The Plitvice Lakes National Park, with more than one million visitors yearly, is the most visited attraction in Croatia. Situated somewhat remotely in Lika County, Plitvice is essentially in the middle of the country, if one considers the unique shape of Croatia.
You can reach National Park Plitvice Lakes from Split all year round by bus, the driving time by bus is between 3.5 and 5.5 hours depending on departure time and route.
Expect to pay around 25 Euro for a one-way ticket from Split to Plitvice, if you book a round-trip with the same company you can get a discount, also tickets for children below 12 years are discounted.
You can travel by bus to Plitvice Lakes from Split year-round, in the Summer season there is a minimum of 5 daily departures, and in the winter time 1 or 2. Below, you can see some of the most popular departure times. Please use the search form above for a full schedule on any date.
Station | Arrival | Departure |
---|---|---|
Split, Bus terminal | 07:00 | |
Skradin (Krka NP) | 08:15 | 08:15 |
Zadar, Bus terminal | 08:30 | 08:30 |
Korenica, 1 (M) > Plitvice Lakes | 10:15 | 10:15 |
Plitvice Lakes | 10:30 |
Station | Arrival | Departure |
---|---|---|
Split, Bus terminal | 10:15 | |
Dugopolje, Toll Station | 10:45 | 10:45 |
Skradinsko Polje | 11:32 | 11:32 |
Skradin (Krka NP) | 11:35 | 11:35 |
Zadar, Bus terminal | 12:30 | 13:00 |
Korenica, 1 (M) > Plitvice Lakes | 14:30 | 14:30 |
Plitvice Lakes | 14:45 |
Station | Arrival | Departure |
---|---|---|
Split, Bus terminal | 15:30 | |
Dugopolje, Toll Station | 16:00 | 16:00 |
Skradinsko Polje | 16:57 | 16:57 |
Skradin (Krka NP) | 17:00 | 17:00 |
Zadar, Bus terminal | 17:50 | 18:00 |
Udbina | 19:15 | 19:15 |
Korenica, 1 (M) > Plitvice Lakes | 19:40 | 19:40 |
Plitvice Lakes | 19:55 |
The departure bus station in Split is located at the address Obala Kneza Domagoja br.12, 21000 Split, which is in the center of town, next to the ferry port and the train station. You can find more info about the bus station here:
At Plitvice Lakes, there isn't a bus station, just bus stops along the road. You can get off at either bus stop, whether it's Entrance 1 or Entrance 2.
You can indeed make a day trip to Plitvice Lakes from Split, depending on how much of the park you would like to see, a day trip takes about 10-12 hours. The following options are available:
If you have a car at your disposal, you can without any problem drive to Plitvice Lakes, the distance from Split Center to Plitvice is 255 km, and the driving time is a bit less than 3 hours.
The fastest route is via the Highway until Gornja Ploca, and then from there on the country road until you reach the National Park.
If you're planning to stay overnight at Plitvice Lakes, consider visiting Krka National Park along the way, which takes about 3 hours. Krka is 90 km from Split and requires only a detour of approximately 15 km from the route to Plitvice Lakes.
Take a look at the Video from my latest visit to Plitvice Lakes! (As my voice sounds like Joe Cocker with a bad cold, I had a friend of mine do the voiceover 🙃).
The bus ride from Split to Plitvice Lakes is between 3.5 and 5.5 hours. All buses stop in 1 or more cities on the way.
Yes, buses from Split to Plitvice Lakes operate year-round. In the summer season, there can be up to 5 daily departures, while in winter, there are only 1 or 2.
No, there is no train service from Split to Plitvice Lakes, as there is no railway station near Plitvice. The only public transport option available is buses, as mentioned above
Yes, of course, you can. If you are on a budget, you can make a round trip to Plitvice Lakes by public bus. Alternatively, you can rent a car and drive there or join an organized group trip from Split. A day trip to Plitvice will take about 12 hours.
Yes you can there are plenty of buses connecting Plitvice Lakes and Zagreb, another option is to from Plitvice Lakes to Zadar which is also very well connected by bus.
The most popular, but also the most crowded, entrance is No. 1. From personal experience, I would say both entrances are great, so don't stress if you can't get tickets for entrance 1. Tip: If you are traveling back to Split from Plitvice by bus, wait for the bus at entrance 1. It's the first pickup point, so you will get a better seat on the bus😉.
Travel distance fastest route | 255 km / 159 Miles |
Average bus ticket Price | €25 / $28 / £22 |
Daily Bus departures in Summer | 5 |
Daily Bus departures in Winter | 1-2 |
Bus companies | Prijevoz Knezevic, AP Varazdin |
Organized Day trips available | Yes |
Train | No |
Split to Zagreb | Split to Dubrovnik | Split to Krka |
Split to Zadar | Split to Mostar | Split to Makarska |
Split to Sibenik | Split to Novalja | Split to Airport |
Text and personal travel tips provided by Morten Smalby