Plitvice, Croatia

October 1 - 4, 2019

A postcard view at every turn.

The walking paths are very clearly defined, doesn't really allow for free roaming.

Veliki Slap, literally translated to "Big Waterfall".

This is the ferry that goes between ferry stops P1, P2 and P3.

You can use the ferries to shorten your hike if you plan appropriately, just note that you can only go from P2-P3 one way, once.

The walks here feel magical.

Water is emerald green here.

A small cave in the park.

Aerial view of the path to Veliki Slap when walking back from ferry stop P2 to Entrance 1.

Water is so clear, it's hard to see which part of the rocks are under water.

The "long exposure" mode on iPhones make great waterfall pictures.

Maren got thirsty from the hikes.

The walking paths are nicely laid out, but can be frustrating when it's crowded and people stop to take pictures.

This is like a sink hole, water falls into this hole in the middle of the ground, no idea where it goes from here.

It got cold during our visit, luckily we had a nice wood fireplace with unlimited firewood to keep us warm.

Croatia is known for their seafood. We had grilled trout several times during our visit in Croatia, they're so good!

This is our cabin near Plitvice. It's nice and cozy, but the first night was a bit creepy given it was in the dark woods with nobody around in quarter-mile radius.

Lots of sheep came by our cabin to say goodbye on our way out.

Plitvice National Park, the most visited national park in Croatia. It definitely lives up to its reputation, it is absolutely gorgeous here. A must-do in Croatia.

Voyagers tips:

Start early!! Lots of tour buses arrive after 10am, so start early and hit the popular areas around the big waterfall (Veliki Slap, literally translated to Large Waterfall) to avoid the crowds. The crowd drops substantially in the lower lake portion, so do the upper lake (between Entrance 1 and 2) before the crowd picks up. It’s possible to visit in one day, but two days is ideal, and you can buy 2-day tickets. If you want to visit in one day, map out your route and use ferries creatively to cover more distance in shorter time. We bought two-day tickets but the second day was cold and rainy, so we decided to cover as much as we could on the first day, and our path worked out well for us:

(1) Start in Entrance 1, walk down to Veliki Slap, then continue the path to ferry port P3. (2) Take ferry from P3 to P2 to P1, then walk along the lake from P1 back to Entrance 1. This covers the upper lake area. (3) Grab lunch at the Entrance 1 restaurant (price very reasonable), then drive down to Entrance 2, park, walk to P1, take the ferry from P1 to P2. (4) Walk around the lower lake loop from P2 to the southern tip, look around to get to shuttle stop St3, then take the shuttle back to Entrance 2. This allows you to visit both upper and lower lake area in one very manageable day.