Plitvice Hotels Booking Frustration

What dates are you looking for? I played with some random early June dates on booking.com and there appears to be some limited availability at Hotel Jezero, Hotel Grabovac and Hotel Plitvice, depending on when those dates are. Prices for a couple of those properties are quite high, though. Just a guess but probably popular destination, peak season rates? Landing 3 rooms may also be a challenge.

Hotel Grabovac looks to be the most economical of the 3 but prices may be different for your actual dates, if they have availability for those

Kathy, thank you so much for your helpful reply. I hadn't though of playing around with the dates! We're hoping to go on June 8, but it seems unlikely, since there's no availability. We'll probably go on the 9th instead. This will change our itinerary a bit. At this point, we'll take whatever and wherever they have available. My husband said that he's going to try to call them on Monday. I don't have much confidence in that given my post above! We'll see. Thanks again.

I can recommend the Plitvice Miric Inn.
https://www.plitvice-croatia.com/

It is not in the park, but it is still very conveniently located. We stayed there this past September and loved it. It is a 5-minute ride from Entrance 2. We had no problem finding parking in the parking lot at Entrance 2. Our room was a good size and very clean. We had a small patio. We paid 130 euros, which included the breakfast buffet, which was one of the best we have had anywhere.

For an additional 20 euros per person, you can have dinner in their restaurant (requires a reservation). It's the same dining room where you have breakfast. You have a choice of entrée (we chose the fresh trout), numerous sides, homemade chicken soup, a salad, and the best apple strudel I have had.

FWIW, I have read in numerous places that the hotels inside the park are older, outdated, and the food is not very good.

Kmkwoo, thank you for your helpful reply.

Are there any advantages to staying in the park? I thought that those who stay in the park might get inside the park earlier? Do they get an early entrance? We will have a car and we plan on spending two nights there.

I hope that the Miric Inn has availability for three rooms and for our dates. I will look into it right away. I have heard all that you mentioned about the hotels inside the park also. Our only reason for staying there the possibility of getting inside the park earlier. I wonder if that's even true. If not, we'd much rather stay outside. The apple strudel that you mentioned sounds delicious!

Bookaholic,
I don't believe you can get into the park any earlier than anyone else. However, one advantage, I think, is that if you do stay at a hotel inside the park, you save money if you plan on visiting the park for 2 days. I think the hotel stamps your ticket so that you don't have to purchase a 2-day ticket. We decided we didn't mind paying the fee for the 2-day ticket because we felt the Plitvice Miric Inn was worth it. I am also on another travel forum, and many people there raved about the Miric Inn. And it was important to us to have a good meal. It was actually one of the best meals we had on our trip. From what I understand, there are very few restaurants in the area so you are limited to where you can eat.
Karen

I haven't heard about earlier park entry for those staying inside the park, either, and I read everything about Plitvice that crosses my path.

Thank you so much, acraven. I'm trying to read as much as I can also. I must have gotten it mixed up with Disney World from many years ago! No comparison, of course, but it does make me laugh!

Karen, thank you so much for your reply. I didn't see it until now. We would definitely prefer to stay outside and have already emailed the Miric Inn. Yes, we'd also prefer to have a good meal! We don't mind paying extra for two days entrance.

Negin

The park no longer guarantees entry to those who don't buy a ticket in advance. I think the park sells two-day tickets at less than the cost of two single-day tickets. But you'd need to have a pretty clear idea of your arrival time to be sure you could make use of the ticket on both days.

We purchased our tickets online about 3 or 4 months in advance. And we purchased the 2-day tickets; we did not purchase two one-day tickets. The price for the 2-day tickets is less than two one-day tickets. I just checked the website now. For June, it looks like the 2-day tickets are $52.29 per person; the one-day tickets are $37 per person, based on the current conversion rates. You do have to select a specific time of entrance at the park. And you can arrive about 30 minutes prior to pick up your tickets. I believe we purchased tickets for 4PM entry on our first day. We visited the Upper Lakes first. Then we arrived at the park by 9AM the next day to visit the Lower Lakes. The park opens either at 7am or 8am, so if you are an early riser, you can get their earlier, if you wish.

