Having the freedom of a rental car we headed north to the most famous National Park in Croatia.  Stopping for petro along the way we were floored to find out the going price in Europe as we paid nearly $7.50 per gallon! Never again will we complain about gas prices back home!!  After hopping on an expensive toll road through mountain tunnels with cars flying by is at 150k per hour we made it to the small town of Rakovica near the park.

First glimpse of the waterfalls

Plitvicka National Park is a series of lakes where unique waterfalls flow through natural spherical holes called doldrums.  Wondering around the turquoise colored lakes on wooden bridges paired with hiking trails in the beech forest put us at 8 hours in this natural beauty.  In the forest we saw species of lizards, frogs, snakes and field mice.  We took a slow ferry on a lake and had the option of a train but opted for walking as the weather was perfect along with minimal crowds.  Our day was topped with an amazing fish platter and beers while watching the first World Cup game of Brazil v. Croatia.  Excited to be in the country who was playing the first game but disappointingly the crowd was quite subdued!

Loving the area so much and taking a bit of a break from the coast we extended our stay an extra day.  With a series of great trails we hiked the next day. The trails were flat, shady and lonely making it perfect.  We didn’t see anyone the entire 4 hours we hiked except for an owl.  During our lunch break we were rained on by caterpillars while listening to an echoing cuckcoo bird.  Getting lost in our thoughts in the silence of the trees and nature is one of our favorite pass times and are convinced it is good for the soul.

Soaking up the views

Soaking up the views

https://picasaweb.google.com/105315223482012434599/PlitvickaNationalPark
From here we headed back towards the beautiful coast for some leisurely driving.

Travel Tip:
If visiting Croatia and you don’t have enough time to get to this northern National Park another option with a similar environment is Krka National Park. Swimming is allowed in the lakes and it is only about an hour from Split. Having a rental car is highly recommended in this area but you can catch buses from Zadar, Split and Zagreb to this park.  There are so many guesthouses to stay at in the near by towns making accommodation an easy task.