Is Plitvice Lakes Worth Visiting in Winter?

Plitvice Lakes in the winter – was it worth the visit?

Plitvice Lakes National Park is a stunning national park featuring a collection of enchanting lakes, waterfalls and rock formations. As the most visited attraction in all of Croatia, its popularity is only gaining every year. While undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind, magnificent destination, it’s no secret that most people visit the national park in the warmer months – particularly during summer.

Stunning panoramic shot of Plitvice Lakes National Park in winter.

But how is visiting Plitvice Lakes like in the winter season? Will it be too cold? Will the waterfalls be frozen? Will it look just as pretty as it is in the summer? How bad will the crowds be?

We recently visited Plitvice Lakes on a 5-Star Day Tour from Zagreb in the winter to answer all your questions, so read on!

Brief History About Plitvice Lakes National Park

Map of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Spanning over 296 square kilometres, Plitvice Lakes National Park is home to its countless cascades and over 16 picturesque lakes, usually ranging in different dazzling colours. Humans have apparently inhabited the Plitvice Lakes area for thousands of years, with the Illyrians, Romans, Celts, Turks and Croats settling here over the course of its long history. Finally, in 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was officially inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage List.

An example of the glittering colours of the lakes.

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How Do I Get To Plitvice Lakes In Winter?

By Guided Tour

We visited Plitvice Lakes on a guided tour in the winter.

Because of the reduced sunlight and opening hours of the park, I would highly recommend visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park on a day trip by guided tour – unless you feel comfortable renting a car. Tours are really convenient because they take you directly from the Zagreb city centre, to the National Park, and then back to Zagreb without any hassle of picking up a rental car, completing documentation and then returning the car back.

Of course, you get the added benefit of your local guide’s knowledge and the fascinating history behind the national park. Plus, the entrance fee – which is far from cheap – is covered by the tour.

👉 If you’re in the Croatian capital of Zagreb, you can book the same tour that I was on – I would highly recommend this.

This tour also includes a stop at Rastoke, a quaint and scenic watermill village situated in the part where the Slunjčica river flows into the Korana river. Rastoke is sometimes referred to as the “Small Lakes of Plitvice”, because the two attractions are connected through the water of the Korana river. Today, Rastoke is a rising tourist destination in its own right.

Quaint watermill village of Rastoke

Rastoke is referred to as the ‘Small Lakes of Plitvice’

Alternatively, you can also book these 5-star rated tours from these different pick-up points:

• Day Trip from Split

• Day Trip from Zadar

• Day Trip from Dubrovnik

• Day Trip from Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Can I visit using public transport?

We wouldn’t recommend taking the bus to the national park in winter.

In the winter, Zagreb’s bus connections to Plitvice Lakes National Park are severely depleted. It’s hard to know the bus schedule in advance (this is common with the Balkan region) and it’s better to usually just turn up to the bus station and ask.

From looking at the Flixbus schedule currently, I can only find a departure at 2:30pm leaving from Zagreb, arriving at the National Park at 4:20pm. Considering that the last permitted entry into the park during the winter season is at 2pm, this option would already be unfeasible.

You can check out Plitvice Lakes National Park’s opening hours here.

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Pros of Visiting Plitvice Lakes in the Winter

First, let’s get into why you should visit Plitvice Lakes National Park during the winter.

Plitvice Lakes is much less crowded in the winter

Stunning waterfalls at Plitvice Lakes National Park

This one is a BIG benefit, and one of the main reasons why I was really happy with my choice to visit during the winter. If you browse TikTok, Reddit, or any other social media platform, you’ll see a lot of content revolving around how Plitvice Lakes is often very crowded in the summer.

Having these scenic lakes all to ourselves – priceless experience!

I’ve seen a lot of complaints about shoulder-to-shoulder visitor traffic, and I definitely didn’t want to have the same experience as these people – that’s why I chose to visit in the winter in the first place.

All smiles because no one else was here!

No one else here too!

So how were the crowds in the winter? To my complete and utter delight, they were almost non-existent. Barely anyone was at the park and in some locations, we got the waterfalls all to ourselves!

