Plitvice Lakes

The short answer

Yes, you can do Plitvice from Split in a day, and the lakes are worth seeing — sixteen terraced lakes joined by waterfalls, walked on wooden boardwalks a few centimetres above the water. But it is roughly seven hours of travel for four or five hours of walking, and you will be tired before the best of it. If you are based in Split for a week and Plitvice is the thing you came to Croatia for, go. If you have one spare day and want waterfalls, Krka is half the travel and a better day.

The two parks compared, and how to get to the closer one, on the Krka National Park page.

By bus, on your own

The cheapest way and the tightest. FlixBus and Prijevoz Knežević both run from Split's main bus station, beside the ferry port, and stop on the main road at Entrance 1 and Entrance 2. The fastest journey is about three and a half hours; fares were roughly €21–25 one way as of October 2026. In summer the early bus leaves Split around seven and the last useful one back leaves Plitvice in the late afternoon, which gives you about five hours in the park — enough for one of the main routes with no slack. Outside June to September there are fewer buses. Check the day's times on the operators' sites before you buy anything else.

By car

Around three and a half hours each way on the A1 motorway, then the D1 north to the park — the most flexible option, and the only one that lets you arrive at opening and leave when you are done. Parking at the entrances is €2 an hour from June to September and €1.50 in spring and autumn, paid at a machine as you leave. A car also lets you stay the night nearby and walk the lakes at seven, before the tour coaches, which is the version of Plitvice the photographs are taken in.

On a tour

The least thinking: a coach collects you in Split, the ticket is usually sorted, and a guide walks you round. The cost is time — a fixed route, a group pace, and a long day on a coach. Read what the price includes before you book, because some tours leave the park ticket for you to pay on the day, and in summer that is the biggest single cost.

We do not sell tours. Day trips we do rate are on the best day trips from Split.

Tickets and timing (2026)

• January–March and November–December: €10 for an adult. In winter usually only the Lower Lakes are open; the Upper Lakes open in early April, weather permitting.

• April, May and October: €23.

• June–August: €40 until 16:00, €25 after. In September the cheaper price starts at 15:00.

• Children 7–18 pay €4–15 depending on season; under-sevens are free. The ticket includes the electric boat across the biggest lake and the panoramic train.

• Swimming is prohibited everywhere in the park. Dogs are allowed on a lead, including on the boat and the train.

The routes that fit a day trip are C from Entrance 1 (about 8 km, four to five hours) and H from Entrance 2 (about 9 km, four to six hours). Both include the boat and the train, and both cover the Upper and Lower Lakes. Wear proper shoes — the boardwalks are wet and there are no railings.

Who should skip it

Anyone with two or three days in Split. You would be giving a third of your trip to a coach. The same goes for families with small children who hate long journeys, and for anyone hoping to swim — swimming is banned throughout the park, so that is a day for the sea. If you are driving between Zagreb and the coast, stop on the way instead: Plitvice sits roughly on that road, and it turns a seven-hour round trip into a detour.

Short on days? Read how many days you need in Split before you give one to a bus.

The buses leave from the main station, next to Split's ferry port.

Spring and autumn are the cheaper, quieter months — what Split is like in autumn.

Closer and simpler: Omiš and the Cetina canyon, forty minutes down the coast.

Boat trips and tours