Travel from Ljubljana to Split

Posted by williamson.gehrig on 01/24/24 08:44 PM

Anyone have suggestions on traveling from Ljubljana to Split with a stop to see Plitvice Lakes? There are options for private hire from Zagreb to Split with a stop and tour of the Plitvice Lakes on Viator, but trying to figure out if I could take the early train from Ljubljana to catch one of those tours? Or would it make more sense to just rent a car in Ljubljana and drive?

Would love to have an extra day, but trying to figure out whether I can make the stop at Plitvice on the day we would travel from Ljubljana to Split.

Posted by TravelBug79

Indiana

01/25/24 12:57 AM

923 posts

For a private transfer, check My Day Trip to see if they would make a stop at Plitvice along the way. If you rent a car in one country, and drop it off in another there is usually a significant extra fee. Check with the car rental agencies and decide if that is within your budget. Train from LJU to Zagreb and then joining a tour the same day would not be my first choice. Is it feasible to spend a night in Zagreb and then leave early the next morning for Plitvice? Or train to Zagreb one afternoon, immediately rent the car and then spend the night near Plitvice so that you can be at the park when it opens?

Posted by awrzesinski

01/27/24 04:03 PM

1038 posts

I don’t see how you do this en route without stopping. It’s almost a four hour straight drive from Ljubljana to Plitvice with another hour plus to get to Split. With only a few hours at the park, you’ll only see half of it. That’s just a rough day, even with someone else driving.

It sounds like you can find a night in your itinerary here and are just reluctant to, but I think you should. Plitvice is absolutely worth the effort and the investment of an overnight stay. Unless you think you’ll travel this area again, I’d use this opportunity.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

02/01/24 07:20 PM

28065 posts

A midday trip to Plitvice will yield a severely degraded experience. The park gets totally swamped with daytrippers. You really, really need to spend a night in or near the park. A mid-afternoon arrival would allow you to see part of the park as other visitors are leaving and then the rest of the park early the next morning before a new set of daytrippers arrives. Please believe me on this. I arrived at 10 AM in 2015, and the park was packed. There are surely more people going there now--so much so that the park now sells tickets in advance and warns that if you don't have a ticket in your hand when you arrive, you are not guaranteed entry. I don't know whether anyone has ever been unable to go inside, but I stood in the ticket line for one hour, nine years ago.

It is said (I haven't confirmed) the hotels inside the park will endorse your one-day entry ticket so you can go back to the park the morning after your hotel stay. Those hotels are described as mediocre and somewhat overpriced, as one might expect.