Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
Lake park:
Obviously, we had to go see the national lake park. The day we planned to go was pouring down rain with lightning and thunder right overhead. My mom was not exactly happy that I still wanted to go walk over large bodies of water. After some convincing and the purchase of expensive ponchos we were off. Opting not to hike to the top because there was no point in getting soggy wet before seeing anything. So we took the shuttle bus up with about four other tourists. Mom had her pouty face on as we started walking through the dripping wet forest until we got to the first walkway.
Unbelievably beautiful and because all the smart people chose to stay home safe we were the only ones there. The rain stopped about halfway through the first walkway. At the second set of lakes the sun came out, it felt like a scene from a movie. A perfect day and no one was there. Normal it is so packed you can bearly move on the wooden planks. Around noon people started to show up but we were almost done taking in the beautiful views by this time. And because I am such a good daughter… I gloated all the way home about knowing the weather forecast so well.
river rafting:
From the hostel (or where ever you stay), you can book a day trip to go down the canyons close to the lake park. If you have enough people signed up for that day they will pick up for free. The location is about 45 minutes away from the hostel to the hut where you will wetsuit up. After on to the water! We carried our boats down to the river with our guide who had just missed the chance to be on the Croatian Olympic kayaking team by one place. He kept it very interesting because he was able to push our boats around to get into the best position to go down the rapids.
Along the river, there were waterfalls to jump off, rock sides to go down in your boat and deep canyons where the water only sees the light for one hour a day. It was such a fun trip! We stopped for lunch halfway down in a lovely place where there was a series of small waterfalls that we had just maneuvered down. Only one other rafting group on the river and they passed us briefly when we were having our lunch. Our group was fairly small, so we were able to go the pace we wanted to go and take our time swimming around the river in different locations. (If you don’t want to jump off waterfalls, there are other ways to get down)
Where to stay:
Located in the nearest town called Korenica about a 15-minute drive from the entrance to the national park. There is one bus stop in the town that will put you 15-minutes away from the national park. I would highly recommend staying in Falling Lakes hostel. It is a very friendly environment with cheap “family” dinners every night. Shuttle buses run a couple times a day to take you to the park entrance.
When to go:
It is much better to go to the lakes in the offseason. Even if the weather isn't as nice, you will see a lot more without crowds of people moving around you.
How to get there:
Buses are the best transportation here unless you rented a car. A quick bus ride from pretty much anywhere will get you to the park itself within a couple of hours or you can be dropped off in one of the small surrounding cities.
Where to eat:
Get a kilo of pork to share with several people because it is fab and a fairly strange experience if you haven’t done so before. There are restaurants all along the main road from the park entrance back to the hostel all within walking distance.
