Living in a busy city, finding true peace and quiet is a little hard to come across. Not that I don't love city life, or more so my home town of Leeds, but finding a true place to escape to isn't the easiest.
Exploring Pltivice lakes when I visited Croatia, I experienced the true beauty of leaving city life behind and finally finding time to relax. Getting lost amongst the water falls and natural scenery of this stunning national park, was such an incredible experience and made me realise the true allure of nature.
Plitvice lakes is one of Europes oldest national parks located about an hours bus ride from the city of Zadar.
Travelling to the park was easier than I thought, despite my slight fear of getting lost in new places, the bus station was a short and easy walk from the old town of Zadar and purchasing tickets was straight forward. The bus ride was comfortable (the bus is actually an air-conditioned coach with music) and once we arrived at the national park a tour guide hopped on to explain the different entrances to the park and the times and locations of the buses back.
Entry to the park varies between 55-180 Kuna for adults (roughly 10 kuna to £1.00) depending on the time of year, which also includes a boat ride through the lakes. Suggested walking routes around the park vary between 2-3 hours and 6-8 hours, although I would say these route times don't take into account the chances (which are inevitably high in peak season) of been stuck behind slow walkers on narrow one way bridges.
I would advise anyone planning to visit to ensure you have a few hours extra to play with if you need to leave by a certain time. Whilst there are certainly worst places to get lost, some parts of the park aren't signposted and some of the track can become isolated , so don't always expect to be able to ask for directions.
You can find more of my travel posts: here.
SAMMIE