Grad Trip Day 15: Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

DAY 15: 2 JUNE 2014

This was the day that I officially graduated with honours!
Thanks to the free wifi in our room, I got to check my exam results online.

So today we only had one thing in mind - Plitvice lakes.
Plitvice lakes is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest in Croatia.
It is a must-see when you are in Croatia!

We left our lodge at 9am and our hosts kindly dropped us off at Entrance 2.
We went straight to the ticket office to purchase our entrance tickets which includes
a panoramic train and electric boat ride.
As usual, we managed to get student tickets (80 kunas) which definitely brought
huge savings for us.
We did not purchase a map because a map was printed at the back of the ticket.
For those who find the map too small, you can actually purchase a bigger map in the shop.

As we brought our baggage along, we moved on to look for luggage lockers.
The counter for luggage lockers was actually the small hut opposite the ticketing office.
The lockers were actually free of charge to our surprise!
However, it is best to deposit your luggage early due to the limited number and sizes of the lockers.
We arrived at around 9.30am and we took one of the last big-sized lockers available.
When you return to collect your luggage, all you have to do is to return the key to the
staff at the hut.

Waterfalls in Plitvice lakes

There were many routes to take depending on the time you have in the park.

Michelle and I decided on route H which will take roughly 4 to 6 hours to complete.

Route H

After a short walk from the main entrance, we boarded the panoramic train that will bring

us to the start of the hiking trail.

Panoramic train to the starting point

The ride was longer than I expected, but the scenery was really pretty.
Once we have alighted, we were greeted by the never-ending boardwalks along the upper lakes, which eventually led to the ferry dock.

Michelle all set for the hike

Clear blue waters

During our visit, the water level was rather high at one section of the boardwalk,

so much so that the boardwalk was partially submerged.

Our shoes were slightly wet because we had to cross that section.

It will definitely be worse during rainy seasons!

Ferry ride across Lake Kozjak

We finally arrived at the ferry dock after some time.

Please note that each ticket is only entitled one ferry ride, and the staff will 

request for your ticket and stamp it before boarding.

Lake Kozjak

A huge rest and dining area was spotted right after alighting from the ferry.

As it was lunchtime, Michelle and I settled down at one of the benches and had

a quick meal there.

There were a few food options available, including sandwiches and hotdogs.

For those who need to do some gift shopping, a souvenir shop is located beside the dining area.

Right after lunch, we continued to our hike, this time along the lower lakes.

Along the way, we met tons of Croatian kids who were on a field trip.

I was really envious of these kids because the field trips in my schools weren't as

awesome as theirs.

Plitvice lakes is such a great place to learn geography!

The kids were really friendly too, high-fiving me along the way and saying hello to

me in whichever Asian language they know haha.

I wasn't offended at all because they were really enthusiastic in getting our attention,

and they were just being kids.

The teacher in me.

We managed to see the famous clusters of waterfall (the first photo) and the largest

waterfall in the park, also known as the Veliki Slap.

The Veliki Slap towers 78 metres and is a must-see when you are at Plitvice lakes.

This waterfall is a beauty and we just couldn't stop snapping photos of it.

Veliki Slap

If you have the time, there was a side route that allows you to climb to higher

grounds and get a top-down view of the waterfall.

As we spent some time exploring a cave, we didn't have time for the climb and

thus, we skipped it.

Waterfalls in Plitvice lakes

We continued our trail which led to the panoramic train stop.

We took the train back to the same stop at Entrance 2, and proceeded to take a

short walk back to the place where we left our luggage.

Our entire hike took 6 hours since we really took our time to enjoy and take as

many photos as possible.

There is a souvenir shop located next to the luggage lockers and we went for

some postcard shopping before leaving the park.

Thereafter, we headed off to the bus stop to take a bus to Zagreb, our transit

city before leaving for Budapest the next day.

As I was afraid that the tickets might sell out and leave us stranded in the park,

I booked our bus tickets online for S$20 under Croatia bus company.

The bus timetable can be found here.

Anyway, I was wrong.

You can still be rejected as long as the bus is full.

As most of the tourists at the bus stop did a day trip from Zagreb, they didn't have

any baggage with them.

When the bus finally arrived, Michelle immediately ran up the bus to reserve seats

while I settled the baggage fees and tags with the bus driver.

For croatia bus, the baggage fee was 8 kunas per piece.

Thanks to Michelle, we managed to get a seat, and off we go to Zagreb!

After a 2 hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Zagreb.

Our accomodation for the night was My Way Hostel Zagreb, one of the best hostels

I have ever stayed.

There was free wifi, hot water and even a luggage locker (big enough to fit a 24" luggage)

right beneath your bed.

Not only that, the price was really cheap too!

We grabbed dinner and strawberries back to the hostel as we had to settle some

urgent matters with our host in Budapest.

We were too tired to eat out too.

 With that, we have come to the end of our adventures in Croatia.

It took pains to get to Croatia, and I am glad that the two of us pulled through

even with our hectic honours year school schedule.

I would definitely recommend you to visit Croatia before it gets even more popular!