Croatia: Part 9 - Day 8 First half: Plitvice Lakes National Park, route E & B

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 8 first half.

8/8 Day 8 first half: Walked routes E and B on Plitvice Lakes National Park. Arrived at entrance 2. Walked to P1. Took boat from P1 to P2. Walked from P2 to Station 3. Took bus from Station 3 to Station 1. Walked from Station 1 to P1. Spent 5 hours.

Cost
(1) 2-days ticket to Plitvice Lakes National Park EUR60

(2) Parking fee Plitvice Lakes National Park EUR2 per hour - 5 hours for EUR10

Food

(1) Breakfast at Lady of the Lake B&B - Buffet EUR10

The Story

08082025: Today, we take a walk in Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage. I bought the tickets the day before. 

A month back, when I checked the time slots, I planned for 9am and I saw about 160 slots available so I thought that I could buy the ticket later. However, a day before our planned walk, there were no slots available. It was either 8am or during noon, which will be too hot for us. So, we took 8am. I read that one has 1 hour from time of ticket to enter the park. So, the latest time we can enter is 9am. A minute later and one has to buy a new time slot. For the second day, one can enter the park at any time. 

Here, I need to describe a bit more of the pricing and illustrate how ridiculously expensive it is!

Not many tourists purchase 2-days ticket as it is costly. We shouldn't but I read somewhere that to see the most of the national park, it is recommended with 2 days. My experience says that 1 day is sufficient! The pricing varies depending on season and timing. During winter from November to March, a 2-day ticket costs EUR15! Our ticket is 4x the price. Ouch! Do you understand now why I said that Croatia's places of attraction milks tourists as much as they can? For March, April and October, the price is EUR39. 

For a 1-day ticket, during summer from June to September, after 4pm, the price is EUR25. The park closes at 6pm. Before 4pm is EUR40. From November to March, the price is EUR10. March, April and October - EUR23. 

Considering how hot Croatia is during summer, it is fine to come here before June, where the weather is manageable, and take the cheaper price ticket. On hindsight, 1-day ticket is good and take the longest route K to see the well-known waterfalls and most of the lakes. Take the earliest ticket in the morning, bring food for lunch, and you can see the most of the national park. You don't have to explore the whole of the park as after a while, all the angles and corners look similar as one is walking around the lake. 

We started our day with breakfast. We paid for the breakfast buffet as we wanted to get to the national park in good time. We had a quick breakfast. Totally not worth the EUR10 we paid for. 

We bought similar kind of breakfast (except for the egg) for the next 3 days from Tommy store and it costs us EUR4,63 per person per day. Yeah, just 46% of the price of the breakfast buffet. 

We left at 8.25am and arrived at Plitvice Lakes National Park 5 minutes later. We chose Entrance 2 as it is the nearest to our accommodation. The parking space is a space under trees. There are no allocated spots. One can park anywhere as long as there is space and it does not block the driving lane. For EUR60, I expected a proper parking space...

Croatia: Part 8 - Day 7: Drive from Makarska till Plitvice

 Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 7

7/8 Day 7: Drive from Makarska to Plitvice. Started 10am and arrived at 5pm.

Cost

(1) Toll EUR2,40

Accommodation

(1) Apartment in Plitvice Lake National Park, 5 nights (from Airbnb) - Shared room EUR600 for 3 persons, EUR200 per person. On hindsight, we should have a stop along the way to stay for 2 nights as 5 nights in Plitvice were too long. There were limited activities to do after the first two days. 

