Croatia - Krka Waterfalls Excursions

[TayanaLorna]

Our cruise to Sibenik and Split list 3 different excursions to or including the Krka Waterfalls:

Krka Waterfalls & Town of Skradin

Krka National Park & Dubrava Falconry Center

Krka National Park Walk

 

Will anyone who has taken any of these Viking excursions comment on how much you actually see of the Falls and how difficult the walking is.  One excursion description describes seeing the falls "from a viewing platform", another describes having a "pause above the falls",  and the final description says "invigorating walk" through the park to the Falls.

 

I am not sure I want to do an invigorating walk, however, I don't want the Falls to be a 10-15 photo stop as too many sites on Viking excursions can be.  Appreciate any comments from personal experience.

 

[CDR2001]

We did the Krka NP excursion from Zadar in October. We were in the park about 3 hours, and yes there is a lot of walking. Mostly it was walking on boardwalks where you see multiple small falls along the river. Climbing for closer views was optional. When we got to the main falls area, we stayed about 40 minutes I think… lots of time for photos, snacks and restroom break. ( bring euros for RR). The walk back to the bus area involved a steep climb up many stairs. I’m not sure if there was a longer less steep option. We loved this excursion as we’re photographers and nature lovers! The falconry was not an option for our cruise. 

 

Edited December 4, 2023 by CDR2001
Photos

[millybess]

We did the Krka Waterfalls and Falconry Centre also from Zadar.  The Falconry Centre was one of the best excursions on our b2b cruise.  We could have skipped Krka. There was a lot of walking as CDR2001 said.  In fact, our tour guide did say that if anyone had heart or breathing problems, that person should only walk to a certain point and then turn around, which would mean the person wouldn't get to the falls.  It was very hot and very busy with folks also walking in the opposite direction.  Walking back up was not fun for most.   There was a busload of us and we often had to stop.  When we got up to the parking lot, we had to wait for many stragglers while standing in the hot sun.  The parking lot is very small and the bus is not allowed to wait there.  It comes back at a certain time.

 

If we were to go back to Split or Zadar, we would do a private tour to the Falconry Centre

[ChrisCrafter]

I just did this tour on an Oceania cruise a month ago, but saw Viking “lollipops” along the way. It is a beautiful setting and moderate walk until the last 30 minutes or so. Then it is fairly steep downhill, lots of steps that are natural rock so uneven. There is a railing. Not necessarily hard, but you do have to pay attention to your footing and the depth between steps. 

 

We took a boat ride to Skradin  (beautiful) for lunch (meh), and caught the bus to return to our ship. I would not want to walk back up the waterfall to a bus.

 

BTW…the bathrooms are quite a distance from the base of the falls, cost 1 euro and have no electricity which means no lights. I’ll let you use your imagination on that one. The people in our group who went to use the facilities were gone most of our free time.

[PRH]

We did the falconry-park tour.  Loved it!

[downsmead]

Hi Lorna

We have done the Kkra falls but not with Viking. As others have said, to get the full ‘experience’ it is quite a walk down to the falls but generally easy with broad walks as shown. There are a couple of places where it can be a bit dodgy! The falls are now viewed from a distance, you can no longer paddle/ swim in the water 😞. They are beautiful. Again as has been said, the walk back to the meeting place is shorter in time but involves a lot more short, sharp uphill (steps) than going down. I think you can go back the way you come down but due to time constraints it may not be feasible. 
Croatia is a beautiful place, there are so many wonderful places to visit.

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, millybess said:

We did the Krka Waterfalls and Falconry Centre also from Zadar.  The Falconry Centre was one of the best excursions on our b2b cruise.  We could have skipped Krka. There was a lot of walking as CDR2001 said.  In fact, our tour guide did say that if anyone had heart or breathing problems, that person should only walk to a certain point and then turn around, which would mean the person wouldn't get to the falls.  It was very hot and very busy with folks also walking in the opposite direction.  Walking back up was not fun for most.   There was a busload of us and we often had to stop.  When we got up to the parking lot, we had to wait for many stragglers while standing in the hot sun.  The parking lot is very small and the bus is not allowed to wait there.  It comes back at a certain time.

