Is Krka Waterfalls Near Split, Croatia Worth Visiting?
Unsure about visiting Krka National Park? Read on for my honest review!
The waterfalls at Krka National park near Split is one of the most awe inspiring sights in all of Croatia, and a day tour there is highly recommended.
I was fortunate enough to visit the Krka waterfalls on a full day tour during a visit to Split in 2023 and it was one of the highlights of my two weeks travelling in Croatia.
Knowing which day tour to choose however is not a straightforward choice, as there are several different tours from Split available at different prices and offering a range of activities.
In this blog post I’ll look at the best 3 day tours to Krka waterfalls from Split, including everything you can expect at this outstanding area of nature and beauty, as well as other top waterfalls also worth visiting in Croatia.
⌚ Short on time? My Recommendations for Krka Waterfalls Day Tours from Split:
✅ Krka Waterfalls Day Tour with Boat Ride from Split and Trogir
✅ Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting tour from Split
✅ Private Tour to Krka Waterfalls from Split
Is Krka Waterfalls Near Split, Croatia Worth Visiting?
The answer to this question is a resounding YES! My day trip from Split to Krka Waterfalls was easily one of my highlights of my entire vacation to Croatia, it’s a very memorable experience that I can’t recommend highly enough.
If you love hiking in nature and seeing absolutely beautiful waterfalls and are craving an escape from tourist cities in Croatia, then this national park is an absolute must when in the country.
The Best Krka Waterfalls Day Tours From Split
There are a lot of day tours from Split to Krka national park, all promising a range of activities. Let’s take a look at three of the best day tours and what they have to offer:
Krka Waterfalls Day Tour with Boat Ride from Split and Trogir
⭐ Rating: 4.5/5 ⌚ Tour Length: 8 hours 30 minutes ✅ Book it!
This is the day tour that I went on when I visited Split in April 2023, and I very much recommend it – I had an absolutely fantastic experience!
My tour guide was very informative and gave everyone all the necessary info about the park during the coach drive to the location. Here are the places you’ll visit during this tour:
📍 Krka National Park
Once you arrive at the park you’ll be given all the necessary info on the different hiking routes you can take.
There are four main hiking trails you can take; two easy hikes which both take around an hour to complete, and two more difficult hiking trails which are more physically demanding and take longer to complete.
The hiking trails are all very well signposted and you can also visit the Ethno Museum, which gives you an insight into the historical watermills at the park.
Most people walk the easier hiking trails due to time constraints, and that’s what I chose too. You’ll have 2 and a half hours to explore the park at your leisure on this trip and enjoy all the diverse wildlife there is to see.
📍 Skradinski Buk Waterfalls
You’ll pass several different waterfall areas as you make your way through the hiking routes, which eventually lead downwards to the main attraction at the park; Skradinski Buk waterfalls.
These waterfalls are one of the most stunning natural places I’ve ever visited (only Niagara Falls is better), and you’ll want to spend time here for photos and to take in the beautiful sights.
Not too far away from these waterfalls is an outdoor dining area, with plenty of park benches, food stalls and souvenir stalls. You can buy everything here from sandwiches, crepes, beers, coffee, tea and more.
📍 River Boat Cruise to Skradin
After the 2 and half hours at Krka national park, you’ll then board a river boat that lasts around 30 minutes and takes you to the small town of Skradin.
📍 Skradin
The final stop on this tour is to the beautiful little town of Skradin. This is a delightful place to explore, with a boat harbour, a beach, restaurants, bars and a fortress. You’ll spend 2 hours here before catching the coach back to Split.
The colourful streets and the bell tower of the Church of Mala Gospa in Skradin.
What’s included on this tour:
- Air-conditioned vehicle.
- Driver & Escort.
- Five hours of free time in the park.
- One way sightseeing cruise in the National Park.
- Wi-fi on board of vehicle.
⭐ Don’t just take my word for it! Read Paul’s review of this tour:
“A lovely relaxing walk through all the waterfalls followed by a relaxing boat trip to a lovely, relaxing quaint town with an informative and lovely host. Highly recommend for a day trip from Split.”
➡️ Book a ticket for Krka Waterfalls Day Tour with Boat Ride from Split and Trogir here
Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting tour from Split
⭐ Rating: 5/5 ⌚ Tour Length: 10 hours ✅ Book it!
If you fancy a more indulgent tour of Krka waterfalls, then you can enjoy a food and wine tasting tour from Split as well!
Like the previous tour, this tour takes you to Krka national park (for a total of 3 hours) as well as Skradin (for 1 hour) but you’ll also get to go to:
📍 Sladic Winery
This is a family winery based in the village of Plastovo. You’ll spend 1 hour here where you’ll enjoy a presentation from a winemaker and you’ll get to sample various local wines, cheeses and olive oils.
