If you read my blog last week, you know how much I fell in love with Croatia. The natural beauty of this country and discovering KRKA was a huge HIGHLIGHT of my adventure. I did very little research before we left. I knew I would be exploring KRKA park at least one day of our short visit. Raised in northern New York, I love hiking and finding new trails to blaze. So it will be no surprise to you, most of my blogs will include a hike in them, this one has several. I also have an E-book dedicated to my favorite hikes around Stuttgart. A standing mantra on my family trips is “Mom, how far?”
Our day in the park was quick or so it seemed and we only touched the surface. Please enjoy the photos. I have a little information about how and when to visit the park, but this blog will be a little different as I concentrate on letting the pictures speak for me.
Croatia has seven national parks so it looks like I’ll have to plan many more trips to discover all of them. KRKA became a national park in 1985. It is a combination of Travertine (limestone), water, and every shade of green you can imagine.
Tips for visiting KRKA
- Take the boat ride – TRUST ME! My friend, Diane hooked me up with this gem!
- Boat is docked at Skradin –
Use the FREE parking, we got hood-winked into parking in a restaurant parking lot and had to spend money at the restaurant for it to be free ~ - Boat ride to Skradin is free, however, you’ll pay when you arrive at Skradinski Buk in the park
- April special was 50 kuna/person – very affordable – about €7/person
- Our ticket included Roški Slap (the bear caves), however the boat didn’t go during this season (only the summer) so we drove the 20 minutes to arrive at this part of the park
Other MUST-SEEs of the park
- Visovac Island – can take the boat to the island and includes the Franciscan monastery (2 hour tour)
- Kamičak, Trošeni, Nečven, Bogočin, Kamičak and Ključica – the 14th century medieval ruin fortresses
HIGHLIGHTS
Skradinski Buk – famous waterfalls
- The boat ride to Skradin was amazing ~ the approach to the waterfalls were amazing, cameras were snapping everywhere on the boat
- can swim here during the summer months
- Hydropower plant history (similar design to that of the hydroelectric plant in Niagara Falls, NY)
Educational trail (the entire trail/hike is about an hour and weaves in and out of the famous waterfalls, gorgeous wildlife observation- Tourist shops and restaurants dot the park ~ it’s easy to pick up something for the family. A tour bus had arrived while we were there, the service at the restaurants did not seem overly fast giving some tourists anxiety.
- There are A LOT of stairs to climb to the top of the waterfall ~ there is not elevator! HA!
Skradin
Enjoy some lunch in Skradin ~ wonderful restaurants in this little harbor town with amazing seafood dishes.
Roški Slap
- Although our ticket included the hike to this part of the park we arrived only 30 minutes before closing. A downside of visiting during the off-season, however we were able to still walk around and meet other hiking enthusiasts and nature lovers. A few young college students from Pennsylvania and New York doing an internship in France for the year.
- The boat ride to Roški slap takes about 3.5 hours from Skradin so be sure to carve out enough time to do it all
- Also have a restaurant and tourist shop at Roški slap
- The drive to this part of the park was stunning
So much to see ~
Unable to see it all, here are a few things for our list next time
- Visovac Island
- Krka Monastery
- Manojlovac slap
- Burnum Archaelogical site
The nice visitor center in Skradin will open this summer and they gave us a GREAT map and directed us where to the harbor. We did see people getting off a huge tour bus when we were in Skradinski Buk, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed coming in that way. The approach by water was definitely worth ever every cent.
Can’t wait for my next trip to Croatia’s National parks ~ more to explore!
It’s always an adventure when you ©Travel with Wendy!