A day trip to Krka National Park in Winter

A guide to the Krka National Park in Off season

Why go?

If you are kicking around Croatia in the off-season like we were, you might encounter the beautiful blue days that come with the dry and cool ‘Bura’ northern winds which are said to ‘wipe the sky clean’. In summer you should expect to be walking or swimming in these national parks in a crowd or line at all times. In January it will just be you and nature. Take a camera.

how to get there

If driving yourself, the best entrance in winter is the Lozovac entrance which has a huge free parking bay before the ticket bay. There are buses that run from Split and Zadar but are not as frequent in winter.

Cost

In winter the entrance to the Park is a mere 30 kn as opposed to thee 200kn in the high season. Ooft.

(note: we were very luck to arrive on the 35th anniversary of the park and got in for free anyway!)

what to expect

The boats that run up the Krka seldom run in winter but if you are only visiting for the day, go in on foot, pack some lunch and have a picnic in the sun. From the carpark you can walk down the gravel hill to the entrance of the park. Facilities are very well signed, in English, and the infrastructure is set up for mass tourist assault, so in the quiet winter, the timber board walks seems very extravagant for the few people bobbing around.

Be sure to take some good layers, it is winter remember! We were in t-shirts in the sun in January but needed our warmer jackets in the shade. We wore hiking boots thinking it would be a trail but in reality you could wear sneakers or skate shoes and you would be fine. We also recommend you get there early, even in winter, for the best lighting on the beautiful blue and green lakes and falls.

If visiting for the day in winter, you will only need 3-4 hours to complete the educational walk trail and enjoy a relaxed lunch around the Skradinski buk waterfall area. If you were not stopping you really could do the whole walk in under 2 hours. We recommend taking your time, enjoying nature in peace and quiet and practicing your photography skills without having to wait in a line and get a quick snap. The long paths and side trails with look outs will keep you occupied for hours!

There are further walks you can attempt, just speak to the extremely helpful staff at the gate about your options and the weather conditions as it has been know to snow in the park from time to time!

We don’t like crowds and enjoy national parks for the nature, so going in winter makes it a much more nature centred instead of tourist bus centred visit.