What’s included on this Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting tour from Split:
- Transportation by air-conditioned bus.
- English-speaking tour guide.
- Boat cruise on the Krka River.
- Wine tasting (3 kinds of wine along with spirits).
- Olive oil tasting.
- Local cheese tasting.
- Free time & swimming in the Skradin.
- Insurance.
⭐ Check out this 5 star review from Art:
“This was a beautiful cool shaded park with lots of easy to navigate boardwalks over flowing water and small waterfalls. Just beautiful!
The wine tasting afterwards was also a very nice outing and we really enjoyed the wine, bread and cheese. A great way to spend a day.”
➡️ Book tickets for Krka Waterfalls, Food & Wine Tasting tour from Split
Private Tour to Krka Waterfalls from Split
⭐ Rating: 5/5 ⌚ Tour Length: 6 to 9 hours ✅ Book it!
You may fancy your own private tour to the Krka waterfalls from Split, and if you do then this is the right tour for you.
You can expect a more personalised trip with this tour, where your English speaking driver will pick you up from your hotel anywhere within Split.
The first port of call on this private tour is of course Krka national park, where you’ll get to spend up to 3 hours exploring the area at your leisure.
After the waterfalls your next stop will be Klis Fortress, which is based in the city of Meereen and was featured in: ‘Game of Thrones‘. You’ll spend 1 hour at this fascinating ancient fortress.
An optional stop on this tour is to Trogir, a beautiful UNESCO heritage island which is full of history. You’ll be able to spend 1 hour at the island before heading back to Split.
What’s included on this private tour:
- Air-conditioned vehicle.
- Free wi-fi on board.
- Private transportation.
- Parking Fees Fuel surcharge.
- Entry Tickets for Krka National Park (Low season: 20 Euros per person). (June/July/August/September: 40 Euros per person).
- Entry Tickets for Klis fortress (optional detour: 8 Euros per person).
- Tour guide.
- Lunch.
⭐ Check out this great review from a Trip Advisor user:
“Awesome service. The whole team were very responsive in scheduling. Great experience on the tour. Really personalized service!”
➡️ Book tickets for a private tour to Krka Waterfalls from Split
What To Expect At Krka Waterfalls
So what exactly can you expect at the Krka waterfalls? Let me explain everything that I experienced during my day tour here from Split:
Krka National Park
This is a huge park (27 acres) that is an exceptionally beautiful place, full of nature and wildlife to explore.
The two easier hiking routes take around an hour to complete and are not strenuous at all. There are several boardwalks that you walk on that take you around the park which is very idyllic and serene.
The route is mostly on flat ground, there are some downhill paths but if you’re in good physical condition then you have nothing to worry about.
My only complaint is that there were far too many tourists when I visited the park! This meant I was constantly waiting for people in front of me on the hiking trail and trying to overpass groups who were taking their time.
👉 Pro Tip: Definitely try to book a trip to Krka national park during the off-peak season on a weekday to avoid lots of tourists!
Krka Waterfalls
The Skradinski Buk waterfalls at the park is undoubtedly the star of show during your day trip here from Split. It is an impressively beautiful sight of nature which you don’t get to see very often!
River Boat Cruise
The river boat cruise is a lovely boat ride to Skradin. It’s a nice opportunity to sit back and relax and enjoy the views.
It lasts around 30 minutes and you can choose to sit upstairs (which has the better views) or downstairs (which is more shaded).
👉 Pro Tip: Make sure you queue up early for the river boat in order to secure a good seat!
There were so many tourists when I visited the park that all of the best seats upstairs were taken by the time I boarded my river boat.
Skradin
I loved visiting Skradin! It’s a very quaint, beautiful and quiet place to stroll around and admire the colourful buildings, old medieval churches and surrounding nature.
2 hours in Skradin was plenty of time to walk around and take in the gorgeous beauty of the place.
I really appreciated getting to visit an often overlooked town as opposed to all the popular major cities of Croatia, such as Dubrovnik.
While Dubrovnik is undoubtedly a beautiful place with breath-taking views, it is too much of an expensive tourist hotspot for my liking.
Visiting off the beaten track small villages and towns like Skradin gives you a real insight into how life is really like for the locals.
I thoroughly recommend going out of your way to visit smaller places like this to get a better appreciation of a more authentic Croatia, rather than just sticking to the touristic places of Split and Dubrovnik.
I visited the Fortress of Turina in Skradin, a medieval fortress which offers the best views of Skradin and is well worth the short climb to the top to see the impressive panoramic views of Skradin and beyond.
