Hello.

My family considering a trip to Croatia in May. We'd take a ferry from Italy then hopefully spend some time on a nice beach and visit Plitvice Lakes National Park. I have several questions for you all:

Is there a particular ferry connection you prefer to go to that part of Croatia?

Do you have preferences concerning which beaches and islands fairly near Plitvice Lakes are the most enjoyable?

Is it possible to get from the beach to the national park by public transport, or will we need to rent a car?

I know very little about Croatia (but I'm interested to learn!), so any adice/help you can offer will be very much appreciated.

Thank you so much!

The Plitvice Lakes are next to the highway that connnects Zagreb and Rijeka. Therefore Rijeka would be the closest to Plitvice.

Here are some travel notes on Slow Trav that have web site links to Plitvice Lakes and the Rijeka region: Croatia Notes.

There should be public transportation from Rijeka to the lakes, but I am not positive. I would probably recommend taking a car anyways.

To get to Rijeka, you can take a ferry from Venice or a bus from Trieste.

Hello Kates,

My family (me, wife, kids 12 & 14) had a fantastic time in Croatia last summer.

We took the ferry from Ancona to Split. We didn't make it to Plitvice but we did go to Krka. One advantage to Krka is that you can swim at the base of the waterfalls. We all thought it was awesome. Other highlights were Diocletans Palace in Split and Dubrovnik was like a dream- we all want to go back ASAP!

Hit this link for our pics and travelogue: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/710af/5dfe6/

Hi Kates,
Plitvice Lakes NP is on the road from Zagreb to Zadar. If you stay in or around Zadar, you can take the bus to Plitvice (about 1 1/2hrs) and back but be aware that the bus back starts in Zagreb and won't pick up passengers in Plitvice if it's full which it may very well be in the summer.
Borik is a beach resort not too far from Zadar for sunbathing.
Jeanne