A Day Trip to the Krka National Park, Croatia
/One of the most instagrammable spots on the planet - Krka National Park. If it’s not on your bucket list yet, add it now! In recent years, Croatia has been firmly placed on the map after revealing its natural beauty to the world. Endless waterfalls, mountains, lakes, rivers and beaches. Krka is now one of Europe’s most sought after destinations and attracts thousands of visitors every year.
The national park is located just outside the city of Sibenik and covers a massive 142 square kilometres. It’s the perfect place to roam free, immerse yourself in nature and get those all-important steps in. There are many facilities available, footpaths, sightseeing tours, a museum, boat trips, souvenir shops and restaurants. Oh, and of course, you can swim in some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world. Sold yet?
We drove from our hotel in Slano (30 minutes from Dubrovnik) to the Krka National Park, which took around 2 and a half hours. We hired a sporty Seat Ibiza which was a dream to drive through the Croatian countryside. 150 miles each way on windy roads to be precise!
We arrived at Krka just before midday, after a pretty easy journey - following Google Maps of course. We parked the car at the park’s entrance in Lozovac. You can either pay for day tickets online or from one of the booths at the entrance. (There were lots of workers guiding us where to go.) We paid 110 Kunas each (£12) for the entry passes. We visited in June so prices were slightly cheaper than they would normally be during the peak season.
Once we collected the tickets, we were then taken by shuttle bus, down some more windy roads, to the main footpaths. Completely surrounded by lush greenery, we took our time to explore the trails. There are wooden bridges connecting the paths and crossing many lakes full of wildlife.
We walked around for just over an hour but you can easily explore for much longer. Days in fact. Although the park was full of tourists, the whole ambience was tranquil and peaceful. The landscape was untouched and the free-flowing waterfalls created the only sound. There are 17 waterfalls in Krka which end up leading to the biggest and most famous - Skradinski Buk, which are 400 metres in length and 100 metres wide.
And here it is! Just wow… I had been waiting a loooong time to see this view with my own eyes and it was definitely more beautiful than I could have imagined. There was only one more thing left to do… jump in! To keep up with the protection of nature, there weren’t exactly any facilities next to the falls - changing rooms and lockers for example. So we followed the crowd and left our belongings under a tree and prayed they would still be there after a quick swim…
A quick swim turned into two magical hours splashing in and out of the water, like two big kids. Definitely the best natural shower I’ve ever had. Oh and thank god for my GoPro, capturing unforgettable moments like this!
A top tip: if you can, wear water shoes! What they don’t tell you is that the rocks leading into the water are SUPER slippery and sharp! We saw a few people with bloody toes, knees and ankles. The hardest part is entering the pool, but once you’re in deep enough - it’s paradise!
After slowly clambering back onto land and finding our belongings (thankfully!), we decided to sunbathe for a while next to the Skradinski Buk. Beside the falls is a large grassy area, perfect for picnics and relaxing in the sun. We were in Europe, with nowhere to be, 30-degree weather - so why the hell not! After relaxing for an hour or so, we decided to head back to the bus, as we were starving! We of course took some pictures - there are so many incredible viewpoints on the way out.
There are quite a few steps to climb before reaching the exit, however, this was our view. Remember, always look behind you when travelling to a new place. The view is always better. Then, you can also see how far you’ve come.
The final picture of the day. There really is no place like it. Absolute heaven for all you nature lovers out there. I would go back in a heartbeat. There was no better way to end the day than with… pizza! Next to the car park are so grocery shops and restaurants which provided us with the goods, for our long journey back to Slano. Amazing, amazing day.
