Best/Easiest way to get from Dubrovnik to Plitvice Lakes sans car?

You plan on traveling slowly over 12-15 days but you are skipping half the country and racing from A to B to C? I mean why would you skip this: https://youtube.com/shorts/7qjTtbuPaYM?si=nqIsJk4_NHxWrmKY Its on the way, but not from a bus. See the people swimming? You cant do that at Plitvice.

Okay. I presume there are busses. Google says 16 hours on a bus from Dubrovnik to Plitivce, but there must be better. Or a 5 hour drive ... through and past Split. I would suggest that you at least go up the coast to Split for a few days. Then take the bus from there. Sorry, I know nothng about the busses. Of course the time of year does matter.

So Split doesnt interest you but a few day looking at wetlands does? Okay. If your interest in wetlands wasnt so intense and if this were the shoulder season (dont know, you didnt say) I would suggest doing a day trip for Plitivice and moving on.

The easiest way to get around Croatia is private transfers. But croatia isnt cheap for that either. From Dubrovnik expect to pay about 500 Euro to reach Plitvice. From Split expect to pay 350 euro. Then Plitvice to Ljub expect to pay about 350 euro. But at least at those prices you get to stop at some of the marvelous places inbetween instead of racing from A to B to C. Expect 100 euro to 200 euro a night for a hotel near the park. Probably less for a little mom and pop place. People will correct me I am sure and hotels at the park arent something I know anything about cause I did a day trip.

Another option hire a trip planner to put it together within your budget. Someone who know the drivers, the stops in between so you see the world instead of sitting in cars for hour after hour and someone who knows the bus routes when that makes more sense.

I know one, but I am sure there are many.

I did ferry to Split (few days in Korcula). Bus to Plitvice, overnight, bus to Zagreb. I’d recommend bus over train to Ljubljana from there. Check getbybus.com as it shows schedules for a few different companies. These are lengthy rides, but that’s just Croatia for ya.

Thanks to both for your replies, and for not holding back, Mr. E! The waterfalls are stunning.

I suppose renting a car is possible for us, in spite of the anxiety it produces. I drove in the Scottish highlands last year, white knuckles all the way but had a wonderful time while not driving; I really do not enjoy driving, and am a big fan of public transport when it works. Without a car we thought it would be too hard to visit all the lovely places along the way, and certainly our budget isn’t unlimited, hence the bus idea. But we could definitely break it up since the journey apparently takes quite a long time if using the bus. We thought we’d get into Plitvice in the afternoon, then hit the park early the next morning and leave that afternoon, so it would only be a day trip for us. We’re going in early-mid June, by the way.
Oh how I wish we could join someone on a similar journey and they could drive, haha.

Kravice does look lovely, but it's not even in Croatia, so...

There are definitely buses from Split to Plitvice. I may have taken a bus in the opposite direction, from Plitvice to Split, but that would have been 40+ years ago. In 2015 I hit the park on a day trip from Zagreb. I think bus service is somewhat more frequent between Plitvice and Zagreb than between Split and Zagreb, so I'd recommend checking carefully online for schedules into and out of Plitvice, then verifying as soon as you get to Split. My philosophy in the Balkans (born of experience) is to trust no bus schedule I haven't verified in person at the bus station. In a serious pinch, I'll semi-trust info provided by the local tourist office. I have more than once asked about schedules at the tourist office and noted that the staffer did not turn to her computer as might have been expected; she picked up her phone and called (apparently) the local bus station. That's why I say I wouldn't totally trust online information.

To be clear, I am not recommending a day trip to Plitvice from either Split or Zagreb. I've been beating the don't-do-that drum on the forum since I returned from my 2015 trip. Plitvice is lovely, but it can be theme-park-stuffed during day-tripping hours. It's a really lovely place when it's not swamped.

If you read some of the earlier threads on Plitvice here, you'll find some suggestions about where to start in the park on a morning visit to maximize your chances of a nice experience. I no long remember what I did, just that the day began with a one-hour wait in the ticket line and deteriorated from there.

Acraven always gives good advice. We apparently disagree on two points, doesn’t mean I think I am correct, just my interest. One point is that I ignore borders when convenient. I would never travel to Croatia and skip something that is 10 miles away in a neighboring country just because its not in Croatia. When will I return? To see those falls? Never. So, it’s now or never.