Food
(1) Breakfast at Smile Coffee Bar EUR10,60 - Croissant avocado EUR6,90, Cappucino EUR3,70

(2) Fruit from market - Peach (1 each) and nectarine (1 each) EUR5 per kg - EUR8

(3) Lunch at Restaurant Ero EUR9 - Cevapcici with bread EUR6, Hidra orange 500ml EUR3

(4) Honey from the roadside - 2 small 450g jars for EUR16

(5) Coffee at Antonio Bistro, Plitvice - EUR3

(6) Snacks at Robni Center grocery store EUR5,69 - Shared 2 packets of nuts EUR12,32, 2 packets of chocolate bread EUR3,90, banana 522g EUR0,86

(7) Dinner at Antonio Bistro, Plitvice EUR25,50 - Pljeskavica (hamburger steak) stuffed with cheese EUR18, lemon Schweppes 250ml EUR3,50, shared tips EUR12

The Story

07082025: Today, we leave the coast and enter the inner of Croatia. Sad to leave the blue and warm Adriatic sea. First agenda of the day is to a morning dip before breakfast. At 8am, there were a number of tourists lazing on the beach chairs! So early but I suppose there are more tourists than beach chairs so it is important to book the beach chairs. Book chairs, I suspect, are for the hotel guests. 

The water is warm and it was so lovely with a morning dip. I did not rinse myself after the dip and let my body be preserved in salt the whole day. Well, salt water kills bacteria so I hope to think I am clean. Haha! 

There are beach train services offered in Makarska for EUR10 for one way and EUR15 for a return. Seems like fun for kids. It is not a long distance. 

 

We walked along the harbour and saw advertisements from boat operators that offer EUR50 for a day's activity that includes lunch. We missed these offers as we did not walk along the harbour upon our arrival. 

We walked to Makarska's Old Town and found a recommended cafe. Quite expensive cappucino compared to the one we had yesterday evening after our return from Sumartin island.

Croatia: Part 7 - Day 6: Sumartin island (again), Observatorium

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 6

6/8 Day 6: 9.30am ferry to Sumartin island. 4.30pm ferry back to Makarska. Visited the Observatorium at night.

Cost
(1) Ferry ticket to and fro Sumartin island - EUR6,40 per way = EUR12,80

(2) Observatorium ticket EUR8

Food
(1) Breakfast at Restaurant Maka EUR11,70 - Egg benedict EUR10, coffee latte EUR1,70

(2) Chocolate pastry from bakery on Sumartin EUR2,20

(3) Radler 500ml on Beach Bar, Sumartin EUR4

(4) Lunch at Bernardo, Sumartin EUR25 - Grilled swordfish EUR21, radler 500ml EUR4

(5) Ice-cream at Romana - 1 scoop EUR2,50

(6) Coffee at Kaffe Severin - cappucino EUR2,20

(7) Dinner at Papar Grill EUR18,90 - 5 meat fritters (with beef, cheese, smoked bacon) EUR15, Hidra orange 500ml EUR3,90

The Story

06082025: Today, we will go to Sumartin island again. When I planned the trip, I suggested a hike up a hill but it can be tricky to get that due to the narrow road and difficulty in finding parking. After our hike under the blazing heat on Mount Srd, we agreed that it would be better to spend our day in the waters. The day before, we tried to look for any boat tours to other islands. It was a quick research on the internet. The price is EUR50 and it includes lunch plus a drink. Unfortunately, no available spots. So, it is Sumartin island again. 

This time, our breakfast is at Restaurant Maka which is very near to where we stayed. Initially, it was a lovely morning but the heat became slightly too much for me and we changed tables in the restaurant. I did not want to have the hot sun on my exposed skin and it was only 08.30am! Coffee was affordable in this breakfast. 

Then, we made our way to the ferry. We took the 9.30am ferry, same as yesterday and arrived an hour later. This time, we turned right after the harbour. Yesterday, we turned left. On the right is the small town of Sumartin. First, we bought a pastry each from the bakery (which is opposite the harbour). 

The mission for today is to find some bathing spots. It was really tiring to walk under the scorching heat. We passed by some houses but I did not see anyone outside. Yes, that was very wise of them. We missed a turn and ended up walking quite a bit before deciding to turn back. We walked through some overgrown bushes towards the water and found the right way when we walked back, realising then that we missed the turn.