Krka National Park

The less famous, though even more popular ‘sibling’ of Plitvice Lakes in Croatia, is Krka National Park. Krka is the only national park with waterfalls in Croatia that allow swimming, and as a result is the most popular national park here - so expect crowds (especially in the summer months) but don’t let that deter you from going - its well worth dealing with the people for these views!

Getting There: The park is located between Split & Zadar, and is an easy day trip from the city of Split (~1-1.5 hours drive each way). There are many ways to do the trip, whether by booking a tour, or taking the bus on your own, and it all depends on when you want to arrive, how long you want to be there, and how much you want to pay. After booking a tour myself, I would recommend going a different route - doing the bus on your own. The main reason for this, being that you can arrive when the park first opens and be one of the first groups of people in, secondly, its a self guided ‘tour’ anyways, so you won’t be missing much at all. To arrive from Split, you will take a bus/tour to the city of Skradin, where you then catch a water ferry into the park entrance. Alternatively you can go go the main entrance at the town of Lozovac and enter the park from here. Though not as scenic, this has less ‘scheduled’ times for the ferry, so better chances of being the first people in the gates.

Once Inside: Once you’re inside the park entrance, get ready for some incredible sights. The ‘main’ falls aka. Skradinski Buk waterfall will be your first views depending on where you enter the park, and by far the busiest area. Around the falls you can go for a swim in the warm turquiose waters, eat lunch or get gelato at one of the nearby cafes, or hike around the falls themselves. Definitely plan on spending a few hours within the park (we spent 4 or so), as there is so much to see! There are multiple levels to the waterfalls, and the ‘hike’ (more like a walk) around them gives you some pretty amazing views of the waterfalls and its multiple levels from different vantage points. The walk around takes about 2 hours (with many photo ops), so you’ll want to ensure you set aside enough time to do so. On a side note - if you aren’t a good swimmer, I wouldn’t recommend going into the falls. The currents within them are very strong and can take you (or your shoes) a long way if you aren’t a strong enough swimmer to battle against them.