Travel to Plitvice Lakes National Park

Have you lookd at any guidebooks? I'm pretty sure Rick covers all the transportation options to Plitvice in his book.

Where will you be traveling from and where do you plan to go after Plitivce? You only mention not Zagreb. Some additional information will help people determine whether there are good options they can suggest.

I will be in northern Italy (Ancona) and hoping to day trip to Lake Bled area. Perhaps this would be the time to go to Plitvice Lakes National Park? After that I am going to Venice, then to Croatia via ferry I think - I've not confirmed ferry schedule/cosst. I thought the Park would be feasible on the way down to Dubrovnik from Venice? Any help appreciated. This is for mid-May. Many thanks :) Nancy

P.S. Rick Steves discusses travel to Plitvice Lakes NP from Zagreb - that's all I am seeing in the Croatia & Slovenia book. nh

Hi Nancy, Although it doesn't usually take much (haha), I'm more than a little confused by your itinerary. This is how I read it: you'll be in Ancona and would like to do a day trip from there to Lake Bled, and possibly throw Plitvice Nat'l Park in, too. Yes? If that is the case, it's just not possible, and here's why (I know you said you won't have a car, but just bear with me for a moment, just using this as illustration): driving time one way from Ancona to Lake Bled is about 6 hours. From Bled to Plitvice is another 3+ hours. As you can see, round trip is well over 18 hours and you haven't even gotten out of the imaginary car yet. So. Might I suggest we back up a little and start from the beginning with you outlaying your full itinerary as you have it right now? This way we could get the full scope and be able to hopefully work something out that makes more sense. In the meantime, a website I found useful when planning our travel to Croatia is the following: www.croatiatraveller.com

I too am a bit confused by the itinerary, but if you are traveling from Venice to Dubrovnik, one option is to catch a bus from Zadar to Plitvice. The estimate I found was ~2 hrs.

OMG - I see why you're confused. I am saying Ancona and meaning Aviano! See why I need help?!? I am starting in Aviano! I believe it is about 2+ hours from AVIAN0 to Lake Bled. The virtual tourist site was helpful. It looks like Zadar to the Park may be the way to go, but all tips still appreciated. Here is the loose itinerary to clarify: Ancona for 3 days (w/relative here so we may have a car); 2 days Venice, 5 days Croatia,
4 days Rome and fly home Thanks, Nancy

Hehe - it looks like you managed to slip Ancona back into your itinerary. Better get it out of your head lest you research things to do or transportation to/from Ancona when you mean Aviano! I'm afraid I won't be much help with public transportation, as we had rented a car for all of our travels north of Split, but I have a few suggestions: - It looks like the drive from Aviano to Bled is just under 3 hours. That would be an awfully long day trip, in my opinion, although the scenery should be gorgeous. - You list "5 days Croatia" but you don't specify where. Do you have a short list of places you are interested in? With 5 days, it'll be tough to get too far into the country if you are relying on public transportation. Taking a ferry from Venice to the Istrian Peninsula for a few days might be your best bet before getting to Zadar or Zagreb to transfer to Plitvice. I found the following website page that you may find useful (although I cannot vouch for its accuracy): http://www.visit-croatia.co.uk/plitvicelakes/getting_to_plitvice_lakes.htm - Lastly, getting back to Rome from Croatia might be a tall order, depending on where you are. Have you sussed out flights from different Croatian cities? I'd even suggest you scrap the Rome plan and stay in Croatia the extra 4 days. - If you don't scrap Rome, to maximize your time and efficiency I would seriously consider renting a car in Croatia. For instance, take a ferry from Venice to Istria (if they are running mid-May), rent a car, and then drop it off wherever you end up in Croatia. Ok, these are just a few thoughts to consider while planning. Good luck!