After Premantura we went from the coast inland – we definitely wanted to see the Plitvice Lakes. The campsites nearby did not convince us, though, none of them really appealed to us. On Park4Night we then found a private spot: Camping Zelena Dolina, an orchard meadow very close by, good reviews, a friendly owner. We had a second one in mind as well, but we chose this one – and did not regret it.
When we arrived there was still little going on. We drove past the main pitches and a bit around the corner and then stood almost free on the meadow, with a view over the fruit trees. It filled up later, but our spot stayed quiet. At night we heard the dogs of two nearby farms barking – plenty of them – but otherwise it was silent. In the evening we set up, tailgate kitchen open, lamp on, and at some point the owner came by and brought schnapps. That was the highlight. We stayed two nights.
The next morning we drove to the lakes. We did not really know what to expect – we knew that you have to buy tickets, and that they are not cheap. But we had assumed that you arrive, enter a nature reserve and can simply walk around. In fact everything is very organised and very touristy: fixed routes, built paths, buildings, boats that take you across the lake. On some sections you simply have to keep walking, because the next people are pushing from behind. You are basically always walking in a queue with somebody.
The landscape itself is really beautiful. Lakes that flow into one another, waterfalls everywhere, and the water is crystal clear – going in is not allowed, though, holding your hand in it is probably the maximum. Towards the end, on the longer hiking trails, we were actually on our own for a while. By then we did not have much energy left. Luckily you could take the bus back; the queue for it was huge and we just made it in.
All in all: a nice experience, but the setting was simply too organised for us. The crowds, the buildings, the fixed paths – that did not really match the way we usually travel. We do not need to go again. If you go, look up beforehand what awaits you, then your expectations will fit the reality better. All the information and the tickets are available from the national park itself:
In the evening we went back to our orchard meadow – and after the bustle in the park that was exactly the right thing.
