Krka National Park is a beautiful national park in central Croatia. Impressive waterfalls and lush greenery cover over 100 square kilometers. It’s an easy day trip from Split as it’s only about an hour drive. In this guide to a day trip to Krka National Park we go through information about tickets, what to expect and most importantly if we thought it was worth it!
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Getting to Krka National Park
To get to Krka National Park you can drive as well as take a bus or organized tour. It’s a very popular day trip from Split and there are so many tour operators on the Riva in Split that you can easily find one that suits you! We met my parents in Croatia so we had a rental car that we all piled into. It was a really quick and easy drive!
There are 5 different entrances into the park as it is quite large.
- Skradin Entrance- from this entrance you take the ferry to the Skradinski Buk waterfall
- Roski Slap Entrance
- Lozovac Entrance- from this entrance you take buses to the Skradinski Buk waterfall
- Burnam Entrance
- Krka Monastery Entrance
We parked at the Skradin entrance for 50 Kuna (about $8 USD) for the day. We walked for about 10 minutes through the the town before getting to the ticket office.
Its important to note ticket prices as well as opening hours and transportation options (such as ferries and buses) to the park all depend on the time of year. Make sure to check the website for specifics for the month you are visiting.
What Ticket Should I Get for Krka National Park?
There are a few different options for tickets to Krka National Park depending on what you want to see. As well the time of year you are visiting in also determines the price.
If you want to visit all parts of the park it costs 200 Kuna or $30 USD during the summer months (June through September). That admission ticket includes the ferry ride to and from the park entrance. If you only want to visit Roski Slap it cost 100 Kuna or $15 USD.
- If you’re visiting during April, May or October the ticket drops in half. So if you’re looking to save money that is also a way to make it less expensive and probably less crowded too!
We visited during European Mobility Week which meant they had a deal for walking to the park entrance instead of taking the ferry. The walk from the Skradin Entrance took a little over an hour with stops to take a lot of pictures along the way! Because we walked and got a special price it cost 65 Kuna or just under $11 USD. We had no idea European Mobility week was happening when we visited but it ended up saving us so much money!
- The walk was so beautiful! It was on a well maintained path with stunning views the entire time. You walk past so many impressive cliffs and basically follow the river the entire way.
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Skradinski Buk
Skradinski Buk is the most famous waterfall in Krka National Park. It’s unique because you can actually swim in it! That’s one of the big things that differentiates Krka National Park from Plitvice National Park where swimming is prohibited. We got there around 1 PM on a Tuesday and it was crowded! Unless you go really early in the morning you likely won’t be the only one there.
But it’s big and there was still so much room to get in and swim. Beware the water is very cold! Everyone had water shoes similar to these and we really wish we had them because the rocks are slippery because of the moss. It gets hard to walk in certain areas and you kind of just have to commit to going in. You will definitely want to bring a towel because even on a hot day the water was not very warm.
Read More: Day Trip to Brac Island in Croatia
Walking Around Krka National Park
After walking away from Skradinski Buk you will quickly realize that the crowd dramatically decreases. We walked the Skradinski Buk Trail around the park that took about 45 minutes to walk back to where we came into. It’s a relatively short loop that starts and ends at the Skradinski Buk waterfall.
It becomes wooden walkways through lush nature and is so serene! With less people it is really enjoyable to walk through. There are a few viewpoints that give you views out over the large waterfalls.
If you have more time there is a lot more in Krka National Park besides Skradinski Buk. There is also Visovac that is in the north part of the park. The monastery on the island reminds us a lot of Lake Bled in Slovenia! Regardless of where you go it’s definitely helpful to get there early in the morning to help beat the crowds but also to give yourself plenty of time to explore.
Amenities in Krka National Park
At the Skradin Entrance there were some stalls to buy food as well as bathrooms you can use for 5 Kuna or about $0.75 USD.
Near Skradinski Buk waterfall we were surprised by how built up it is! There are stalls with pizza, pastries, ice cream and so much more! We weren’t expecting it to feel that touristy in the actual park and honestly it took away a little from that part of the park. But on the flip side if you are looking for food you will definitely find it there. There are lockers there as well to lock up your valuables if you’re traveling alone or don’t want to carry them. We switched off going in to the water with my parents and made it work but it was nice to see lockers were offered.
Read More: Travel Guide to Visiting Sirmione on Lake Garda, Italy
Taking the Ferry to Krka National Park
The ferry to and from the Skradin Entrance leaves every hour on the half hour so you have options to return back to the ticket office but just beware of the last ferry of the day.
Was Krka National Park Worth it?
A full price ticket for June through September cost about $30 USD which is a very steep ticket price. I think it’s only worth that amount of money if you get there really early in the day and explore the different parts of the entire park.
At our discounted rate of less than $10 USD it was definitely worth it for us! It was much more reasonable and we really enjoyed the loop around the park. I do wish we had explored other parts of the park but it is very spread out. Our advice would be to plan what you want to see within the park before you go to make the most of your day!
