Plitvice Lakes with Boat Ride + Zadar Old Town Tour

Of the various Plitvice Lakes tours departing from Zadar, this one offers a distinctive bonus: a complimentary guided walking tour of Zadar Old Town in the evening after returning from the park. For visitors staying in Zadar who want to combine Croatia’s most celebrated natural site with a guided exploration of one of its most beautiful coastal cities in a single day, this is a compelling option. Here is everything you need to know before booking.

What Is Included

• Round-trip transport from Zadar by air-conditioned coach
• English-speaking guide for the park visit and drive
• Electric boat ride across Lake Kozjak
• Panoramic shuttle train through the park
• Optional guided walking tour of Zadar Old Town (any evening at 6:00 PM — no separate reservation needed)

Quick Facts

What Is Not Included

• Park entrance ticket — paid separately in cash or by card on arrival
• Food and drink at the comfort stop or inside the park

The Plitvice Lakes Day

The Plitvice Lakes portion of this tour follows a similar structure to other Zadar departures. The coach departs from central Zadar in the morning — typically meeting at the tour operator’s office at Ul. Alesandra Paravije 5 in the Old Town — and reaches the park after approximately two hours. Visitors have around 4 hours inside the park, with the guide leading through the Upper and Lower Lakes, including the boat crossing of Lake Kozjak and the panoramic train.

The park entry ticket is paid separately, either in cash or by card, on arrival. Seasonal adult rates apply: €23 in April, May, and October; €40 in June through September. The guide assists with the ticket process on arrival.

Verified visitor feedback from this specific tour consistently highlights guide Filip and guides Bojan and Paula as knowledgeable, engaging, and well-organised. A recurring positive note is the guide’s use of WhatsApp for real-time updates, route suggestions, and meeting point reminders inside the park — a practical tool that keeps the group connected without constraining individual pacing.

The Zadar Old Town Bonus

This evening addition is what distinguishes this tour from the standard Zadar-to-Plitvice options. For visitors spending more than one night in Zadar, it is a low-effort way to get an expert introduction to the city’s history without having to arrange a separate walking tour booking. The 6:00 PM timing works perfectly after returning from Plitvice — enough time to freshen up and make your way to the Old Town meeting point.

Zadar Old Town is genuinely one of Croatia’s most layered historical destinations. Within a compact peninsula, it holds a functioning Roman Forum, a 9th-century pre-Romanesque church (St Donatus) that is considered one of Croatia’s finest architectural landmarks, the Cathedral of St Anastasia, and the contemporary Sea Organ — an architectural installation built into the seafront steps that produces sounds from wave movement. Alfred Hitchcock famously described the Zadar sunset as the world’s most beautiful. A good guide makes all of this substantially more vivid.

Who Is This Tour Best For?

This combination is especially well suited to:

• Visitors staying two or more nights in Zadar who want to experience both Plitvice and the city in depth
• Travellers who enjoy cultural context alongside natural scenery — the evening Old Town tour adds a different dimension to what is otherwise a nature-focused day
• Solo travellers and couples who want a guided structure without a large group commitment
• Visitors who want flexibility on the park ticket — paying the seasonal rate directly allows students, children, and eligible visitors to use the correct discounted rate

It is less ideal for visitors who need the park ticket pre-booked (to avoid any uncertainty on arrival) — in that case, the guided tour from Zadar with ticket included is a more seamless option.