We drove to Plitvice Lake from Zagreb in the afternoon, which is about 148 km south of Zagreb, and took us about 3 hours since the roads were narrow & windy, and also as we stopped at Rastoke on the way to see some amazing water falls.
We reached Plitvice in the evening and just relaxed the rest of the day in our warm and cozy airbnb. We had booked tickets to visit the lake at 9am the next day. Essentially, the park is split into two main parts – the Lower Lakes (near Entrance 1) and the Upper Lakes (near Entrance 2). Between the two sections you will find the large Jezero Kozjak main lake. See map below.
You need a whole day to visit both upper and lower lakes. There are many routes in both sections. There are 2 routes the cover both Upper and Lower sections :
- Route C – Starting at Entrance 1
- Route H – Starting at Entrance 2
Our Airbnb being close to entrance 2, we took Route H.
Plitvice Lakes Route H
- Duration: 4-6 hours
- Length: 8.9 km / 5.5 miles
- Lakes: Upper Lakes + Lower Lakes
- Boat Ride: Short Ride (P2 » P1) & Long Ride (P1 » P3)
- Shuttle Bus: ST2 » ST3 & ST1 » ST2
Route H starts with the shuttle bus ride from ST2 to ST3. Once off the bus you will continue along the zig zagging boardwalk route along the Upper Lakes. After enjoying all the waterfalls and lakes up top, you will reach the P2 boat terminal. From there you will head the short way to P1 and then immediately on the long boat ride to P3. The boat rides are quite beautiful.
Once off at P3, you will walk all around the Lower Lakes of Plitvice before ending up at the ST1 bus stop and taking the shuttle back to ST2 at entrance 2.
Upper Lake Waterfalls
Lower Lake Waterfalls
We were a bit unlucky with the weather on the day we visited the waterfalls. It was on the colder side at around 52F and a slight drizzle all through the day. I can’t complain too much since it was not a complete washout and we did spend the whole day there enjoying each one of the waterfalls the park had to offer.