I wanted to come to Croatia for two reasons.
1. I had a secret plan to convince Chelsea to do Yacht Week. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s about 50 yachts all sailing together stopping at various islands and basically partying for a week straight. At least that’s what it looks like online. I love boats and beaches so it seemed like my scene. Nevertheless, I wasn’t able to convince her.
2. I saw a photo on Pinterest.
OK, I know, stupid American girl. Going to a country just because of Pinterest. But just keep reading.
I had seen a photo of the Plitvice Lakes and it looked like the most beautiful place in the world and didn’t look real in the photos.
Usually when I see things on Pinterest, they are never as good as they seem. The fancy recipes never come out the same and the hairstyles are always too difficult to master.
Plitvice Lakes lived up to its Pinterest photos.
Let me tell you, it doesn’t look real in real life either. The water is the most amazing hue of turquoise I’ve ever seen. There are countless waterfalls splashing over each other and it is the most peaceful place we have been so far.
Take a look.
There is a science behind why the waterfalls look the way they do. Instead of trying to explain, I’ll send you here for more. I was never very good at science 😉
Plitvice Lakes is about two hours from Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. It’s about 2.5 hours from Split and the islands, like Hvar. There are many tour companies that offer trips there or you can easily drive. I chose to do an organized trip through my hostel, Mali Mrak Zagreb.
The only downside to the lakes is the massive amount of people. We arrived around 11:30 a.m. and the paths were filled with other tourists. You kept having to stop and try to duck around people to get a photo. It felt a little like Disney World. And we heard that it’s even worse at the end of the summer (I visited in late June). We took a boat across one of the lakes and were able to get right on. But our driver said in late July and August, you can wait an hour just for the boat.
We spent several hours walking around the park. It’s very easy to get lost! Note that you are not allowed to swim at Plitvice Lakes.
If you come to Croatia and go to the lakes – which you MUST – make sure to go to Plitvice early! Get there at 9 a.m. and I think you could have the entire park to yourself. And of course, go in the off season!