Plitvice National Park lodging

We're considering Croatia for 2018 and will traveling by train/bus. Do you need a car to stay at the Plitice Miric Inn & to enter the Plitvice Park in the morning?

We had a car for a week, rented in Zagreb and dropped off in Split. You may consider renting one for 24 hours to see Plitvice Lakes park - - or sign up for a tour bus. Best time is to arrive early morning before the crowds. Follow Rick's tips for seeing the park. Parking was about $5.

I think it will be difficult to stay outside the Plitvice Lakes area (i.e., in Zagreb, Zadar, etc.) and get to the park early enough to beat the day-trippers, because you will be making yourself one of them.

You can go to maps.google.com and see the location of the hotel you're considering. It is beyond what most would consider walking distance to the park, but it's possible it provides some sort of shuttle service. You could email them and ask. There will probably be someone on staff who reads and writes English well enough to respond.

Thanks Acraven & ceperry3. From my initial research into that area, it seemed like the hotels adjacent to the park where a car wouldn't be needed aren't as nice for both the rooms & meal options as B&B's, etc. where cars are needed.

I've stayed both at one of the park hotels (Hotel Plitvice - the "middle" one in price, not the nicest, not the cheapest) and at a soba (B&B) not far from park entrance #2. I had a car both times. But I saw that there's a bus stop on the main road near entrance #2, an easy walk to the Hotel Plitvice and one of the other ones. These park hotels are overpriced for sure for what you get, but they are super convenient. There really aren't many restaurants to speak of in or near the park - other than the hotel restaurants, there's a pizza place in what passes for the town, at the place that rents ski equipment...but the nearest ATM in town is at one of the park hotel restaurants.

There are a few sobe/B&Bs that will take you into the park by van or something - but if you take the bus you'd have to get from the stop to the soba.

One other advantage of a park hotel: they will stamp your park ticket the next day so you can enter the park again without paying a second time, if you wish to explore the park over two days. That can help offset some of the extra cost of the more expensive park hotels.

FYI, the park hotels seem to get booked up early now sometimes - tour groups maybe. I'd book in advance if you can, with a reservation you can change/cancel for free later e.g. Booking.com if you are still up in the air about where to stay.