Plitvice Lakes from Zadar: Guided Tour or Drive Yourself?
Updated October 20, 2026 · 6 min read
The answer first
If you have no car, take the guided day trip that includes the park ticket. If you already have a car and travel between April and October, driving yourself is cheaper and leaves the hours inside the park to you. Either way, Plitvice is a long day from Zadar: the road is about 135 km, roughly two hours each way in normal traffic.
What the guided day trips offer
Five departures from Zadar are bookable on GetYourGuide. They differ less in the scenery than in what the price covers.
| Tour | Price per person | Rating | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour with Tickets | €75 | 4.9 from 4,376 reviews | 10 hours |
| Plitvice Lakes Day Trip with Guide and Boat Tour | €45 | 4.5 from 981 reviews | 10 hours |
| Waterfall Tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park | €40.5 | 4.4 from 346 reviews | 8 hours |
| Plitvice Lakes Guided Tour with Boat & Train | €45 | 4.4 from 141 reviews | not stated |
| Plitvice Lakes Round-Trip Coach Transfer | €45 | 4.6 from 13 reviews | 9 hours |
The €75 tour is the only one whose title says the tickets are included, and it is by far the most reviewed. The €45 guide-and-boat tour mentions an electric boat ride and a panoramic train, which are part of the park’s own programme, but its description does not say that entry is paid. The park’s summer ticket alone costs €40 (see below), so read the included and not included lists on the booking page before you compare €45 with €75. The coach transfer is exactly that: a ride, with only a handful of reviews.
What driving yourself costs
The park publishes its 2026 adult day ticket by season:
- €40 from 1 June to 31 August, valid until 4 p.m.; €25 after 4 p.m.
- €40 in September until 3 p.m.; €25 after 3 p.m.
- €23 from 1 April to 31 May and in October
- €10 from 1 January to 31 March and from 1 November to 31 December
The ticket includes the electric boat and the panoramic train within the sightseeing programme you pick. Car parking is charged by the hour: €2 an hour from June to September, €1.50 from March to May and in October and November. Five hours in July therefore come to about €10 for parking on top of the €40 ticket, plus fuel and any motorway toll.
For two adults in July that is about €90 for tickets and parking, plus fuel, against €150 for two seats on the €75 tour. The gap grows with every person in the car. It disappears if you have to hire a car only for this day, so compare the price first.
Driving yourself: what you give up and what you gain
You choose the entrance, the route and the break. You can stay until the afternoon price starts, or buy the two-day ticket if you would rather split the park over two mornings; the park lists it at €60 for adults in summer. You also carry the day’s work: two hours behind the wheel in each direction, a car park that charges by the hour, and a return drive after a long walk.
There are scheduled buses from Zadar as well. Timetable aggregators show roughly one hour 45 minutes and a small number of departures a day, but the service changes with the season, so check the current timetable before you plan around it.
What a ten-hour tour really gives you
Ten hours with about four of them on the road leaves, at best, around six hours for the lakes, lunch and the walk back to the coach. That is enough for one good route, not for two. It is also why a guide helps on the first visit: the park has several entrances and routes, and the tour has already chosen one.
Our recommendation
For most visitors without a car, the Plitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour with Tickets is the straightforward choice: ticket included, the most reviews of any Plitvice departure from Zadar, and nothing to organise. If you are staying outside high summer and have a car, drive yourself and pay €23 or less instead of €40.
See availability and prices for the Plitvice Lakes Guided Day Tour with Tickets
If you want a car for the day, compare car hire for Zadar and set the price against the tour seats. More departures are on the Plitvice and Zrmanja day trips page; the other big waterfall park is covered on the Krka waterfalls page.
