merriweather_max

Hi all! Would love any advice on where to stay.

We will be arriving late afternoon, staying one night, and spending the next full day exploring the parks. I'm intrigued by the local accommodations that are plentiful...staying at a hosted "home" where you have the option to purchase meals prepared by the hosts. We like opportunities to get to know locals and eat local food and meet fellow travelers, so this is appealing. Some of these little villas appear to be situated near entrance 1, 2, or 3 to the park. Any hints on where, location-wise, is best? And if you have any specific recommendations on villas, I'd be most appreciative.

Thanks in advance!

Andrew

Assuming you have a car, it probably doesn't matter how close you stay to the park, because you'll be driving your car to one of the park entrances anyway unless your host will drive you there. (Or you are close enough to hike in to it.) Closer to the park means a shorter drive. So I'd choose based on what the place has to offer. I assume they are all well reviewed on Trip Advisor.

I did the budget version of this last week; I didn't have any sort of meal at my soba (private room - basically a cheap B&B), just stayed the night, checked out the next morning, and parked for the day at one of the park entrances. (I don't think a meal was offered, so I can't recommend this place to you.) Like me, you'll probably stay in the park-adjacent town of Jezerce. There was even an option to hike about 20 minutes into the park from there but I chose to drive to be a little closer.

merriweather_max

Thanks for your thoughts, Andrew. Very helpful!

Another question for the community is about avoiding crowds. We'll be there during the summer and I'm curious about any strategies (using specific entrances, going at certain times of day, planning certain routes) that may help us to avoid some of the congestion. Thank you again to everyone!

Andrew

Your basic strategies are: go early or go late. I say go early. The park opens at 7:00 (the boats that make the long crossing between upper and lower lakes don't start running until 8:00). Last week (not summer yet but still fairly busy) I parked at entrance #2 at 7:30, and I was the first car there. I hiked down past the park hotels to the water and then had to wait 10 minutes for the boat to take me the short distance across to the start of the upper lakes hike - because I was the only person on the boat, and they didn't want to take just one person, but eventually they did take me. I hiked the upper lakes for a while without seeing almost anyone, but within about an hour I started seeing tour groups even that early. They got worse later.

I think the park recommends you start at the lower lakes in the morning and hike to the upper lakes. But I thought the scenery at the upper lakes a little better myself; you hike really close to some of the waterfalls, and I liked not having the congestion there.

Some say you can try to arrive after the groups and kind of shadow them. Or, just go later in the day after they've mostly moved on. But the park can get hot so by afternoon - better to hike when it's cooler, in summer. I prefer the morning.

Andrew

ttt

merriweather_max

Thank you!!! Very helpful!!

Andrew

I was hoping someone would be able to recommend a place for you to stay. The place I stayed was fine but doesn't quite meet your criteria (e.g. they don't feed you).

merriweather_max

no biggie - thanks!

Malvacya

To get practical advice it is necessary to know your mode of transport.

jessicamartin

If you stay in one of the hotels within the park (i.e.: Hotel Bellevue or Hotel Plitvice), your second day entry to the park is covered by your overnight stay. Just have the hotel validate your ticket. These hotels are literally at the gateway to the park. I had read a few negative reviews for Hotel Bellevue on Trip Advisor and decided against staying there. In retrospect, I was there for the park and not the hotel – so what if the rooms were a little dated and tired, reminiscent of Yugo days – you can stumble out of bed and wander into the park, it is that close!

Andrew

I've been to Plitvice twice now and done it both ways: once staying at a park hotel, once staying at a soba (B&B) nearby. Both ways have merits. I too, Jessica, have recommended the park hotel for the reasons you mention, and I still would in many cases. But the park hotels are overpriced for what you get. And although they may feed you, don't expect a great meal. There are very few food options right in town. (There's a pizza place in town at the place that rents ski equipment. I didn't see much else.)

On my recent trip, I decided to visit Plitvice again only at the last minute, and by then the cost of a room at any park hotel was about 2X or even 3X what it cost me to book a cheap soba nearby. I was only going to visit the park on one day, so the stamp-the-ticket-multiple-days thing didn't help me this time (I did that last time though). I simply paid to park at entrance #2 (across the street from the park hotels) for nine hours - 7 kuna per hour or 70 kuna for the day I think (so about $1 USD per hour as of now). That was still way cheaper than staying at a park hotel (where parking would have been free).

But if you book a park hotel in advance, and you might have opportunity to visit the park parts of two days, staying at a park hotel at Plitvice can make a lot of sense.

fally

We stayed at Villa Lika a few miles from the park. They offer breakfast and lunch which was convenient as there aren't a lot of restaurants around. It's small, simple, and very clean. The young people who run the place are wonderful. They couldn't have been more friendly or helpful.