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Travel guide
Plitvice Lakes
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to June, and September to October
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Welcome
Plitvice Lakes, in a few days
Sixteen lakes stepped over eight kilometres, held back by travertine barriers that grow about a centimetre a year and spill over in constant waterfalls. The national park covers 297 km² of forest and is explored on wooden boardwalks laid just above the water.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 3 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Veliki Slap · about 1 hThe highest waterfall in Croatia, a 78-metre drop where the Plitvica stream falls into the Korana canyon, at its strongest in April and May.
- Afternoon · Šupljara cave · about 30 minA cave open at both ends above Kaluđerovac lake, entered from the lower boardwalks and left thirty metres higher by a narrow, damp stone stairway.
- Late afternoon · Lower lakes and canyon · about 2 hFour lakes set in a limestone canyon with 40-metre walls, Milanovac, Gavanovac, Kaluđerovac and Novakovića Brod, each spilling into the next.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Jezero ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€120 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Vidikovac viewpoint · about 30 minA wooden platform on the cliff above the lower lakes, looking down the chain of turquoise pools and waterfalls towards Veliki Slap.
- Afternoon · Crossing Lake Kozjak · about 30 minThe largest of the sixteen lakes, 46 metres deep, crossed by a silent electric boat in about twenty minutes between piers P2 and P3.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Jezero ↗€120 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Upper lakes and Galovački Buk · half a dayTwelve lakes over about a hundred metres of height in a wider, wooded valley, with massive travertine barriers covered in living moss.
- Late afternoon · Prošćansko Lake · about 1 hThe highest and southernmost lake, at 636 metres, two kilometres long in a closed forest valley where the whole system begins.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Jezero ↗€120 a night
D4
Day 4
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Rastoke village free · about 1 hThirty kilometres north, wooden and stone houses stand on the travertine falls where the Slunjčica meets the Korana, with a few watermills still turning.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Grilled fish and shellfish, straight off the Adriatic.
- Peka: meat or octopus cooked slowly under a bell covered in embers.
- Cevapi: small grilled sausages, the Balkan staple.
- Istrian truffles, shaved over pasta and eggs.
- Local wine: plavac mali in red, malvazija in white.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Book early for July and August: the coast fills up and the prices climb with it.
- Fish is sold by weight, so ask the price per kilo before you order.
- Check the bill in Dubrovnik for padded extras, bread and cover charges included.
- Do not drive into the old towns: they are pedestrian, and the fines are real.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Croatian
| English | Croatian |
|---|---|
| Hello | Dobar dan |
| Thank you | Hvala |
| Please | Molim |
| Yes | Da |
| No | Ne |
| Excuse me | Oprostite |
| Goodbye | Doviđenja |
| Do you speak English? | Govorite li engleski? |
| I don't understand | Ne razumijem |
| How much is it? | Koliko košta? |
| Where are the toilets? | Gdje je WC? |
| The bill, please | Račun, molim |
| Help! | Upomoć! |
| Cheers! | Živjeli! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to June, and September to October
PlugC/F · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingRound up, or 10%
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo vaccination required. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/plitvice-lakes
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.