The other place where we don’t share a view is the absolute necessity to spend a night at Plitvice, but you said a few nights didn’t you? If you get an early morning start, if it’s early June, if its mid-week and if you only want to walk and look at wetlands for 3 hours then the daytrip is probably fine. If Plitvice is your dream and it is rightfully for many, then sure, arrive mid-afternoon do a few hours before closing time after the day trippers have gone home, spend the night and start again when the park opens at 7 am ... for another 6 or 7 hours of enjoyment walking. Nothing is wrong with that. You must decide your interests.

Rent a car? Sure, I know people that do it all the time and it works out great for them. We also have maybe one post a month looking for help when it didn’t go so well. The one time I tried it was in South Africa. It didn’t go well for Avis, my car, my S.O. or any of the other cars on the road. Not my first choice now.

The Bus: Yes, that works. But you will drive right past all the things that I enjoy most when I travel. For instance, no bus to the 500 year old village with a really great winery https://mnevillage.gov.me/app/storage/gallery/b1093e9011ffa1322f2e467132d746c8.jpg (also not in Croatia, but i had the photo handy to make the point).

But I avoid buses because they pass what interests me.

Those falls, in another country, are about 10 miles across the border and make a terrific stop to swim and have lunch (there is nice restaurant there). From Dubrovnik to Split I would do Ston, the Kravica Falls (in another country) at a minimum. But the area also has some nice wineries and i believe an olive plantation or two. You may have done wine tasting before, but have you ever done an olive oil tasting. Its fun, educational and something that you will remember. This adds about an hour of driving time compared to driving direct from A to B, and probably less sitting time than the bus. https://maps.app.goo.gl/oYfWtwPDUXDUBdQeA And I forgot, there are oyster farms all up and down the coast from Dubrovnik to Rijeka https://maps.app.goo.gl/JeTkGF2qcgnEhSor9 AND https://maps.app.goo.gl/iKXHZWtVXr8XS3Bf7 One would be a geat stop to eat fresh oysters.

From Split to Plitvice, I would look at stopping at Trogir and Sibenik. Two coastal towns that will give you an idea of what Croatia was like before it became totally engulfed in tourism. Both now are on the tourism radar but nothing like Split or Dubrovnik and still very real.

From Plitvice to Zagreb the first obvious stop is Rastoke especially if you can hit it early in the day. Then lunch in the old town of Karlovac. Heck you could stop and spend a night or two in Rijeka on the way to Zagreb. More wineries in that direction if that interests you.

But I am far from an expert on Croatia. That would take years. For every one place I know there are 100 more I haven’t heard of. That’s why you need to do a lot of research if you like the idea of seeing the little places in between.

EDIT: And do read this for more ideas: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/croatia/12-day-itinerary-feedback

We’re going in early-mid June, by the way. Oh how I wish we could join
someone on a similar journey and they could drive, haha.

Greenie, my trip is to Montenegro, so close, but not Croatia. I have done Croatia twice as a comprehensive tour. Once about 15 years ago and once just after COVID. Once with my wife and once with my oldest daughter. Then I have been back because Wizz flies from Budapest to Zadar so it’s convenient and once because Dubrovnik was a cheaper flight from the states than Podgorica, Montenegro where I was really going. Since I landed in Dubrovnik, I spent a little time in the south Dubrovnik to Split.

Montenegro has some similarity to Croatia but is a bit more rural, I guess. Certainly, less developed for tourism. Certainly, it is a lot less expensive. And Montenegro has high country, mountains and rivers and trees as well as the coast. I just prefer it. That trip is 11 June through 18 June. I can do short trips because the airfare for me is about $150 round trip.

Despite having been to Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro many times, and because I love the stops between the towns, I still hire a local that does Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro to help me plan the stops and the transportation. I can send you the itinerary if you are interested. If your average holiday is something like Vienna or Rome or Paris or London and you ride the bus. The price of a place like Montenegro is about the same with private transfers instead of the bus.

For your trip to Croatia I would look at private transfers. Yes, they do cost in Croatia, but will you ever be back and don’t you want to see all that you can see? Maybe you can mix a little bus with some private transfers. Also check out Viator and see if there are any package deals you can use to connect the dots.

