Plitvice Lakes day trip from Zadar: 17 tours from under 60 EUR
Six listings sit in the 30 to 60 EUR band and four say tickets in the title, but the entrance is extra and paid in cash.
Six Zadar listings sell a Plitvice Lakes day in the 30 to 60 EUR band, and four of them have "tickets" in the title. We opened five of the six. In four the body says the park entrance is not included and is paid in cash on the day, at a gate fee that is highest for an adult in summer. The fifth includes it only if you pick the option with entrance. A title that says tickets reserved means the operator booked your slot, not that you paid for it. With the ticket added, the cheapest trips from Zadar move up into the 60 to 120 EUR band, in spring and autumn as well as in summer. This page goes through the 17 listings, the morning and afternoon departures, the cash you carry and the private days that really are all-inclusive.
Read the table of totals before you compare any two prices, and the morning against the afternoon timetable before you pick a departure. Zadar is also the base for Krka, which is a separate day. The park's rules and ticket seasons are on the Plitvice Lakes page, and the other departures are Split and Zagreb.
Plitvice Lakes from Zadar with Pre-Booked Gate 1 Tickets, Boat, Train and Free Time
Up to six hours in the park with a map, a suggested route, boat and train included, and Gate 1 tickets arranged for every guest. Park fees are paid in cash.
Plitvice Lakes Full-Day Tour from Zadar or Cruise Port with Lunch Package
Pickup at the Zadar cruise port or at a hotel, a guide, an air-conditioned vehicle and a lunch package. The park ticket is paid in cash on the day itself.
Plitvice Lakes Group Day Tour from Zadar with Jadera Booking Agency, Bus for up to 50
A Jadera Booking Agency bus for up to 50 guests, with reserved group tickets and a suggested route of about 4 hours. Park entry is paid in cash on the day.
Plitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour from Zadar with Boat, Train and Old Town Walk
Boat across Kozjak Lake, a forest train ride and Veliki Slap, then an included Old Town walk in Zadar. Entry ticket and pickup depend on the option chosen.
Plitvice Lakes Morning or Afternoon Tour from Zadar with Panoramic Boat Ride
Morning or afternoon departures from Jadera Booking Agency in central Zadar, a two-hour drive and about four hours on the route. Entry is paid in cash.
Plitvice Lakes National Park Day Tour from Zadar, Petrcane and Zaton Pickups
Driver-guide trip to Veliki Slap with pickups in Zaton, Petrcane, Punta Skala and Zadar. Entry tickets, food and tips are not included and are paid on the day.
Plitvice Lakes Private Cruise Shore Excursion from Zadar Port, Flexible Pace
A licensed English-speaking driver-guide meets cruise guests at Zadar Port, and the group is back well before sailing. Park tickets and food are extra.
Plitvice Lakes Private Day Tour from Zadar for 1 to 4 Guests, Admission Included
A private vehicle with soda and snacks, pickup at a hotel, apartment or the harbor, and park admission already paid for one to four guests. Meals are extra.
Plitvice Lakes Private Day Trip from Zadar with Entrance Ticket and Nova Travel
Hotel pickup in Zadar, a Nova Travel driver-guide, park entrance included, and an electric boat on Kozjak Lake plus a panoramic train. Lunch is not included.
Plitvice Lakes Private Full-Day Tour from Zadar Hotel or Cruise Port with Lunch
Pickup at the Zadar cruise port or hotel, a private guide, an air-conditioned vehicle and lunch included. The booking is non-refundable and park fees are extra.
Plitvice Lakes Private Full-Day Tour from Zadar with Kozjak Boat and Train
A certified guide, hotel pickup, the Kozjak Lake boat and the electric train, with the route and pace set for the group. Entrance tickets are paid separately.
Plitvice Lakes Private Guided Tour from Zadar with Hotel Pickup and Local Guide
Round-trip private transfer in an air-conditioned minivan or car, with a local guide in the park. Entrance tickets are bought in advance and are not included.
Plitvice Lakes Private Small-Group Tour from Zadar for Cruise Guests and Families
Pickup and drop-off in an air-conditioned vehicle, with the electric boat and train rides in the park included. Entry tickets are extra for this private day.
Plitvice Lakes Private Tour from Zadar with Panoramic Boat and Electric Train
Pickup and drop-off at a spot of your choice, an English-speaking guide, a panoramic boat ride and an electric train. The park entrance is not included.
Plitvice Lakes Private Tour with Licensed Driver-Guide in a Blue Van from Zadar
A licensed tourist guide drives the blue van from a pickup spot in Zadar, with WiFi on board and about 3 hours on the park trails. The ticket is booked online.
