Plitvice Lakes by car
The lakes lie away from the motorway, in the hills between Karlovac and Lika. Coming from the north you leave the A1 at Karlovac, from the south at Gornja Ploča, and the last hour or so is on ordinary roads, which are free.
What the motorway costs to get there
- Zagreb → Plitvice Lakes€2.80
- Slovenian border (Bregana) → Plitvice Lakes€3.80
- Slovenian border (Macelj) → Plitvice Lakes€9.50
- Rijeka → Plitvice Lakes€7.40
- Zadar → Plitvice Lakes€3.40
- Split → Plitvice Lakes€12.20
By car, one way, the Croatian tolls only. Each journey opens with every vehicle's price and every exit on the way.
From the national park's own pages and price list and the official register of roads. Last checked on 3 October 2026.
Which exit
- From Zagreb and the north: leave the A1 at Karlovac (€2.80 from Zagreb). From there the D1 leads south by Slunj, and the D429 runs past the park's entrances. About 83 km and an hour and a half to Entrance 1, by our map estimate.
- From Zadar, Split and the south: leave at Gornja Ploča and drive north by Korenica: about 62 km and an hour to Entrance 2 by the same estimate. The park's own directions name the road from Otočac through Vrhovine (the D52) instead, a few kilometres longer and slower.
The road that passes both entrances is the D429 in the official register of roads; some of the park's own pages still call it the D1.
From 15 November to 15 April winter equipment is compulsory on the D1 through Lika whatever the weather, as on the A1 as far as Maslenica: see the rules for driving. In winter the Lower Lakes usually stay open and the Upper Lakes close; they usually reopen in early April.
Two entrances
Entrance 1 (Rastovača) in the north and Entrance 2 (Hladovina) in the south are about 3 km apart. Each has its own car park and ticket desks and is the start of its own walking routes; there is a third ticket desk at Flora, near Entrance 2. Decide before you buy: an online ticket is for one entrance.
Parking
Both entrances have car parks for every kind of vehicle, paid when you leave, at the pay desks. They open with the park and close an hour after it. Prices from 1 March to 30 November 2026:
| Vehicle | March to May, October, November | June to September |
|---|---|---|
| Car | €1.50 an hour | €2.00 an hour |
| Motorcycle | €5 a day | €7 a day |
| Camper, or car with a trailer | €15 a day | €18 a day |
When the car parks are full, the park asks drivers not to leave the car along the main road or on the verges.
Tickets in 2026
| Season | Adults | Students | Children 7–18 |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March, November, December | €10 | €6 | €4 |
| April, May, October | €23 | €14 | €6 |
| June to September | €40 | €25 | €15 |
| June to September, late entry | €25 | €15 | €9 |
Late entry is after 16:00 in June, July and August, and after 15:00 in September. Children under 7 go free. The ticket includes the electric boats and the panoramic train. Two-day tickets are sold too.
Online tickets are for a date, an hour and an entrance, and each hour has a limited number of them. You may not go in before your hour, and at most an hour after it. Unless they are sold out, tickets are also sold at the entrances, in cash or by card; online, by card only.
The hours change with the season. On 3 October 2026 the park was open from 7:00 to 18:00, with tickets sold until 15:00; in summer it opens until 20:00, in winter from 8:00 to 15:00. Check the park's current hours before you set off.
No swimming and no drones; dogs on a lead, on the boats and trains too. Both entrances keep luggage for free, which helps between the coast and the lakes.
Sources
- Plitvice Lakes National Park: price list, opening hours, how to get there, questions and rules.
- Register of public roads (Narodne novine 109/2025, in Croatian): the D1, D429, D52 and D522.
- Decision on compulsory winter equipment (in Croatian).
- Distances and times from the exits: this site's estimate from OpenStreetMap data, not the park's.