We will be visiting Lake Plitvice in June. I see that it's located near the Bosnian border. We thought it might be an interesting adventure to drive into Bosnia, sample a Bosnian meal and then continue our Croatia/Slovenia trip. Has anyone done this? Are there any visitor friendly small towns near the Croatian border? A recommended restaurant? Any other advice?
Posted by
Fairfax, VA
763 posts
Have you seen the brief paragraph in the Plitvice chapter about this? It's on page 88; there's also info in the B&H section of the book.
Posted by
88 posts
Just as an fyi, check the border crossings between Slovenia and Croatia. Not all crossings can be used by people with non EU passports. When I drew my route up heading from Plitvice to Novo Mesto the most direct way would have taken me to a border station that doesn't process US Citizens.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
In 2015, I spent two weeks driving through Croatia and Bosnia. Near the end I drove through Bosnia back to Plitvice in Croatia. I stopped at the town of Bihać, which is close to the border and close to Plitvice. (In 2015, I had no trouble crossing the border into Croatia with my US passport, at the most obvious/convenient border crossing that my GPS guided me to near Plitvice.) The town is OK - nothing especially quaint, but if you really want to see a "Bosnian town" I guess this one would be worth seeing. If you have time, you can continue a little further to Una National park in Bosnia. It's got one huge cascading waterfall, dwarfing anything you will find at Plitvice (which is amazing - but most of the waterfalls are small). Una is the opposite of Plitvice: in 2015, it was a barely-developed park with bumpy dirt roads taking you to the parking area near the big waterfall. It felt like an "off-road" experience...whereas Plitvice is a highly developed park with mobs of tourists.
Posted by
75 posts
The closest town in Bosnia near the border is Bihac. Maybe half an hour drive from Plitvice. There is Una National park near it (river Una flows through Bihac). Park is not as organized as Plitvice (which is on the other side too touristy and overcrowded) but is more natural and well worth a visit. Here is how it all looks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY0w2jKqknw
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17916 posts
I was fishing in/near the Una river national park last year. Beautiful place. Actually, a little deeper in the interior of Bosnia is pretty beautiful and has quite a few amazing places to visit.