Plitvice + Krka Route: Two Waterfall Parks, One Trip

Croatia has two famous waterfall parks, and you do not have to choose - Plitvice Lakes and Krka sit close enough to pair on the same trip. They are about 130 to 155 km apart, roughly a 2 to 2.5 hour drive on the A1 motorway, so the natural way to do both is a two-day loop with one overnight: one park per day, sleeping somewhere in between. In peak summer the two entrance tickets run €40 each (so €80 a head for the pair), less than half that off-season. Do it with a rental car and you get the falls before the tour coaches and the freedom to stop where you like.

The one real decision is which end to start from. Coming down from Zagreb, you hit Plitvice first and finish on the coast at Split or Šibenik; coming up from the coast, you do Krka on the way out and Plitvice as the inland finale. Either direction works - the parks and the drive are the same. This page runs it north to south, but the order flips cleanly if your flights or your base point the other way.

How far apart are Plitvice and Krka?

The two parks are separated by the Lika hinterland, and the fast link between them is the A1 motorway. From Plitvice you drop down through Gospić onto the A1 near Gornja Ploča, then run south to the Šibenik/Skradin exits for Krka. Reckon on 130 to 155 km and 2 to 2.5 hours depending on which entrances you use and the summer traffic near the parks.

For context, here is how the whole run connects:

None of the legs is long on its own. What catches people out is trying to chain all of it together in a single day - which brings us to the question everyone asks.

Can you do both parks in one day?

Technically yes, realistically no - not without wrecking the day. From one base you are looking at around six hours of driving, plus the parks themselves: Plitvice needs four to six hours to walk properly and Krka wants two to three. Stack those and you spend the good light of the morning in the car and arrive at the second park tired, late, and behind the crowds.

The honest answer is to split it over two days and sleep between the parks. Do Plitvice on a full first day, drive south in the late afternoon, overnight near Krka, and walk Krka the next morning before the tour buses roll in from Split. You get both parks at their best - early, quiet, and in decent light - instead of a forced march. If your schedule truly only allows one day, pick one park (Krka if you are coast-based and short on time, Plitvice if you want the bigger landscape) rather than half-doing both.

The route, north to south

Day one starts in Zagreb. Pick up the car, get on the A1 south, and if you have an hour to spare pull off at Rastoke near Slunj, a village built over a knot of small waterfalls where the Slunjčica meets the Korana - it is the same travertine geology you are about to see at scale, and a good leg-stretch. From there it is a short hop to Plitvice Lakes. Buy a timed ticket in advance for Entrance 1 (nearer the Lower Lakes and the tall Veliki Slap) or Entrance 2 (nearer the Upper Lakes), and walk one of the lettered routes; route C is the classic full loop, using the boat across Lake Kozjak and the panoramic shuttle train. Plan four to six hours.

In the late afternoon, drive south toward the coast and check into your bed near Krka - Skradin or Šibenik are the obvious choices. This is the leg that makes the trip a loop rather than two separate day trips: you sleep halfway, so the second park is a relaxed morning, not another long haul.

Day two is Krka. From Skradin a park boat glides up the canyon to Skradinski Buk, the wide staircase of seventeen cascades that is the park’s headline; from the Lozovac entrance a shuttle bus drops you at the same falls if you are driving straight in. The walking here is gentler than Plitvice - a flat loop of under two kilometres around the falls and the old watermills - so you can be done by lunch. Add the boat excursion up to the island monastery of Visovac if you want to stretch it into a full day. Then it is an easy hour down to Split and the coast, where the route ends. For the parks in depth, see our guides to Plitvice Lakes and Krka National Park.

Tickets for both parks (2026)

Both parks price by season and both sell out in summer, so book online ahead. Figures below were checked in July 2026 - always reconfirm on the official sites before you go.

Plitvice Lakes (np-plitvicka-jezera.hr) uses timed entry with an hourly cap, and slots for the morning go weeks in advance in July and August. In peak season (June to September) the adult day ticket is €40, with a cheaper afternoon ticket (entry after 16:00, after 15:00 in September) at €25; children 7-18 pay €15 and under-7s are free. Shoulder months (April, May, October) drop to €23, and winter to €10. The ticket includes the boat across Lake Kozjak and the panoramic train, and it is valid one day.

