Croatia is full of incredible places for a family vacation, but visiting Plitvice Lakes with kids was one of the experiences we were most excited about. Plitvice Lakes National Park is famous for its turquoise lakes, waterfalls and wooden boardwalks, with walking routes winding through 12 Upper Lakes and four Lower Lakes. It is a beautiful place to explore as a family, but there are a few things parents should know before they arrive.
We visited Plitvice Lakes National Park with our kids as part of our family trip through Croatia, and our first afternoon was more challenging than we expected. The narrow boardwalks can become very crowded, strollers are not a great option for many of the walking routes, and exploring the park with young children takes more time than you might think.
Thankfully, our second day was a completely different experience. We started early, adjusted our route based on what we had learned the day before and spent much of the day enjoying quieter trails around Kozjak Lake, along with some of the most beautiful Plitvice Lakes waterfalls.
Plitvice Lakes is well worth the effort with kids, especially if you plan your route, understand how the timed entry system works and know what to expect from the boardwalks and walking trails. In this post, we share the practical tips that made our visit easier, including stroller advice, crowd strategies, walking routes, where to stay and how to make the most of Plitvice Lakes with children.
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We loved hiking in Plitvice Lakes with our kids, so it naturally made our list of the best family hiking vacations we recommend to other active families.
15 Tips for Visiting Plitvice Lakes with Kids
1. Skip the Stroller at Plitvice Lakes
If you are visiting Plitvice Lakes with a baby or a toddler, we recommend you bring a baby carrier. Sure, you can visit Plitvice Lakes with a stroller, but in our experience, it will not be enjoyable.
There are stairs everywhere and most of the Plitvice Lakes walking paths are on uneven wooden boards. The paths can also be crowded and narrow, making a stroller difficult to manoeuvre. If your little one is too small to walk for your whole visit, we recommend you bring a baby or toddler carrier to Plitvice Lakes.
For our visit to Plitvice Lakes with our kids, we used a Lillebaby CarryOn Toddler carrier for our 4 year old and the Onya Baby Nexstep for our two year old.
If you are going to visit Plitvice Lakes with a stroller, make sure your stroller is a lightweight one for travel. You can find the best lightweight travel strollers on our Baby Can Travel site.
2. Keep Young Kids Close on the Boardwalks
There are very few handrails on the Plitvice Lakes boardwalks and even those are built for adults. The boardwalks can get extremely crowded, and some visitors move quickly through the narrow spaces or stop suddenly to take photos.
Let’s just say common courtesy isn’t always afforded to others… With so many people moving along the narrow boardwalks, it’s important to keep young kids close, especially in the busiest areas.
We strongly recommend putting your small kids in a carrier near the Plitvice Lakes waterfall sections, as you’ll have a much more enjoyable time. We let our kids walk the waterfall loop near Entrance 2, but we spent so much time watching them that it took away from our enjoyment of this beautiful part of Plitvice Lakes.
3. Plan Your Plitvice Lakes Walking Route in Advance
In our experience at Plitvice Lakes, the areas around the major waterfalls were far more crowded than many of the other walking trails. When planning your visit to Plitvice Lakes with kids, check the map for the major waterfall areas. Brace yourself for some insanity at these spots. The small loop near the P2 boat dock and near the Great Waterfall (Veliki Slap) near Entrance 1 are two of the busiest areas.
If you arrive early at Plitvice Lakes with kids (see #6 below), try to visit the most popular waterfalls first to help avoid the crowds.
For more practical advice, read our guide to hiking with kids and see the hiking gear for kids we recommend for family adventures.
4. Be Flexible with Boats and Park Transportation
If the line to take the boat back from P2 to P1 is huge, you can walk back to Entrance 2 on the same road the Plitvice Lakes scenic train takes. It takes about 30-40 minutes to walk, but that will likely equal your time waiting for the boat. Plus you and your kids get the benefit of some bonus exercise and scenery.
5. Consider a Two-Day Plitvice Lakes Ticket
On our first afternoon at Plitvice Lakes with kids we started at Entrance 2 hoping it would be less busy, but instead we were greeted with a very long line for the boat.
Once we were on the Plitvice Lakes walking routes, the tour groups were quite pushy, trying to see as much as possible before making it back to the tour bus. Many people pushed past us on the walkways with little regard for our two small kids.
