If you’re planning to head to Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, there’s a few things you should know before you go.
Arrive early
The park opens at around 7am and we saw most coaches arriving between 9-10am, so to beat the crowds arrive early. Tickets are pre-bookable and you’re given a timeslot to arrive in. It’s recommended to book ahead as they can sell out on the day.
Plan your route
There are several routes around the park and the options might vary seasonally, so definitely plan ahead. If you’re able, I’d highly recommend taking the longest K route which is around 17km long and took around 4 hours with a stop for lunch beside the lake. This route takes you around the lake, instead of getting the boat across, and past the waterfall system in the upper lakes, you do take a short boat hop to get to the east side of the Kozjak lake before climbing up into the valley. At busier times of year, you might have longer to wait but we only waited ten minutes or so before we were able to cross.
A real highlight was the newly opened viewing platform which gives you panoramic views acros the park. I could have stayed up here for hours.
The entire time we were walking on this route we only saw six or seven other people. The other routes, and part at the end where our route reconnected with the more popular loops, were crowded to the point of people queuing on the boardwalks to move on. I don’t like to be swept along in a crowd so taking the longer loop meant that we had time to stop and take pictures and could go at our own pace. It also meant we could enjoy the beautiful surroundings peacefully.
Dress for all weathers
Being in the mountains means that downpours are inevitable, while they might pass quickly you’ll still be grateful for a waterproof jacket and warmer layers. You’ll also be under the spray from the waterfalls at times. I didn’t have my hiking boats with me and was fine in trainers but parts of the path were quite muddy and flooded, as well as steep at some of the end climbs, so definitely could have used them!
There is food, drinks and toilets at the cafe stop, where you pick up the boat, but this is the only place so come well prepared if you’re going to be walking for a while.
This was one of the highlights of our trip to Croatia and somewhere I would recommend to anyone visiting.