Krka (npkrka.hr) is also seasonal: €40 adult in summer (June to September), falling to €30 after 15:00, then €20 in April/May/October and just €7 in winter; children 7-18 are about €15 in summer, and under-7s are free. Crucially, from April to October the Krka ticket already includes the Skradin river boat and the Lozovac shuttle bus to the falls - the Visovac and Roški slap boat excursions are extra, on a seasonal timetable.

So in high summer the pair of entrances is about €80 per adult; travel in May or October and the same two tickets total closer to €44. That alone is a reason to go in the shoulder season, on top of thinner crowds and, in spring, fuller falls.

Where to stay between the parks

The overnight is what makes this route relaxed. Best-placed options going north to south:

• Skradin - a small, walkable harbour town right at the Krka gateway; you can be on the first morning boat to the falls in minutes. Guest houses and konobas, quiet in the evening.
• Šibenik - the larger coastal town near Krka, with the most rooms and restaurants and a UNESCO-listed cathedral of its own; a 20-minute drive to the park.
• By Plitvice - if you would rather break the drive earlier, the Jezero and Plitvice hotels and the village guest houses let you walk the lakes at opening before day-trippers arrive.
• Split - if you are ending on the coast, base your last night here. You can find a place to stay between the parks to match wherever you split the drive.

Which park is which

They are often set up as a rivalry, but on this trip they are complements. Plitvice is the bigger, wilder landscape - sixteen terraced lakes and dozens of falls, half a day of walking, and it sits inland, halfway to Zagreb. Krka is one spectacular amphitheatre of cascades with an island monastery, an easier walk, and it is close to the coast - the reason it slots in so neatly on the way to or from Split. Do Plitvice for the scale and the day out; do Krka for the single grand waterfall and the shorter legs. One thing that now applies to both: swimming is no longer allowed at either park’s falls, so leave the swimsuit for the coast.

If your trip can only fit one of them in, do not force this route - our Krka vs Plitvice comparison works through the choice properly, with drive times from Zagreb, Zadar and Split, the walking distances and the timed-entry rules.

If you would rather not drive at all, a combined day tour bundles the transport and both tickets, though it is a very long day from a single base; you can book a combined Plitvice and Krka tour instead of self-driving. For the freedom to time the falls yourself, though, a car wins - compare car rental for the two-park drive and start each morning before the coaches.

Practical tips

• Book both park tickets online in advance. Plitvice is timed-entry and capped; Krka sells out its summer slots too. Aim for the first morning entry at each.
• Drive the middle leg in the afternoon, after Plitvice, so day two at Krka is an easy morning rather than a second long transfer.
• Wear proper shoes. Both parks are wooden boardwalks, often wet and railing-free; the Plitvice loop is long, the Krka loop short and flat.
• Carry water and some cash. Food inside both parks is limited and pricey, and small kiosks and the Krka boats are easier with cash.
• Mind the season. July and August mean crowds and sold-out slots; May-June and September-October give fuller falls, cheaper tickets and room to move.
• Fuel and tolls. The A1 is a toll motorway and the parks charge for parking at their entrances - budget a little beyond the tickets, and confirm current parking fees on the day.

Plan the rest of your trip

This two-park run pairs naturally with a Croatia road trip. Start or end in the capital with our Zagreb travel guide, or on the coast with the Split travel guide. If you would rather reach Plitvice without your own car, see how to visit Plitvice from Zagreb or Split; for the mechanics of hiring and driving, read renting a car in Croatia and getting around Croatia. If Krka doesn’t fit and you’d rather go straight from the capital to the coast, our Zagreb to Split via Plitvice route covers that inland-to-coast run on its own. More itineraries are in the routes hub.

Park ticket prices, opening hours, boat schedules and bus times change with the season and year to year. The figures here were checked in July 2026 - reconfirm on np-plitvicka-jezera.hr and npkrka.hr before you travel.