Travel Dates: September 2024
TLDR: Plitvice vs. Krka National Park – Which One Should You Visit?
If you only have time to visit one park, I would recommend Plitvice Lakes. The lakes are all connected with ferries and buses, which makes the park easier to explore. Krka felt more spread out, and the ferry and bus do not provide access to the entire park (e.g. Manojlovacki Slapovi waterfall is only accessibly if you have a car). However, getting to Plitvice is a bit more difficult than Krka as it’s further north, so you do have to consider distance.
What to do at Plitvice Lakes National Park
“Postcard view” – This picturesque view of Plitvice Lakes is free and outside of the park. Input “Veliki Slap” into Google Maps for directions to the viewpoint. If you’re driving from north to south, park on the grass under the tree just before the wooden bridge. The viewpoint can be accessed by a path across from the parking area on the left–it’s a quick 3 minute walk.
Route C – There are different routes to take at Plitvice Lakes National Park—maps will be displayed at the parking lot and entrance to show the different options and estimated time. We chose Route C because it was a good balance of seeing a lot of the park yet not having to walk too much. Throughout the park, there are clearly marked signs that will help you follow your route.
Route C starts and ends at Entrance 1, and your first viewpoint will be the main waterfalls (this is considered the Lower Lakes area). Following the route, you’ll eventually encounter a fork in the road. Take the path on the right to get closer to the waterfalls first, before retracing your steps to make a left, which will take you to ferry stop P3 to access the Upper Lakes area. We waited ~30 minutes for the ferry and the ride was 15-20 minutes long. After disembarking at P2, we continued our walk around the lakes with additional waterfall views. We ended at bus stop S3 and waited 15 minutes for the bus to take us to stop S1 (~20 minute ride). From S1, we walked back to the entrance. All in all we spent about 4.5 hours to complete Route C.
The routes at Plitvice Lakes are generally flat with some gains in elevation. Overall it’s an easy stroll and you can take your time to rest on the benches that are scattered throughout the park. If time is of the essence, then doing Route A (Lower Lakes only) will allow you to see the main waterfall attraction.
Tips for visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park
When visiting Plitvice Lakes National Park, I recommend buying your tickets online so you don’t have to worry about waiting in-person to get tickets. Granted we arrived around 11:30am and although it was a bit crowded, there was barely a line for tickets and to enter the park.
Online tickets will require you to select an entry time and entrance (either Entrance 2 from the south, or Entrance 1 from the north). For the entry time, you are not allowed to come prior to your selected time, but you are able to enter up to one hour later. For the entrance, we chose Entrance 1 because it’s closer to our accommodation and more convenient for Route C.
Parking at Entrance 1 is €2 per hour, and you pay at the pay station before leaving.
Be mindful that food vendors and bathrooms are only available outside the entrance to the park or at the ferry and bus stations.
What to do at Krka National Park
Manojlovački Slapovi – This waterfall is a bit remote and only accessible if you have a car, but it’s worthwhile. Google Maps will take you to the vicinity so make sure you look out for the sign on the road that says “Manojlovacki.” In the parking area, there will be a worker there to scan your Krka National Park tickets.
Follow the walking trail and take a left at the first fork. You’ll soon spot a makeshift path on your right leading down the hill. You’ll then encounter three paths: one to the left, one in the middle, and one to the right. Choose the middle path, and after a short walk you’ll come across a large boulder with a plaque; the waterfalls are just around the corner from there. Overall the trail is ~10 minutes one way.
Educational Walking Trail Roski Slap – This is the exact name in Google Maps for the parking lot that takes you to the Roski Slap overlook and Ozidana Pecina Cave. If you’re driving from Manojlovacki Slapovi, DO NOT follow Google Maps. It will take you off road, through a very narrow path filled with trees and bushes—if you get stuck there, there is no way out and the road is remote. I would recommend taking route 59 instead as that is a major road, despite it taking a bit longer.
At the parking lot for the walking trail, a staff member will be there to scan your tickets. The walk to the viewpoint of the necklaces— a series of small cascades known as Roski Slap—takes about 10 minutes. From the viewpoint, you’ll find a staircase on the right leading to Ozidana Pecina Cave, a small cave that has the same entrance and exit. If you prefer, you can continue down the staircase for ~30 minutes to reach Roski Slap. From there, you can take a free shuttle bus back to the parking lot.
Overall I would skip this stop given the view of the necklaces seemed to be filled with algae and looked mediocre, and the cave was uneventful.
Skradinski Buk Waterfall – To visit the main waterfall attraction at Krka National Park, you can either enter from Skradin and take a free ferry to the falls, or enter from Lozovac and take a free shuttle (or hike down) to the falls. We parked at the free parking lot at Lozovac since it’s closer to the waterfalls. There are also a few quick eateries, a small market, and free bathrooms here.
At the shuttle bus line, they scanned our tickets and we waited ~5 minutes for the bus to arrive. The bus ride is about 6 minutes, and from the drop off point you’ll follow the path down and eventually see a wooden boardwalk on your right. If you decide to take the boardwalk route, this is the scenic yet longer path to the waterfalls. Otherwise, you can continue straight down the larger path which will get you to the waterfalls faster.
I recommend the scenic route as it’s nice and easy, and we only spent about an hour in total at Skradinski Buk. Coming back to the parking lot, we waited another ~5 minutes for the bus.
Tips for visiting Krka National Park
When visiting Krka National Park, I recommend buying your tickets online so you don’t have to worry about waiting in-person to get tickets. Also, certain entrances like the Educational Walking Trail Roski Slap didn’t seem to be selling tickets there so they may turn you away if you don’t have a ticket. There are two ticket options–make sure you pick the one for the entire park if you want to include Skradinski Buk.
From online research, people recommend coming to Skradinski Buk early in the morning to avoid crowds. However, we visited Manojlovacki Slapovi and Roski Slap first and got to Skradinski around 2:30pm, and it wasn’t packed.
Where to stay near Plitvice
Camping Plitvice – Camping Plitvice is a nice campsite that allows space for RVs as well as mobile homes, which is what we had. The mobile homes are small units with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen space. There is free parking in front of the mobile homes. If you book with Expedia Gold Status, you also get a free bottle of wine and 20% off all meals.
Another benefit of Camping Plitvice is it’s only 5 minutes away from Plitvice Lakes National Park Entrance 1.
Globe Trotter 