When you purchase your tickets online, the park will email you vouchers. When you arrive at the park, you have to go to the ticket booth first to exchange your vouchers for real tickets.

Thank you both so much for the helpful ticket tips. We will get two-day tickets and I will work on that soon. The problem that we have is that we can't be sure of exactly what time we'll be arriving. We will rent a car from Ljubljana that very morning and then head to Plitvice. I guess I'll look up the distance and add a few hours to that. Another option is to try to get as late an entrance as possible, just to be on the safe side.

The park tends to be unbelievably crowded during day-tripping hours, so there's probably not a lot to be gained by arriving in the early afternoon, anyway. I have no idea at what time it begins to clear out noticeably, however.

Our entry time was for 4PM. We did the Upper Lakes, and it was not terribly crowded at that time. If my memory is correct from my research, I think the daytrippers start leaving around 3PM and most likely by 4PM. As I think I already mentioned, we got to the park at 3:30pm to get our tickets. Then we had to walk downhill to get the bus to take us to the top of the Upper Lakes (about a 20-minute bus ride). I just checked my journal, and it took us almost 2 hours to walk from the top of the Upper Lakes to the bottom. We stopped to take photos and enjoy the scenery. But I am also a slow walker, and was recovering from hip replacement surgery. We got to the boat ramp by 6:20pm, and had to wait about 20 minutes for the boat. BTW, we drove from Split to Plitvice that day, and checked into the inn first. The timing worked out perfect for us. Hope this helps in your planning.

Thank you both again. Karen, thank you for all the details and tips. We're booked at the Miric Inn! I will be thinking of you, especially when we hopefully have some of that apple strudel!

I am also interested in getting two-day tickets for the lakes. How do I know which entrance to book? Entrance 1 or 2? Do you have to pick an entrance or are the tickets good for either one? Also is it easy to say you want an afternoon time for the first day and an early start time for the second day? We will be staying within 6 miles from the park arriving mid-day and staying one night.
Thank you.
Ilana

Ilana,
Yes, you do have to decide which entrance you want to enter through. I think it makes the most sense to choose the entrance that is closest to where you are staying. So you need to look at a map or contact the place you are staying at.

We stayed at the Plitvice Miric Inn, which is closest to Entrance 2, about a five-minute drive. So we purchased tickets for Entrance 2. You have to enter through the entrance you choose both days. The tickets are not good for either entrance. So, on our first day, we hiked the Upper Lakes. We walked to ST-2, where we got on the bus. It was a 20-minute ride up to ST-3. On our second day, we entered through Entrance 2 to hike the Lower Lakes. We took the bus from ST-2 to ST-1, a short drive.

You have to choose a start time for the first day, but not for the second day. Of course, it makes the most sense to start out early on the second day to avoid the crowds.

Hope this helps.
Karen

We are 6 miles from entrance 2. We are staying at Apartment & Room Toma for one night. I think we will try and book for a 3 or 4 pm start time on the first day. But we definitely want to start at 7 am on the second day. So my question is if we can't choose our time for the second day than do we just show up when we want to start and they will let us in? Or is it based on availability?
Thanks
Ilana

Ilana, thank you for asking this question and Karen, thank you for your helpful reply. I hope to get our tickets soon.

Ilana,
You can show up whenever you want to on the second day. That is what we did.

I would like to add that you need to keep your tickets on you at all times because you never know when you will have to show them. For example, on our first day, we had to show our tickets to the bus driver at ST-2. However, at the end of the day, when we took the boat from P-2 to P-1, we did not have to show our ticket.

On our second day, we took the bus from ST-2 to ST-1, and the bus driver surprisingly did not ask to see our tickets. BUT at the end of our hike, we took the boat from P-3 to P-2, and we had to show our tickets to board the boat. So don't throw your tickets away!

thanks so much.