Plitvice Lakes Small-Group Day Tour from Zadar with Admission and Licensed Guide
A licensed guide, admission and private transport for up to 8 travelers. The lower lakes and Big Waterfall come first, then a boat to the Upper Lakes.
Plitvice Lakes Ten-Hour Day Trip from Zadar by Bus with Ticket Pickup by Guide
Ten hours from Zadar with about five in the park, a guide who buys the tickets for the group and luggage kept safe. Morning and afternoon departures run.
Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor
What the 30 to 60 EUR band buys on a Plitvice Lakes day trip from Zadar
A seat on an air-conditioned bus, a guide in most listings, and the road: about two hours each way, with a 20-minute supermarket stop in the middle. One listing says the park ticket covers the boat and the train, and you buy that ticket separately. Four of the five listings in the 30 to 60 EUR band we opened say the entrance is extra. Elegance Tours asks you to bring cash for the entrance and for a fuel surcharge. Its description charges a small extra for a hotel pickup, more for larger parties, while another paragraph in the same listing calls the pickup free, so ask before you pay. Zadar Adventures meets at its office or at the edge of the Old Town, and its bus keeps your luggage while you walk the park.
A title that says tickets reserved means the operator booked your slot. It does not mean you paid for it.
| Listing | Price band | Park ticket | Summer total | Spring, autumn total | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zadar In And Out, guided | 30 to 60 EUR | Included only with the entrance option | 30 to 120 EUR | 30 to 120 EUR | 1,687 |
| Zadar Adventures day trip | 30 to 60 EUR | Extra, cash | 60 to 120 EUR | 60 to 120 EUR | 345 |
| Elegance Tours, pre-booked tickets | 30 to 60 EUR | Extra, cash, plus a fuel surcharge | 60 to 120 EUR | 60 to 120 EUR | 284 |
| Jadera Transfers and Tours | 30 to 60 EUR | Extra, cash | 60 to 120 EUR | 60 to 120 EUR | 114 |
| TERRA TRAVEL, from Zadar | 30 to 60 EUR | Extra | 60 to 120 EUR | 60 to 120 EUR | 36 |
| Romeo and Juliet Excursions, small group with lunch | 120 to 250 EUR | Extra, cash | 120 to 250 EUR | 120 to 250 EUR | 76 |
The last row is the one to compare. A small group of up to 15, a pickup at your accommodation and a lunch package cost in the 120 to 250 EUR band plus the ticket, a total in the same band. The bus in the 30 to 60 EUR band comes to the 60 to 120 EUR band for the same road and the same park, minus the lunch and the small group. The gap is the price of a smaller group and a lunch.
Seasons
October and the shoulder months
The photo is the park in autumn: leaf litter on the ground and a stream running through the forest. October is in the lower-ticket season, together with April and May, and a trip in the 30 to 60 EUR band moves into the 60 to 120 EUR band once the ticket is added. The listings that print a ticket table show different October figures, depending on the operator and the year, and the park's 2026 list is the one that counts.
The trade is weather. A Zadar operator tells you to check the forecast and dress for it, and a Split one adds that the weather at the lakes can differ from the coast. Bring a layer, closed shoes and a waterproof.
Morning or afternoon departure
Most trips leave in the morning, but at least two listings, Zadar Adventures and Jadera, also run an afternoon departure. The Zadar Adventures listing prints both timetables, so the contrast is easy to read.
| Morning | Afternoon | |
|---|---|---|
| Pickup | 6:50 at the office, 7:30 bus | About 12:00 to 12:30 |
| Arrival at the park | About 10:15 | About 15:10 |
| Time in the park | 4 to 5 hours | 3.5 hours guided, 20 minutes free |
| Back in Zadar | About 18:00 | About 21:00 |
| Adult ticket quoted | 30 to 60 EUR in summer | Under 30 EUR |
The afternoon listing quotes a lower ticket, in line with the park's late-entry rate, and the operator says it avoids the morning crowd. The park's late rate starts at 4 pm in summer and 3 pm in September, so ask which one a 3:10 pm arrival pays. It also gives you 3.5 hours instead of 4 or 5 and puts you back in the evening. Ask whether the boat and the train still run at your arrival time. For a first visit we would take the morning: the paths are the product, and a morning gives you more of them.
The Zadar In And Out listing also includes a guided walk of Zadar's Old Town at 6:00 PM on any day of your stay, which is handy if you sleep in the city.
Spread
Five times apart
The seven group trips, in blue, are almost one point: five of them in the 30 to 60 EUR band for 8 to 10 hours, with two small-group trips in the 120 to 250 EUR band at 8 and 7 hours. The nine private trips, in orange, run from roughly 120 to 1,000 EUR at 6 to 8 hours, and a tenth marker in the 30 to 60 EUR band is a bus trip flagged as private by mistake.
