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CROATIA: Plitvice Lakes National Park

On a sunny August morning in 2013, we walked the well-worn boardwalks of Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes as part of a month starting from Venice, day-hiking the Dolomites of Italy, and looping into Slovenia and Croatia.


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Plitvice Lakes National Park (Nacionalni park Plitvicka jezera) was founded in 1949 and is honored by UNESCO as World Heritage Site. Waters flowing over limestone, dolomite, and chalk in this karstic landscape have, over thousands of years, deposited travertine barriers, creating natural dams, beautiful lakes and waterfalls. Warming conditions after the last Ice Age (less than 12,000 years ago) allowed the natural dams to form from tufa (calcium carbonate) and chalk depositing in layers, bound by plants. Plitvicka Jezera is a municipality of Lika-Senj County in the Republic of Croatia, in Europe.

Practical tips for visiting Plitvice Lakes

  • Try to visit in the off season, as Plitvice Lakes National Park suffers severe overcrowding in the summer. Park hours are 7:00-20:00 for ticket booths, boat, and shuttlebus, but you can stroll into the park any time without boat/bus. The park is most crowded 10:00-15:00. On a Friday in early August, a 7:00am start helped us for a few hours before boardwalks became mobbed with people. Jostling with people shoulder to shoulder hurts the natural ambiance.
  • If you need to prioritize, the Upper lakes (Gornja Jezera) are most impressive. Walking briskly, you could spend a minimum of an hour at each of Lower and Upper Lakes plus half hour connection by boat or 40 minutes by trail. Hike uphill for the best views. Most people are satisfied after visiting a few hours. But dedicated photographers may want to allow an extra day or two to allow for changing weather and lighting.
  • Croatian currency is the kuna (HRK). Park entrances require cash. Paying in Euros gave change in kuna coins and bills, which may be worthless outside of Croatia.
  • Drive one way from Venice to Plitvice Lakes in about 4.5 hours (394 km).
  • The decaying infrastructure of Croatia still needs a bit of repair after the Croatian War of Independence 1991-1995, in contrast to wealthy northern Italy.

Accommodation and daily park entrance fees

  • The park entrance fee is 110 kuna per day (for entry, boat, and shuttle bus) if staying in offsite lodging, although it is paid just once if you stay in one of the following pricey park hotels:
    • The park’s on-site Hotel Bellevue (cheaper but dreary), Hotel Plitvice, and Hotel Jezero are expensive for basic rooms, costing much more than local Bed and Breakfasts (B&B). These hotels have convenient free parking, whereas the lots at Entrance 1 or 2 charge 7 kuna per hour.
    • Croatian currency is the kuna (HRK), and park entrance requires cash. Paying in Euros gave change in kuna, which is only good inside Croatia and may be hard to exchange outside.
  • In peak season, reserve lodging for Plitvice Lakes at least a day or two in advance to get more comfort per money spent.
    • After we searched among “no vacancy” hotels in mid afternoon, mid week, we settled upon a supposedly “3 star” lodging at Plitvice Lakes (Hotel #7) which sadly matched the quality of a “1 star” of Italy. A shared bathroom down extremely narrow stairs, thin walls, worn furnishings, and no air conditioning on a hot day gave us a bad memory of Hotel #7. Try these:
  • Certain local Bed and Breakfasts (B&Bs) may be your best bet (2013 prices), conveniently reserved at Booking.com, or call each directly:
    • Vila Vuk $87 double, plitvice-lakes-vila-vuk.com, address: Mukinje 45. Contact: Tibor Vukmirovic, Tel + 385 (0) 53 774-030, Email: [email protected]
    • Telephone tips: Only within Croatia do you dial the number (0) shown within parentheses. How to dial Croatia from Slovenia: 00 + 385 + Areacode + #. For mobile phones: 00 + 385 + 9xx.xxx.xxx.
    • Villa Lika $80 double, address: Mukinje 63, just south of the lakes, Tel +385 53 774 302.
    • Pansion Breza $80 dbl, Plitvica Selo 21, Tel +385 91 559 9600
    • Villa Mukinja, +385-98-1877-346, www.plitvice-lakes.com
    • House Tina, www.housetina.com, address: Grabovac 175, north of park. €40-112 double with breakfast. Tel 00385 47 784197 Mobile: 00385 98 9634048.
    • Knezevic Guest House $85/night double, www.knezevic.hr, in Mukinja, Tel 053-774-081, mobile 098-168-7576.

Recommended Croatia guidebooks from Amazon.com:

Search for Croatia travel books on Amazon.com (look for updates every 1 to 3 years).

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