 

If we were to go back to Split or Zadar, we would do a private tour to the Falconry Centre

Thank you Millybess.  Was the Krka Falls walk portion the 3 hours that other folks are reporting?  Can you recall how long at the falconry?

[TayanaLorna]

3 hours ago, downsmead said:

Hi Lorna

We have done the Kkra falls but not with Viking. As others have said, to get the full ‘experience’ it is quite a walk down to the falls but generally easy with broad walks as shown. There are a couple of places where it can be a bit dodgy! The falls are now viewed from a distance, you can no longer paddle/ swim in the water 😞. They are beautiful. Again as has been said, the walk back to the meeting place is shorter in time but involves a lot more short, sharp uphill (steps) than going down. I think you can go back the way you come down but due to time constraints it may not be feasible. 
Croatia is a beautiful place, there are so many wonderful places to visit.

Thanks Karen.  Hope you and Gavin are doing well.

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, PRH said:

We did the falconry-park tour.  Loved it!

Lovely photos.

[TayanaLorna]

4 hours ago, ChrisCrafter said:

I would not want to walk back up the waterfall to the bus.

If you did not walk back up, how did you get back to the bus?

[millybess]

51 minutes ago, TayanaLorna said:

Thank you Millybess.  Was the Krka Falls walk portion the 3 hours that other folks are reporting?  Can you recall how long at the falconry?

Lorna we spent about 1-1/2 hours at the Falconry Centre. We had a very nice lunch somewhere. We spent about 3 hours at Krka and much of that time was waiting for everyone to get back to the parking lot.  It was a very well done excursion by Viking. But we wouldn’t do it again. Also, I think it might be a longer drive from Split as opposed to Zadar. 

[ChrisCrafter]

1 hour ago, TayanaLorna said:

If you did not walk back up, how did you get back to the bus?

We took a boat ride downstream to the town of Skradin where we had a meal and then caught the bus back to the ship. 

[millybess]

28 minutes ago, ChrisCrafter said:

We took a boat ride downstream to the town of Skradin where we had a meal and then caught the bus back to the ship. 

If they offered that trip with the Falconry Centre, that would be ideal!

[TayanaLorna]

13 hours ago, ChrisCrafter said:

We took a boat ride downstream to the town of Skradin where we had a meal and then caught the bus back to the ship. 

That would be awesome if offered.  Skradin stop is via bus.

[TayanaLorna]

14 hours ago, millybess said:

Lorna we spent about 1-1/2 hours at the Falconry Centre. We had a very nice lunch somewhere. We spent about 3 hours at Krka and much of that time was waiting for everyone to get back to the parking lot.  It was a very well done excursion by Viking. But we wouldn’t do it again. Also, I think it might be a longer drive from Split as opposed to Zadar. 

Thanks.  It is offered both from Sibenik and Split on our cruise and the drive from Sibenik is half that from Split.  Would take the shorter bus ride.

[medskis]

We did a 2 week land stay in Croatia several years ago.  One day we rented a car and traveled tot Krka, maybe 1.5 hours from Trogir (close to Split) passing so many pretty places.  We visited KRKA for the full walk, up and down stairs, swimming was allowed back then.  We got back in the car and drove to Skradin and had the BEST time there….. cute little town on its own and we found a mom-pop place that sells oils and wine and offers food….. a real experience, even grandmom got into the act with serving and pouring. MATE VINO is the name of the place and if you click on it in Google Maps you’ll see photos/ videos.  If one of the excursions offers boat to Skradin that might be best /easiest option hopefully eliminating big stair climb back up to parking lot, 

   PS. If anyone driving at some point, be sure to stop in PRIMOSTEN on your way back to or from Split/Trogir direction.