Croatia is a popular tourism destination for Europeans and non-Europeans alike. And Croatia is maybe most known for its coastal cities and islands such as Dubrovnik, Split and Hvar. But further inland you’ll find oases of breathtaking nature. One of these slices of paradise is Krka National Park.

Located along the Krka River in southern Croatia, just a couple of hours outside of Split, Krka national park is known for its series of 7 waterfalls and is a must-see in Croatia. Beautiful nature trails run along the river and waterfalls surrounded by rich nature and traditional watermills. And you can hop on a river cruise down to one of the charming villages along the riverbank.

Walking the nature trails surrounded by bush and blue water truly gives off a Jurrasic world vibe! 

Krka National Park is located only about an hour and a half outside Split and is one of Croatia’s top attractions. You can get to Krka either by car or by joining the numerous half-day bus tours. The drive up to Krka offers beautiful views of both the flatlands and the mountains, and many of the tours also include a river cruise of the Krka River as well as optional wine and olive tasting at a local winery.

We joined an afternoon trip with Krka Tours to the parks combined with wine tasting. The tour departed from split around noon and returned in the evening. So it’s a perfect day out after a slow morning! In addition to visiting a local winery, we also got to enjoy the charming town of Skradin. The tour was perfect as it let you discover the national park at your own pace, only providing pick-up times and locations to keep in mind.

As with other national parks in Croatia, Krka National Park is super popular and will be extremely busy in the months of July and August. I would recommend visiting before or after these peak times if you want to avoid the worst crowds.

I would also recommend getting to the boats early as almost everyone in the parks is jumping on the river cruise to Skradin and you might end up queuing for a long time.

Krka National Park is a lot smaller than for example Plitvice National Park and it only took a few hours to hike the trails down to the falls. Spending a half-day in this location is enough. You’ll have time to hike down the nature trail at your own pace, leaving plenty of time for photographs and still have time at the falls.

Keep in mind that swimming in front of the falls is no longer permitted so if you want to go for a swim you’ll have to take the river cruise down to Skradin.

However, if you are visiting during the peak season you might spend a lot of time queuing for bathrooms, food trucks and the river cruise.

It is also a very relaxing location and even though we had limited time on our tour I could have spent more time at the parks just relaxing in the shade of a tree or browsing the local shops in Skradin.

Check also out: Tips for visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park