Despite these challenges, we managed to cover the whole section around the Plitvice Upper Lakes in our first afternoon. It wasn’t always easy, but we enjoyed the quieter moments we found between tour groups.
If you are visiting Plitvice Lakes with kids, then you will need extra time. For us, visiting Plitvice Lakes with a toddler and a preschooler meant taking it a little slower. We recommend at least one full day at Plitvice Lakes but preferably 1.5 to 2 days.
If you are visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park for multiple days, you can buy a 2-day ticket at a discounted price vs. 2 single day tickets.
6. Book an Early Entry Time for Plitvice Lakes
When visiting popular attractions around the world, we always try to get an early start to avoid the biggest crowds. That strategy worked especially well for us at Plitvice Lakes.
After a challenging first afternoon, we were excited to have a full second day at Plitvice Lakes with our kids. We were staying close enough to walk to Entrance 2, and we arrived in time to start exploring as soon as the park opened.
Today, you’ll need to plan this a little differently. When you buy your Plitvice Lakes tickets online, you select both your entrance and an entry time, and your ticket must be validated during that time period. If you want the same advantage we enjoyed, we recommend booking one of the earliest entry times available. The park also recommends buying tickets online in advance, as walk-up tickets are only available if that time period has not sold out.
With an early start on our second morning, we headed straight toward what we expected would be one of the busiest parts of the Plitvice Lower Lakes. For the first 40 minutes, we had the trail almost entirely to ourselves as we walked along the shore of Kozjak Lake. The lake was incredibly peaceful first thing in the morning, and it was one of our favourite parts of our visit.
As we got closer to the Plitvice Lakes waterfalls, we started to meet the crowds arriving from Entrance 1. After what we had learned the previous afternoon, we put our toddler and preschooler into their carriers before reaching the busy boardwalks. This made that part of our visit much more enjoyable.
After getting close to Veliki Slap, the Great Waterfall, we followed a higher walking trail with excellent views over the lakes, waterfalls and boardwalks below. Our kids loved this part of our hike, and once we moved away from the busiest waterfall area, we spent much of the rest of our day on quieter trails around Kozjak Lake.
For us, that second day was a completely different experience from our first afternoon. Booking an early entry time gives families a better chance to enjoy some of the most popular areas before they become busy, while also giving you a full day to explore at a comfortable pace with kids.
Staying overnight near Plitvice Lakes makes an early start much easier. Instead of facing a very early day trip from Zagreb or Split, you can be close to the park and ready to begin your visit when your entry time starts.
7. Be Prepared for Crowds
We’ve all seen the amazing pictures of Plitvice Lakes waterfalls, and this place is truly as beautiful as you dream it will be. But what the pictures don’t prepare you for are the crowds. We visited in late April, outside the busiest summer period, and the waterfall areas were already extremely crowded.
8. Explore the Quieter Plitvice Lakes Walking Trails
Some of our favourite moments hiking in Plitvice Lakes with kids were walking along the nearly deserted walking paths which don’t have any waterfalls on them.
Many of these paths are beautiful in their own right, either following the lakeshore or climbing higher for views over the waterfalls below. Yet, incredibly, many of these Plitvice Lakes walking paths are largely ignored! If you need a break from the crowds, seek these beauties out. We loved them!
Three of our favourites quieter walking trails in Plitvice Lakes are:
- A lakeside stroll, walking north on the east side of Kozjak Lake at Entrance 2. It is especially beautiful at opening with the reflection of trees, mountains and clouds in the still, glass-like water.
- The upper trail heading south from Entrance 1. There are several lookout points along this trail of the Plitvice Lakes waterfalls and boardwalks below that are especially good.
- The lakeside hike on the west side of Kozjak Lake. This is a real hike on a real hiking trail, so be sure to wear proper footwear. We had to take off our shoes and wade through the water in spots, or hop from log-to-log to avoid big mud puddles, but most of the hiking trail was in really good shape. The seclusion and the scenery are what make this Plitvice Lakes hiking trail special.
9. Watch and Listen for Wildlife
You can see fish everywhere in the water and ducks are plentiful, but keep your eyes and ears open for frogs, especially around the reeds, along with water snakes and large snails.