The median of all 17 separates the cheap bus from the private day, and describes neither. A group seat and a private day at the private median are five times apart.
Private days from Zadar, and what they cover
The cheapest private day is in the 120 to 250 EUR band for one to four guests, with the entrance fee listed as included, an 8:00 pickup, arrival at 10:30 and a return to Zadar at 17:00. Read it with care. The listing says one to four guests and Viator lists it per person, so check the total for your party size at checkout. The entrance alone is a gate fee per head at summer rates, so ask what the price covers; the listing has three reviews. The other day in that band, with 10 reviews at 4.9, includes the entrance too, for a party of up to 8, but it runs six hours, which leaves about two at the lakes after the road. At the other end sit a driver and guide at 6.5 hours in the 250 to 500 EUR band, and a full day with TERRA TRAVEL in the 500 to 1,000 EUR band. Most private days here are priced per person, like the bus seats. Only three quote one price for the whole group: two days in the 250 to 500 EUR band and the full day above 500 EUR.
Cruise passengers at the Zadar port
At least four listings mention cruise guests. Three are built for them. The Romeo and Juliet small group collects at the port for 7 hours, in the 120 to 250 EUR band. A private tour for cruise guests from the Zadar port is in the 250 to 500 EUR band and takes 6 hours. A "cruise friendly" private day is in the same band for 8. A fourth, in the 120 to 250 EUR band with lunch, also collects at the port; its ticket is extra. Two hours of road each way leave a 7-hour trip about three hours at the lakes, which is short, so the listings that count are the ones that state the time at the park. Compare your ship's all-aboard time with the listing before you book, and keep the cash for the entrance.
Who runs the Zadar trips
Thirteen operators sell the 17 listings, and one of them, Zadar In And Out, holds 61% of the reviews with 1,687. Zadar Adventures follows with 356 across two listings, and Elegance Tours with 284. The weighted rating, 4.78, is the lowest of the three departure pages. Four of the six listings in the 30 to 60 EUR band score 4.5 or lower, and the one with the most reviews scores 4.9, so the cheap trips split into two groups. We cannot tell from the listings why. Nine of the 17 listings have fewer than 30 reviews, six of them a perfect 5.0.
Where Zadar trips go wrong
The first is reading "tickets" as paid. The second is arriving without cash: the entrance is paid at the gate, in euros, and one listing adds a fuel surcharge. The third is booking a 7-hour cruise listing and expecting a full park. The fourth is treating Plitvice and Krka as one day. They are two days, and Krka has its own page for the Zadar and Šibenik departures. The last is ignoring the hotel pickup fee until the morning of the trip.
Practical questions about the Zadar trip
How far is Plitvice from Zadar?
About two hours each way by road. One timetable has the bus leave at 7:30, stop for 20 minutes and arrive around 10:15. Allow the same coming back, with the return bus leaving the park near 16:00 and reaching Zadar around 18:00 on the morning departure.
Is the park ticket included in a Zadar day trip?
Usually not. Four of the five listings in the 30 to 60 EUR band we opened say the entrance is extra and paid in cash. The fifth includes it only with the entrance option. Two private listings, in the 120 to 250 EUR band, include the entrance. Always read the not included section.
How much cash should I bring?
Enough for the entrance for each traveler: a gate fee per adult that is highest in summer and lower in spring and autumn on the park's 2026 list, so check the current tariff, and less for students and children aged 7 to 18, and free under 7. One listing also asks for a fuel surcharge, and another may charge a pickup fee.
Is the afternoon trip from Zadar worth it?
It quotes a lower adult ticket, though the park's late rate starts at 3 or 4 pm, so ask which you pay. It avoids the morning crowd, but it gives about 3.5 hours at the lakes and returns near 21:00. We would take the morning for a first visit.
Can I see Plitvice and Krka from Zadar?
Yes, as two separate days. Each is about two hours by road, and neither trip leaves room for the other. Plitvice is inland, the park allows no swimming, and its tickets are sold by time slot. Krka has its own page on this site, with the Zadar and Šibenik departures read one by one.
Is there a Plitvice tour from the Zadar cruise port?
Yes. At least four listings mention cruise guests, and three are written for them: a small group in the 120 to 250 EUR band, a private tour and a private day in the 250 to 500 EUR band. Two hours of road each way eat most of a 6 or 7 hour trip, so check the time at the park against your all-aboard time before you book.
Planning more than one day from Zadar?
The Plitvice Lakes page explains the park and its ticket seasons, and the Krka page covers the second day.
Data verified on . Prices, ratings and timetables of 17 Zadar listings read on 22 October 2026. Entrance fees: the park's 2026 price list.