Plitvice Lakes 4-Hour Guided Tour with Reserved Tickets and Boat Ride

Entrance 2 of Plitvice Lakes National Park

The tour starts at Entrance 2, the southern gate of Plitvice Lakes National Park, at Josipa Jovića 12 in the village of Plitvička Jezera, where the park hotels, the main car park and the information office are. Many visitors ask which entrance to choose; Entrance 2 is the quieter one in the morning and sits close to the shore of Lake Kozjak, which is why this Plitvice Lakes tour from Entrance 2 can combine the canyon, the lakes and the boat in four hours. You meet the guide in front of the information office map, pay for the park ticket the guide has reserved, and get a short briefing on the park and the region.

Plitvice is Croatia's oldest national park, founded in 1949 and on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979, with sixteen lakes separated by travertine barriers that keep growing. The guide explains this geology at the map before the group boards the shuttle, so that what you see along the boardwalks makes sense.

The canyon rim and its viewpoints

From Entrance 2 the park's shuttle bus or panoramic train carries the group along the ridge to a stop near Entrance 1. Instead of plunging straight down, the guide first leads you along the trail above the canyon, where a series of lookouts opens over the Lower Lakes: the turquoise water far below, the boardwalks threading across it and the cliffs closing in on both sides. This is the classic postcard view of Plitvice and the main reason to take a guided walk rather than wander; the guide knows which lookout is best at which hour and where to stand for the photo.

The highest lookout frames the Great Waterfall, Veliki Slap, dropping about 78 metres from the Plitvica stream into the canyon. The rim path is easy and mostly flat, giving your legs a gentle start before the descent, and in the morning light the colours of the lakes are at their strongest.

The Lower Lakes and the waterfalls

From Entrance 1 the trail zigzags down the canyon wall to the water, and the character of the walk changes completely: now the lakes are at eye level, the boardwalks run just above the surface and the sound of falling water is everywhere. The route passes the lakes Novakovića Brod, Kaluđerovac, Gavanovac and Milanovac, each a slightly different shade of green, with trout visible in the clear water and small cascades spilling over the mossy travertine between them.

This is the core of the Plitvice guided walking tour with boat ride: around three hours of walking, exploring and photo stops on a route of four to five kilometres, taken at a relaxed pace with time to stop. The guide points out the Sastavci cascades, where the lake system and the Plitvica stream meet, and the caves in the canyon wall. The boards can be wet and there are steps, so comfortable shoes with grip are a must.

Lake Kozjak and the boat ride

The walk ends at the pier on Lake Kozjak, the largest of the sixteen lakes and the natural divide between the Lower and Upper Lakes. The park's quiet electric boat crosses the lake in about fifteen minutes, with forested slopes on both shores and the water so still that the trees reflect in it. After several hours on foot it is a welcome rest, and from the water you get a view back down the lake that the trails do not offer.

In peak season there can be a wait for the boat, which may extend the tour slightly; the guide uses the time to answer questions. The boat lands on the Entrance 2 side of the lake, which brings the circuit neatly back to where you started. The ride is included in the tour, as is the shuttle at the beginning, so the only thing you pay on the day is the park ticket itself.

After the tour: the Upper Lakes on your own

Your park ticket is valid for the whole day, and the boat landing is only a short walk from the start of the Upper Lakes, so many guests continue after the guided part ends. The Upper Lakes are the gentler half of Plitvice, twelve lakes stepping down through beech forest with the Veliki Prštavac and Mali Prštavac waterfalls among them, and the boardwalks there are quieter than the canyon. Allow two to three hours for the full loop, or an hour for a shorter stroll along the nearest lakes.

If you prefer to finish, the information office, cafés and the car park at Entrance 2 are a few minutes away. Either way, the four-hour Plitvice Lakes morning tour leaves the afternoon open: for driving on to the coast or Zagreb, or for the second half of the park at your own pace.