city in the afternoon by bus. Get your bus ticket to Mukinje Village Bus stop if possible, to Entrance 2 REPEAT ENTRANCE 2 if not.
From Entrance 2, Mukinje village is about a 20 minute walk (uphill sorry) through the woods. The trail is gravel, lit at night, and not terrible, but also NOT rolling suitcase friendly. See below for a map of how to get to Mukinje
Spend your night in Mukinje village and set your alarm for the crack of dawn.
Get to the Park as soon as it opens (7 am in the summer), drop any extra luggage (No valuables!) you have at the luggage storage shed (Ask at the ticket booth where to store your luggage and they’ll show you) and take the first boat to the upper lakes.
Do the upper lakes loop (about 2km each way). Catch the Ferry across the big lake and hike down the trail to see the lower lakes. Once you get to the BIG waterfall, go back and take the zigzag trail up to the trail at the top and walk back toward the upper lakes until you reach the park shuttle stop.
Catch the park shuttle back to Entrance 2, collect your things, and head to the entrance 2 bus stop to catch your bus to the next city.
The route I took to cover the park in about 4 hours. Boat/bus routes highlighted in purple.
Itinerary 5: The Backpacker who’s obsessed with the outdoors
Length: 2 nights/2days
Transport: Bus
Best in: All Seasons
Use Entrance: 2
Leave your city in the afternoon by bus. Get your bus ticket to Mukinje Village Bus stop if possible, to Entrance 2 REPEAT ENTRANCE 2 if not.
From Entrance 2, Mukinje village is about a 20-minute walk (uphill sorry) through the woods. The trail is gravel, lit at night, and not terrible, but also NOT rolling suitcase friendly.
Spend your night in Mukinje village and set your alarm for the crack of dawn. Now, you’ve got a day and a half in the park so you’ve got some options. You can either:
Explore both the upper lakes AND the lower lakes on day 1, and then go for a second serving on day 2.
Explore the upper lakes and some trails on day 1, explore the lower lakes on day 2. (This is best for the high season where you can get to each destination first thing in the morning)
On day 2 in the park, you’ll have to carry your luggage with you from your accommodation and store it in the luggage hut while you explore.
After your day 2 adventures, collect your luggage and catch the bus onward.
I’m going to repeat this again because it’s really important.
If you’re traveling by BUS, you MUST book your PARK ENTRY ticket for ENTRANCE 2 and your ARRIVING BUS ticket to ENTRANCE 2 OR MUKINJE and your DEPARTING BUS ticket from ENTRANCE 2
Where to Stay near Plitvice Lakes
Mukinje Village
How to walk from the bus stop at Entrance 2 to Mukinje Village
If you’re traveling by bus, you MUST stay IN the park or Mukinje Village. It is the ONLY place close and safe enough to walk to the lakes. There are a few restaurants and a small supermarket for my budget traveling friends.
I stayed in Guesthouse Bor in Mukinje Village which was affordable and absolutely lovely.
There’s also a hostel in the village if you’re on a super-tight budget.
PRO TIP: Check on Google Maps where in Mukinje your accommodation is. If it’s further down the road than the bus stop, the walk to the park is going to get pretty long!
In The Park
If you want to stay in the park, you have 3 options: Hotel Jezera, Hotel Plitvice, and Hotel Bellevue. These are of course the most convenient but also very pricey - and if you don’t have a car you’ll end up eating all your meals at the restaurants unless you plan on trekking to Mukinje.
Nearby Towns
Just North and south of Plitvice are many small towns to cater to travelers with their own vehicles. Many of these are a 10-20 minute drive from the park and have better accommodations for cheaper prices. Some of the popular towns are Grabovac and Rakovica to the North and Rudanovac to the South.
Plitvice Lakes is one heck of a destination to get to and to figure out all of the logistics, but by God are those lakes worth it.
Have you been to Plitvice? What was your experience? Comment below!!