Plitvice Lakes (Plitvička jezera)

When planning our Croatia trip, we weren't sure if it would make sense to make it all the way to the northern part of the country; however, since Plitvice Lakes were reported to be some of the most breathtaking lakes in the world, we decided to keep it on the itinerary and fly into Dubrovnik and out of Zagreb so as to not have to backtrack.

Late in the week, I was checking the weather forecast for the park-- which predicted a 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms for Saturday, our last day in Croatia.  We added a trip to Krka NP just so we didn't leave the country without viewing some of its finest falls; however, we weren't sure how much we'd enjoy hiking (with the kids) in the rain. However, by Friday night, there was only a 40-50% chance of rain and, rather than regret skipping one of the world's most scenic parks, we went for it (and are glad we did!), driving the ~2 hours from Zadar in the morning, attempting to beat the crowds (and not entirely succeeding, although we did actually get to enter-- they restricted visitors and by the time we left early afternoon, they were not allowing more entrants).

Plitvice Lakes (Plitvička jezera) National Park includes 300 square kilometers of land and sixteen interconnected, cascading lakes with numerous waterfalls.  With limited time (another two-hour drive ahead of us) and non-stroller-friendly trails, we were able to just hit a small portion of the park (I said to myself on multiple occasions in between breaths that I wish we could have had more time and fewer kids to really enjoy the scenery of truly a dreamy and special place), but really enjoyed what we were able to see.

The clear water is a striking emerald green

nice place to stop for a snack

Iver was a super hiker!

We didn't make it to Entrance 1 and Veliki Slap, the biggest falls, but wish we had:

We enjoyed one last meal (Mexican) and a quick overnight stay in the capital, Zagreb before flying out.

Croatia was a beautiful country, and I highly suggest it as a vacation destination! It was a fun (albeit tiring) trip, as you can tell from this photo:

 

I will post some travel reflections sometime soon, but for now, it's time to recover!