Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

If you’ve been researching a trip to Croatia, you’ve come across photos of impossibly blue waterfalls spilling over rocks and mossy boulders into a gorgeous karst canyon and probably thought to yourself is this real? Yes, this place really exists and it’s called Plitvice Lakes National Park! It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen, even better in real life than in the photos.

The park is located in central Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is surprisingly easy to reach via bus from Zagreb, making it the perfect base for a day trip to the park. There are some higher-end hotels in the area around the park, but very few budget options, so it tends to work out best to stay in Zagreb. I was pleasantly surprised by the city of Zagreb itself – it was clean and pretty, with a nice mixture of old architecture and lively modern culture. My friend and I took advantage of the great tram system in the city to go out and explore at night, finding some delicious food and fun bars in the heart of the city.

We took an early bus from Zagreb to Plitvice, arriving in just about 2 hours. Once at the park, we paid our admission (110 kuna when we went but the price can fluctuate based on season) and set off to explore! The park is somewhat divided between the upper and lower sections, with an entrance at each point. There are technically 7 different hikes you can choose from depending on which entrance you start from and how much of the park you want to see. The shortest hikes are A (2-3 hours walking the lower section of the park only) and E (2-3 hours walking the upper section of the park only). The longest is a full walk of the entire park (K, with recommended 6-8 hours walking time). Option C combines walking the lower portion with a shuttle to the upper section, followed by a walk down to a ferry across the lake, and finally a shuttle back to the starting point. This is the option my friend and I chose to take as it encompassed views of most of the park yet didn’t require a full day of hiking. The recommended time is 4-6 hours but this really depends on how many tourists are in the park. I didn’t understand why the recommended walk times were so long compared to distance covered, but I hadn’t accounted for the narrowness of the walkways. The walkways over the lake are constructed of wood slats about four feet wide. It makes for a pretty walk close to the water level, but the narrow pathway also makes it just about impossible to pass people, especially when they’re walking in a group, so everyone has to move at the pace of the slowest walker.

The walk does require some patience (and a certain level of comfort with being in a large crowd) but it is stunningly gorgeous. The water is a bright cyan blue, incredibly clear, allowing you to see the schools of fish swimming by your feet. There are waterfalls everywhere – cascading from cliff edges, tumbling over mossy boulders, pouring into still lake pools. The sound of splashing water is a constant, lulling background, and the creak of the wooden walkways adds satisfaction to each step. It is relaxing just to wander through the park, take photographs of the waterfalls, and enjoy nature at its best.

It took my friend and I about 4 hours total to complete the C loop (including the shuttles, ferry ride, and a stop for some tasty ice cream!). We visited in September in the shoulder season though so it was not as busy as it can get in summer. I’d definitely recommend allowing plenty of time for the hike. We caught a public bus back to Zagreb (they leave from the shelter near the pedestrian bridge directly opposite the visitor center at Entrance 1), making it back in time to get dinner and relax in the city after an amazing day exploring Plitvice.