23-05-18

Plitvice Lakes National Park / 3 nights

I’m going to start off this blog post by saying you must make time in your life to go and visit Plitvice! This has by far been one of my favourite stops on this journey and has made me realise how little of a city girl I am.

Our stop to Plitvice was very much needed as a break from so many cities. All of our stops beforehand have all been cities so to get out of this environment and feel like we have more breathing space has been much appreciated.

Firstly I have to recommend to you our accommodation. If there is anything I persuade you to do whilst reading this post it’s to stay at Pansion Breza. Found on booking.com it is a bed and breakfast which can only be described as and I quote from Natasha, the host, ‘this is not a hotel, it is a Home’ and she couldn’t be more spot on! Natasha and her family live on the plot of land which a home for her and another large home where all the guests stay. Equipped with a private ensuite double room for every guest and only a 15 minute walk to the heart of the park it is winner in our eyes.

When planning our Interrail trip and securing our destinations it was important for me to visit places you would not associate with Europe and maybe not even believe exist. I think a lot of people think that in order to see beautiful nature spots and jaw dropping locations you have to travel outside of Europe but Plitvice really denies all those odds.

The park is spilt between the upper lakes and the lower lakes. The upper lakes is the larger of two however the lower lakes consists of the larger and more famous waterfalls. I would recommend going to Plitvice for three nights so that I allows you to have two full days for exploring. One day for the upper and the second day for the lower lakes.

Staying at Pansion Breza, our host went and purchased our park tickets for us for the two days which we just repaid at checkout. This was much easier for us as it meant we could go in any entrance of the park and not the main entrance where the ticket office is located. A ticket for one person for two days works out as €33. A brilliant, low-cost, backpackers price.

To reach the upper lakes it requires a short boat ride from P3 to P2 (see map above). From here you can then walk the whole trial of the upper lakes from waterfalls and lakes to up on the cliff sides and the clearest shade of blue I ever did see.

Side note: I would highly recommend getting to the park at its opening hour of 9am. This avoids huge crowds to which we later discovered when we returned back to the main hub of the park. The walkways through the lakes are very small so it’s no fun when it’s congested.

This whole walk of the upper lakes and circling back round to P2 took us 3/4 hours hence why you’d like to have a whole day for this longer route. If you’re in a rush you can catch a train from St3 back down to the main park rather than walking back down like we did. By no means am I saying you have to follow this itinerary but it worked perfectly for us.

Our second day was then occupied by the walk along the lower lakes. It is said to be the prettiest route of the part and as a result is also the busiest. Many people try to stop and take photos in front of waterfalls where the walkways are at their narrowest. This creates queues and a lot of crowding making the walk less enjoyable. The reason I loved the upper lakes so much was because you really did just walk on your own. You could walk the pathway without bumping into another soul. It was then that I realised we were in the middle of nowhere and the only people around. This feeling was much greater and so much more fulfilling than being swamped in the city along with so many others.

In conclusion: if you fancy a weekend break which is a little different to any other you’ve been on. Travel to Plitvice and enjoy how much greater nature is than any man-made objects.

Peace and love,

Yasmin x