Plitvice Lakes tours: tickets, routes and which day trip to book

The park sells one thing and the day trips sell another, and most of the confusion starts there. At Plitvička jezera the adult ticket is 30 to 60 EUR from 1 June to 30 September and under 30 EUR in April, May, October and winter, and it is tied to a time slot. The 57 Plitvice Lakes tours we track from Split, Zagreb and Zadar run from under 60 to more than 1,000 EUR with a median in the 120 to 250 EUR band, and the cheapest group trips often leave that ticket out, so a day under 60 EUR and a day in the 60 to 120 EUR band can be the same day. This page explains how the park works: how the lakes formed, what the two entrances and the boat change, which rules are enforced and which months help. The three pages linked in the middle take over by departure city.

Plitvice is one of two big waterfall parks in Croatia. The Croatia page sets it beside Krka and the smaller falls, and this page stays with Plitvice: it is inland, hours from any beach, and it does not allow swimming. If you already know your departure city, jump to the table that compares the three, or to the card for your city. If you are still deciding whether to go at all, read the sections on tickets and winter first, because those two decide most of what a day costs and what it lets you see.