The Easy way to Travel from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes National Park
About the Plitvice Lakes National Park
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is a very popular visitors destination and for many people visiting the Plitvice Lakes National Park is high on their bucket list, the park is one of the oldest parks in Southeast Europe and in Croatia it is the largest national park. With its 16 lakes, waterfalls and walking routes through the park, it is world-famous, welcoming visitors from all over the globe.
Read all about the National Park in our article Plitvice Lakes National Park - An absolute must see!
The Lakes National Park is located in Like which is more or less in the central part of Croatia not far from the Bosnia border, just about 10 kilometres.
Getting to the National Park is not always the easiest and straight forward. Below are some options to get to the National Park.
Train to Plitvice Lakes National Park
The very simple answer to this, there are no trains going to Plitvice Lakes. There is no train station nearby to the National Park. So, unfortunately, you can cross this option from your list.
Bus from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes National Park
From Zagreb there are many buses heading to the National Park, the trip from Zagreb takes just under 3 hours.
For tickets simply go to the bus station in Zagreb and say you want to go to Plitvice Lakes. Or book your ticket online https://www.arriva.com.hr/en-us/home price for one-way is about € 10 euros. Also, there are day-trip tickets available so you can get the bus back to Zagreb, often they have a package deal for this.
We do recommend to leave early morning to arrive before the crowd does. It can get pretty busy in the park, especially in the summer holiday season, then on average, 11,000 people visit the Park daily!
Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes National Park by Car
If you have your car or you have a rental it is very easy to get to the National Park. The drive will take you 2 hours.
The route is also pretty easy.
- Out of Zagreb you will need to take road E65 towards Karlovac
- After 50km +/- 40 minutes you will reach the town of Karlovac, take the exit into the town
- Drive through the town and then take Route 1, this will take you directly into the National Park. This will take about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Don't forget to enjoy the wonderful scenery on your journey!
When you arrive at the Park there are designated visitor parking areas. All though not high, there are parking fees, the fee depends on the type of vehicle and the period of the year.
Tips
- Take your camera
- Avoid the crowd. The busiest months are July and August. Peak hours are 10 am and 2 pm
- Highly recommend visiting from November to April, in the autumn the park is beautiful will all the different shades of orange, brown and yellow.
- Pack Food and Drinks. There are stalls for snacks, but the queues can be long and they aren't cheap.
- Check the weather. Going on a rainy day can spoil some of the fun.
- Wear good shoes. Leave your flip-flops and sandals at home.
- And most of all, enjoy!!