10. Visiting Plitvice Lakes with a Dog
You can bring your family dog along to the national park as long as it remains on leash at all times. We were surprised at how many people were at Plitvice Lakes with their dogs.
11. Allow Enough Time for the Plitvice Lakes Walking Routes
The official Plitvice Lakes webpage offers many lake tour programs (walking trails). At first, I didn’t believe the suggested duration for each Plitvice Lakes walking route because I knew I could walk much faster than the posted times, even with kids.
But their suggested walking times were pretty accurate as they take into account the crowded walking trails and the fact you’ll be taking tons of pictures.
12. Avoid Following the Biggest Crowds
When you walk with the main direction of traffic on the Plitvice Lakes walking paths, chances are you’ll get stuck behind a large group. Once this happens it’s nearly impossible to break free and find spots to take pictures without anyone in them.
When you walk against the flow of traffic, it’s much easier to find gaps in the crowds and take photos without people in the background.
13. Know Where the Toilets Are
There are very few toilets within the Plitvice Lakes National Park and there is rushing water everywhere; a bad combination if you just finished a Starbucks Venti latte. Don’t think you can just duck into the trees either, as the Plitvice Lakes walking paths are really busy and the slopes are steep, making it tough to find a spot to go.
14. Pack Out Your Garbage
There are surprisingly few garbage bins within the park. Plitvice Lakes is a special place and is surprisingly clean and litter free considering how many people visit there. Bring your own garbage bags to cart out any garbage you generate during your visit.
15. Bring Plenty of Water and Snacks
There are some restaurants in the park, but it’s best to have plenty of your own water and snacks with you, especially when visiting Plitvice Lakes with kids. Our kids run on snacks when we are on family hikes!
How to Get to Plitvice Lakes with Kids
Getting from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes
After a day in Zagreb with kids, we took a bus to Plitvice Lakes National Park. It was a 2-hour bus ride from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes that was simple to do with our two small kids.
If you’d prefer not to take a bus to Plitvice Lakes with kids, you can always arrange a private tour to Plitvice Lakes or take a full-day group tour from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes.
Getting from Split to Plitvice Lakes
Your choices to visit Plitvice Lakes from Split are pretty similar. The cheapest way to get to Plitvice Lakes from Split is by bus, but a more convenient way would be to take a group tour or private tour.
Where to Stay in Plitvice Lakes with Kids
As mentioned in our Plitvice Lakes tips above, staying overnight at Plitvice Lakes allowed us to arrive at the national park right at opening time. Staying overnight at Plitvice Lakes will enable you to get ahead of the crowds in the morning and will maximize your enjoyment of Plitvice Lakes with your kids.
Families trying to find a place to stay at Plitvice Lakes with kids can choose from a reasonably small selection of nearby hotels, guesthouses and vacation rentals.
We stayed at a Plitvice Lakes vacation rental in the small village of Mukinje, just a few kilometres south of Plitvice Parks Entrance 2. In the morning, we enjoyed a beautiful walk through the forest from our Plitvice vacation rental to Entrance 2, arriving around 15 minutes before the national park opened.
When traveling with kids, we have a strong preference for staying in a vacation home rental. We find that the kids sleep better when they have their own bedrooms, and it’s nice to have laundry facilities to wash our clothes. Find a great place for your family with these 7 tips to find a kid-friendly Airbnb.
If you’d prefer to stay at a kid-friendly Plitvice Lakes hotel, we personally use and recommend Booking as we find their Top Picks for Families suggestions make it super easy to find a great place to stay.
Follow Along on our Croatia Family Holiday
After our really fun day in Zagreb with kids, we hopped on a bus from Zagreb to Plitvice Lakes National Park. We were super-excited to see Plitvice Lakes with our kids as it was one of our bucket list items.
After a couple of days in Plitvice Lakes, we headed to the Dalmatian Coast, beginning with a stay in Split with kids. From there, we worked out way south with stops in Hvar with kids, Korčula with kids before ending with an amazing stay in Dubrovnik with kids.
Read more about our European family vacation with stops in the Czech Republic with kids, Budapest with kids, Croatia with kids and a final stop in Iceland with kids.
Our Travel Journal for Kids
Based on our family travels, our kids helped us design this Travel Journal for Active Kids! This engaging travel journal encourages kids to document their adventures, spark creativity, and stay entertained on the go – grab yours now on Amazon!
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