We are staying at Hotel Jezero for one night in mid September and want to see the lakes on the afternoon of the first day and early morning the second day. Does anyone have advice for the best way to do this? The hotel is near Entrance 2 so it seems natural to do the upper lakes on the first day in the late afternoon (4pm), then park at the lower lakes and do the lower lakes first thing in the morning the next day. I have read that a two day ticket requires entrance at the same location both days, and I would definitely prefer seeing the lower lakes from entrance 1 (better views). We are active and don't mind a lot of walking, hills, stairs--we just want to miss the crowds as much as possible and be efficient with our time while still seeing the highlights that Rick outlines in his book.
Posted by
Zagreb
26 posts
It does not make any difference which entrance you go in, you can easily walk to entrance 1.
I am not sure what highlights are in the book but the park has several programmes for visitors.
https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/plan-your-visit/istrazite-jezera/activities/lake-tour-programmes/
On your first day I would do program E and on your second, program F. For program F you can easily walk up to entrance 1, just do not leave the park! And do not drive to entrance 1, there is absolutely no need if you are staying at Hotel Jezero.
You could also do program F. F can also be reversed and is program B, I think there would be fewer people on the boat in that direction though from experience but I cannot guarantee that.
On your second day wake up and see the park as it opens, that is the advantage to staying in the park to avoid most of the crowds.
Depending on your itinerary you could also do program C or H on your second day in the park and skip afternoon entrance on day one, there's no real need to enter the park both days, but if you have the booking at Hotel Jezero I would only recommend this if you want to stay longer wherever you are day prior.
Also since you will be in the park awhile note there is a new viewpoint near upper lakes, link is only in Croatian but the map will tell you how to get there: https://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/vidikovac-tomicevo-pogledalo/
Posted by
1221 posts
Since you have a car, it probably doesn’t matter a ton. You can be at either entrance when they open. I did the reverse from Jezero and hiked the upper lakes in the morning. I was literally the only person on the trail. As long as you’re early birds, I think you’ll get the same experience. One drawback to seeing the lower lakes late in the day was that the electric boat across the lake stopped running kind of early. I was hoping to ride it back, instead I had to hike back up to the entrance to catch the shuttle trolley.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
12 posts
Thank you both so much for your responses, very helpful information. I will definitely study up on the boat and shuttle schedules and check out the new viewpoint! Do either of you know if it's true that I'll need to enter the park from the same entrance both days? I could not find anything about this on the website. Ivan, do you know how long it takes to walk from Entrance 2 to Entrance 1 while inside the park? The idea is to get to Entrance 1 right as the park opens and see the views from that direction, so if it takes a long time to walk that would defeat the purpose.
Posted by
Zagreb
26 posts
I do not see anything saying a two day ticket needs to be used at the same entrance.
It is about just over 1km walk from the hotel to Entrance 1, it's a nice walk, I've done it before.
Posted by
1221 posts
No, honestly they were very laissez-faire about the tickets at the entrances. They definitely didn’t care about my timed entry, though that may be a different story if the park is slammed.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
12 posts
Great to know! Thank you both so much!