The bus is perfectly fine!
You just need to add a day each (probably) to Split and Zagreb as those are the transport hubs and you don’t want to be endlessly on a bus. I’m a huge proponent of driving when it need to be done, and if you want to meander and make stops that is what you should do (and if you did it in Scotland you can sure as heck do it in Croatia!), but the bus service in Croatia is great. I did four trips throughout the country and never rented a car.

Just a follow up on Plitvice OP- I followed the same plan as you and it all worked well. The bus ride from Split was a long one (there were also storms and bad traffic) but I got to the park around 2-3pm. I got into the park and visited the lower falls by 4:30 and walked the whole of that area before the park closed at 8pm (that time of year will stay light quite late.) Though I did have to hike back up to the shuttle stop, the boats stop running much earlier. There were very few people in the park at this time.

I stayed at Hotel Jezero. I would recommend it, or at least stay in a park hotel with full board. I paid extra for a “park facing room” that was not worth the upgrade. But by staying at Jezero, I walked straight into the Upper Lakes the next morning at open. I was quite literally the only person on the trail at that time and it was absolutely magical. I managed to have a solid breakfast and get cleaned up in time for a 10:30 bus. It can feel a bit nervy, you don’t want to miss it and the pickup is just a roadside shelter, fortunately I was joined by other nervous travelers. We had all reserved tickets, and there were no seats open seats on board. If that all sounds like a lot, I’ll just say Plitvice is simply magic and worth the effort.

In this case, I actually continued on to Ljubljana from Zagreb later in the afternoon so checked bags at the station and had lunch in town. I was staying in Zagreb later in the trip, otherwise I would not pass up a night in this lovely city.

Thanks so much for all of these helpful replies!! Acraven, you make a great point about verifying bus schedules which could make all the difference. Everyone’s replies give us some ideas to consider re: our itinerary, and because of this I expect we’ll make at least one additional stop between Dubrovnik and Plitvice, if not more depending on our transport situation. I sent you a message, Mr. E, re: your kind offer to share your itinerary and so on, thank you.

Awrzesinski, thanks for the breakdown in how you did this! Can you tell us if you noticed any Bolt or other local transit options around Plitvice itself outside of the park? We had intended to stay at the Miric B&b up the road not far from entrance #2, but also intend to hit the park late in the afternoon and in the early morning. It seems that walking from the B&B (especially on the return from the park which is uphill) is not desirable (?), so we are hoping to utilize some form of transit. Maybe I’ll message the b&b to ask them about it, as walking might actually be fine. Perhaps we should also consider switching to the hotel you stayed at in spite of some bad reviews we read. It sounds very convenient!

Thanks again to each of you!

There may be some closer in b&bs, maybe there is more of a shoulder on the road since I visited—I would definitely ask them, but I also stayed in a park hotel when visiting by public transit. After all the amazing sea views I had in private apartments on the coast, it was less impressive, but perfectly comfortable and very convenient. It was nice to have the big tub after a day of hiking!

Easiest would be to do what we did and use a private transfer (although our transfer was from Split to Zadar, and then, a couple of days later, from Zadar to Plitvice. After an overnight, we had another transfer from Plitvice to Zagreb.) (We used ferries from Dubrovnick to Hvar and then, after a couple of nights, from Hvar to Split.)

Anyway, we used Octopus Transfers, and they were great--always prompt--even a bit early. https://www.octopustransferscroatia.com

Whether the easiest way is also the best way depends on your priorities. Relative speed and convenience? Private transfer. Most budget friendly? Bus. Most independence? Rent a car.

OP - I don’t know what local transport options exist there, but I imagine they are sparse. I’d check with the B&B, they may offer transport themselves. Hotel Jezero is certainly overpriced for what it is, but (assuming this still works this way) your entrance ticket is valid for both days. That and the overall convenience carried them, and the buffet was a hearty reward after a long travel & hike day. Considering the tight timeframe you’re in it makes the most sense to me, but I didn’t investigate staying offsite. If you can make it work with the transport to and FROM the park then cool.

Thanks everyone,
There’s good info on this forum. We’ll likely split up the ride to Plitvice now, staying in Split for a couple days en route. And thanks, aws for your insight on the benefits of the park hotel, we’re thinking of switching now, but will email Miric b&b first to check their transport tips.