One look at Plitvice Lakes photo on Instagram was enough to inspire us to visit Croatia! Plitvice Lakes National Park is made up of 16 connected lakes that form a series of beautiful cascading waterfalls. With turquoise crystal clear waters, it deserves to top your list of what to visit in Croatia.
The best time of year to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park will depend on how your family want to see this beautiful destination. As one of the most popular national parks in Europe, summer months mean the wooden boardwalks are packed with tourists! For us avoiding excessive crowd and making sure that it won’t be too hot for our kids to hike are high on the priority list. We visited in April (shoulder season) – and it was perfect! The weather was pleasant, we hardly saw anyone in many parts of our hike. For most part of the upper lakes hike we pretty much had the place to ourselves!
Located near the Bosnia border you can do a daytrip to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park. But this means you will spend most of the day on the road. We recommend to allow at least one full day exploring Plitvice Lakes National Park. It will be a shame for your family to travel all the way to Croatia only to spend a few (rushed) hours at the park.
Staying overnight will allow you to get into the park early morning and staying late just before closing. For example during our holiday we arrived at Plitvice in the afternoon and stayed until midday the next day. That way we were able to explore the lower lakes (Entrance 1, Trail A) on the first day – just before sunset. Allowing our kids to have a restful night and cover the upper lakes (Entrance 2, Trail E) in the next morning.
Main hotels in Plitvice Lakes are owned and managed by the park management. They are practically next door to the entrance to help ensure that your family beat the crowds. Options include a mid-range option at Hotel Plitvice (close to Entrance 2) and a more fancier option at Hotel Jezero.
More handy guide for visiting Plitvice Lakes Croatia with kids:
- Tickets to visit Plitvice Lakes can be pre purchased online from the official website. Prices will vary depending on season.
- There are two entrances at the national park. If you are in a rush or can only cover one section, go to Entrance 1 (lower lakes). This is where you will find the social media famous view points.
- The upper lakes (Entrance 2) are just as stunning. You will find the dock where you can catch a ferry to the upper lakes next to Kozjačka Draga restaurant and picnic area.
- The official Plitvice park website have 7 suggested hike trails.
- The wooden boardwalks are not stroller friendly.
- Use a carrier if travelling with babies.
- Good walking shoes are essential all year round.
- Bring along the usual hikes with kids stuff: plenty of water, snacks, sunscreen, hat or rain jacket (in case it rains).
- Plitvice’s busiest months are usually July and August.
- The busiest hours in the national park are between 9am and 3pm (when day trippers are there).
- In winter only the lower lakes are open to visitors. Walking trails and ferry access to the upper lakes are also closed.
- Plitvice’s tram service stops at three locations throughout the park. It allows you to explore the upper lakes without having to worry about hiking back.
- Restaurant and hotel choices around the national park are limited. Read reviews and book accommodation early.
- To make things easier, we hired a driver for our Croatia trip. We come across Mili “Taxi Pajo” from TripAdvisor. Mili was absolutely amazing and enable us to have a stress-free holiday.
- Plitvice Lakes National Park is some hours away from Croatia’s popular destinations. Including: Zagreb (2 hours), Split (2.5 hours), Dubrovnik (5 hours), Zadar (1.5 hours), Sibenik (2 hours)
For other places we have visited, checkout our website’s travel Destinations section. We buy our travel essentials online via Ebay