Other Day Trips Near Split
Of course, there are a lot of other top day trips from Split that you can take. Let’s have a look at three of the best day trips and what to expect:
➡️ Hvar Island – This is one of the most popular islands in Croatia and is easily reachable from Split. You can catch a ferry from Split to Hvar that takes just around one hour, so you can easily spend a whole day exploring the island.
Hvar is an island full of history and natural beauty where you can choose to just chill out on it’s beaches or visit some popular sites such as St. Stephen’s Cathedral and Fortica Fortress.
➡️ The Blue Lagoon – One of the top destinations from Split is the Blue Lagoon, which is a bay area between islands that features incredibly turquoise waters and is ideal for swimming and snorkelling.
You can book a day trip there from Split, or travel directly via ferry to Korčula island, which takes around 2 and a half hours.
➡️ Trogir – Another fantastic day trip from Split is to Trogir, which is an UNESCO world heritage site. It’s a historic town based on a small island close to the mainland and is easily reachable from Split.
It takes from 30 minutes to 1 hour to reach by car or public transportation and is full of historical sites worth exploring, such as the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Karmerlengo Castle and the beautiful old town of Trogir.
Other Top Waterfalls in Croatia Worth Visiting
Croatia is a country that is full of waterfalls and has 90 in total, which makes it totally worth visiting!
Although Krka national park is hugely popular, there are several other waterfall sites that are worth visiting as well. So let’s take a look at three other popular waterfalls in Croatia:
👉 The Great Waterfall: Veliki Slap – This is Croatia’s highest waterfall, standing at an impressive 78 metres tall. Based at Plitvice Lakes National Park, which is a UNESCO site that is the other most popular national park alongside Krka.
It is the largest and oldest park in Croatia, full of lakes and diverse nature. It’s also do-able to reach Plitvice from Split on a day trip, taking around 2 hours to reach.
👉 Sopot Waterfall – This is a stunning waterfall that is often referred to as Croatia’s most beautiful waterfall. It is located at the Svic Creek near Floricici, in the region of Istria.
👉 Mrežnica River Waterfalls – Known as one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, featuring 93 amazing waterfalls surrounded by cliffs. It is based 3 hours north from Split, so it is possible to visit on a day trip.
Is Krka Waterfalls Near Split, Croatia Worth Visiting FAQs
Still not sure about visiting Krka waterfalls from Split? Let’s answer some of the most commonly asked questions about this amazing day trip:
How long does it take to get to Krka Waterfalls from Split?
Reaching Krka national park from Split takes around an hour, depending on traffic. On my day tour I travelled to the waterfalls in a very comfortable air conditioned coach, which took roughly about an hour.
How long can you spend at Krka national park?
This all depends on which tour you decide to book with, but in my experience I had up to 2 hours and 30 minutes to explore Krka national park which I felt was ample enough time to get the most out of my visit.
Other tours may last longer, around 3 hours. If you decided to visit the park on your own without a tour, then you could spend all day there if you wish, as the park is open from 8am until 8pm for the majority of the year.
Can you go swimming at the Krka waterfalls?
Unfortunately no, it’s not possible to swim at the main Krka waterfalls. This has been prohibited since 2006 to protect the environment of the area.
The nearest area where it’s possible to swim is at a fenced off lake at nearby Roški slap.
When is the best time to visit Krka waterfalls?
The best time to visit Krka national park is during either the spring or autumn months, when prices to the park are cheaper and there are less crowds.
I visited the park in late April and there were surprisingly plenty of tourists. There were several group tours at the park, which made my hike somewhat burdensome as I had to wait to pass various groups ahead of me.
Although my experience at the park was overcrowded, it is worse during the summer months, and hotter as well. The weather when I visited was really sunny and quite warm for April, so make sure you stay hydrated.
Visiting the park during the summer months you can expect to pay more for your entry ticket, plus the weather will be hotter, making for a more tiring day exploring the area.
Conclusion: Is Krka Waterfalls Near Split Worth Visiting?
So that concludes everything you need to know about Krka waterfalls and why the park is indeed worth visiting when in Croatia.
The waterfalls and whole of Krka national park is such a beautiful nature place that it would be a crime to miss it during your stay in Split.
Whether you just want a basic day tour package where you get to visit the delightful small town of Skradin as well as the park, or you fancy a more indulgent food and drink tour or a private tour, there’s plenty of options.
I honestly can’t recommend Krka waterfalls highly enough, it was the highlight of my trip to Croatia, so make sure you don’t miss it when in Split as it is so near and would be such a shame to miss!
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➡️ Planning your trip? Here are my favourite resources:
🏨 Accommodation: I recommend using Booking.com
🚙 Rental Car: Use Discover Cars for the best car rental prices
❤️ Travel Insurance: I recommend using Visitors Coverage
✈️ Flights: Use Kiwi.com for the best prices on flights