The entry price is a lot cheaper in the winter

Scenic still lake in Plitvice Lakes National Park

As winter is low season for the national park, the entrance fee for both children and adults are much lower than what they would be in other seasons. You can compare the prices for yourself here:

Adults

• Jan, Feb, March & Nov, December: 10 Euro or 11.85 US$

• April, May & October: 23.5 Euro or 26.5 US$

• June, July, August & September: 40 Euro or 44.5 US$

Children (age 7 to 18)

• Jan, Feb, March & Nov, December: 4.5 Euro or 5.2 US$

• April, May & October: 6.5 Euro or 7.5 US$

• June, July, August & September: 16 Euro or 18 US$

Entry for children below the age of 7 is free.

As you can see, there is a staggering 30 Euro (!!!) difference in entrance fee prices between the winter season and the summer season. To me, this is a pretty big determining factor of whether to visit in the winter or not.

It is beautiful in its own way in the winter

Plitvice Lakes in winter: still beautiful as ever.

While it’s true that parts of the national park may be frozen in the winter, I’ve been told by my tour guide that it doesn’t actually happen all that often. When I visited in early December, the park was still displaying enchanting autumn colours and nothing was frozen.

Asher at one of the waterfalls in the national park.

Ralph enjoying the waterfalls too.

If anything, I was fortunate to see the waterfalls from a different perspective than the usual summer photos I see everywhere. Plus, if you do catch the park on a day where the lakes are frozen, you will be one of the few to see the park in that unique state – which is also beautiful in its own rare way.

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Cons of Visiting Plitvice Lakes in the Winter

There are certain disadvantages of visiting in the winter, but I don’t think that these are bad enough outweigh the benefits.

Only the Lower Lakes are open

Only the lower lakes are open… but they’re stunning too!

Not all of Plitvice Lakes National Park will be open during the winter due to weather conditions. In fact, about two-thirds of the total area will be closed during the peak of winter, and it’s likely you won’t be able to visit the Upper Lakes.

Having said that, during my winter visit I honestly felt like I saw all the highlights of the park that I’ve seen on Instagram, photography pages and other blogs. It was still a truly amazing experience, and I don’t feel like I missed out on anything significant.

Most hotels are closed during winter

Ralph by the main Plitvice Lakes viewpoint, near the entrance.

Most establishments near the National Park will be closed during the winter, so it won’t be a good idea to stay over. Plus, since the park closes much earlier than in the summer, there won’t be much to do in the evenings anyway.

Luckily, you’ll be able to see everything you need to see on a day trip.

It’s cold in the winter

It’s cold, but nothing out of the ordinary

It’s no secret that it’s colder in the winter. However, in December, it was still comfortable enough for me to walk around and not feel like I wasn’t enjoying my day. Just wear warmer clothes to suit the temperature for the day and you should be fine. As you can see, while I had warm clothes on, I wasn’t wearing anything too out of the ordinary.

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Which winter month should I visit Plitvice Lakes National Park?

We recommend you visit in November or March, if you had the choice.

Plitvice Lakes National Park’s winter season is officially between November to March. If you have a choice of when to visit, I would recommend November or March, either towards the beginning of winter or at the end. We visited in early December and it was still great, though. The weather is a bit more predictable in these months and not as cold, while the crowds still remain low enough for you to enjoy the park at a good pace.

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Final Verdict - Should I visit Plitvice Lakes National Park in the Winter?

Yes, Plitvice Lakes really is worth visiting in the winter.

Judging by my photos and what I’ve written in this blog article, it should be clear that you definitely should visit Plitvice Lakes National Park in the winter. During this time, it’s uncrowded, affordable and easy to visit.

We hope you enjoyed this blog article about Plitvice Lakes.

Having said that, if your only opportunity is to visit the national park during the summer, I would still recommend doing so because the national park really is one of those ‘must see’ things you have to witness at least once in your lifetime.

For more information about the tour company that I used, Roundabout Experiences, check out their Official Website.

Planning to visit Plitvice Lakes National Park and have a question for me? Let me know in the comments below!

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