Swimming in Waterfalls at Krka National Park! (Croatia 2019)

One thing we had to do in Croatia was go to the National Parks and see the waterfalls.

Click here to see the vlog or watch below. 

The morning started super early. We had breakfast on the way and slowly made our way to the meet up point in the middle of Split City Centre. Given how many little tour providers there are along the streets, it took a few minutes to find it so I was defintely glad we gave ourselves an extra ten minutes to play with. 

It was a smooth journey and the tour guide and operator had clearly done the trip many times. We walked to the mini bus and then started making our way to Krka Waterfalls. I loved that the group was small and it felt much more intimate, instead of being a packed coach full. On the way, we heard little stories and snippets of Croatia history which I really appreciated. 

Finally, we arrived at Krka National Park and it wasn't anywhere near as far as I thought it was. The tour guide went to get our tickets so that we didn't have to queue and then the mini bus took us to the main car park before we started walking down to the main viewing platform. 

I liked that we got a guided tour, however I did feel a little rushed as we meandered our way through the nature reserve and past many small water features. I stayed at the back the majority of the walk because I wanted to spend a little bit longer taking pictures but managed to catch up pretty quickly. 

With different platforms and vantage points enabling you to see the main falls at different angles and levels, it was defintely a photographers dream. I liked that the tour guide pointed out the best spots and of course, even offered to take group pictures for us. 

There were a lot of fish and even more wildlife dotted about, including a snake! 

A short, downhill walk later (it's all pathed by wood which makes it very easy), we made it to the bottom of the main falls. It was stunning. It's crazy how empty it looks from the top and how busy it is from the bottom. But it's absolutely gorgeous. So clear and so blue!

A quick change of clothes and we were ready for the water. None of us thought to bring our water shoes which was a huge mistake as it was so so sooooo painful getting in and out of the water. I'm surprised we didn't get splinters or any cuts. Once we were in though, it was gorgeous. It took a little time figuring out how to get closer to the waterfalls as there are so many huge rocks that you pretty much have to slide across the top to make it over them. But it was lovely. The fresh water was so refreshing and it was lovely to be able to get in and not taste salt the entire time. It was so peaceful. I easily could have stayed in the entire day. 

After drying off and chilling for a little while, we met up with the rest of the part before heading down to the second part of the park. This involved getting on possibly the slowest boat I've ever been on. It took us along the river to the other side, which is realistically more of a port with fancy boats and jet skis. 

We didn't stay there long - literally just enough time to go to the toilet - before hopping back onto the mini bus and onto the second National Park. We stopped a couple of times on the way, the main stop being the island in the middle of the river. It was a fantastic view an it once again had the clearest, cleanest water, surrounded by the lushest green valley. There was a statue of the king, whom I can no longer remember the name of, as well as the Croatian flag too which seemed quite fitting for the most photographed island in the world. 

The second National Park was much quieter, much smaller and much more archaic. Everything felt like it was from the 1800s, if not early. We got a little history lesson in washing without electricity and making flour using the energy from the falls. 

The falls were just as beautiful as the first but on a much smaller and more intimate scale. Unfortunately, and somewhat disappointedly, the swimming was entirely different. While you couldn't swim up to the waterfall completely, it felt as though you were very close. In this park, the fenced in swimming area was very shaded, tiny and far off to the right of the falls which was a shame. 

There wasn't too much to do there so after a quick lunch, we attempted to walk up to the viewing point. If you saw the video, you'll have seen that Vicki never attempted it and I gave up very quickly. Having said that, the view isn't as impressive as I'd anticipated at all. It was massively overgrown and because of this, you couldn't see the waterfall at all.

That marked the end of the trip and we ended up getting back earlier that expected so we all took our time getting ready for the evening, before heading to the port to grab some yummy food. Afterwards, we walked around the city to the live music and was entertained by some great dancing, then called it a night and headed back to our week long home.