Choose Plitvice if you want the bigger, wilder park, with sixteen terraced lakes and a full day of boardwalks in the mountains; choose Krka if you are based in Split, Šibenik or Zadar and want big waterfalls in half a day, with a boat ride from Skradin. You can't swim at either: Krka banned swimming at Skradinski buk in 2021, and Plitvice forbids it everywhere in the park. In summer 2026 both parks charged adults €40 for a day ticket, with cheaper afternoon tickets, and both cost far less in spring, autumn and winter. If you have the time, the two make a good pair on a trip between Zagreb and the Dalmatian coast.
Quick comparison (prices from the parks' official 2026 price lists, checked October 2026)
| Plitvice Lakes | Krka | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult day ticket, June–September | €40 (€25 after 4 pm; after 3 pm in September) | €40 (€30 after 3 pm) |
| Adult, April, May, October | €23 | €20 |
| Adult, November–March | €10 | €7 |
| Children 7–18, summer | €15 | €15 |
| Under 7 | Free | Free |
| Swimming | Not allowed anywhere | Not allowed at Skradinski buk |
| Nearest city | Zagreb or Zadar | Šibenik, Split or Zadar |
| Time to allow | A full day | Half a day; longer with boat trips |
Boardwalks along the lakes at Plitvice, in the mountains of Lika. Image: Manas Mayur, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
What's the difference between Krka and Plitvice?
Both parks protect rivers that build their own dams. Calcium carbonate in the water settles on moss and plants and forms travertine (in Croatian, sedra), which creates barriers, lakes and waterfalls. The two places feel quite different, though.
Plitvice sits in the mountains of Lika, between Zagreb and Zadar. It is a chain of sixteen lakes stepping down through beech and fir forest, with countless small cascades between them and the Veliki slap waterfall at the end. You walk on wooden boardwalks laid over the water, and an electric boat across Lake Kozjak and a panorama train link the upper and lower lakes. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in summer it is very busy.
Krka is a river park in Dalmatia, inland from Šibenik. Its best-known sight is Skradinski buk, a wide travertine waterfall where the Krka meets the Čikola, circled by a boardwalk loop. Upstream are Roški slap, the island monastery of Visovac and quieter sites further up the river. Krka is lower, warmer and closer to the coast, and is usually visited as a day trip from Split, Šibenik or Zadar.
Veliki slap, the tallest waterfall at Plitvice, at the end of the lower lakes. Image: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ticket prices in 2026
Plitvice (2026 price list): adults pay €10 from January to March and in November and December, €23 in April, May and October, and €40 from June to September before 4 pm (before 3 pm in September). An afternoon ticket after that time is €25. Students pay €6, €14 and €25 in those seasons, and children aged 7 to 18 pay €4, €6 and €15. Children under 7 enter free. Two-day tickets cost €15, €39 and €60 for adults. The ticket includes the electric boat and the panorama train on your chosen route.
Krka (2026 price list, with the same prices already published for 2027): a ticket for all land sites costs adults €7 from January to March and in November and December, €20 in April, May and October, and €40 from June to September. From June to September the price drops to €30 after 3 pm. Children aged 7 to 18 and students pay €4, €12 and €15 (€11.25 after 3 pm in summer). Children under 7 enter free. If you only want Roški slap and the upstream sites, a cheaper ticket costs €7, €12 or €20 for adults.
The Krka ticket includes the boat between Skradin and Skradinski buk and the bus from the Lozovac entrance down to the falls, both from 1 April to 31 October, and the bus between Laškovica and Roški slap from June to September. Boat excursions cost extra: for adults, €15 for the two-hour trip from Skradinski buk to Visovac, and €20 for the four-hour trip to Visovac and Roški slap.
Both parks sell tickets online, and buying in advance saves queueing in summer. Plitvice asks you to validate an online ticket at the entrance you chose, within the period you bought it for.
Can you swim at Krka or Plitvice?
No, at least not at the famous falls. Swimming below Skradinski buk was a summer tradition for decades, but the park's protection rulebook banned it from 1 January 2021 to protect the travertine barriers. The current park rules forbid swimming anywhere except at specially marked spots. At Plitvice, the park rules forbid swimming anywhere in the national park.
If swimming under a waterfall is the point of your day, look outside the national parks. Our guide to Croatia's lesser-known waterfalls covers places where you can swim, including the tufa cascades of the Zrmanja near Obrovac, north-east of Zadar.
The boardwalk loop around Skradinski buk at Krka, where swimming has been banned since 2021. Image: kallerna, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
How much time do you need?
Plitvice: plan a full day. The upper and lower lakes together, with the boat and panorama train, take most of a day at a comfortable pace, and the park sells two-day tickets for people who want to walk more of its trails. Half a day is enough for the lower lakes and Veliki slap only. For routes and entrances, see our Plitvice Lakes guide.
Krka: half a day covers the Skradinski buk loop, including the boat from Skradin or the bus from Lozovac. Add three to four hours if you take the boat excursion to Visovac and Roški slap.
Opening hours vary by month. At Krka, Skradinski buk is open 8:00 to 20:00 in June, July and August and 9:00 to 16:00 from November to February, and the park is closed on 25 and 26 December. Plitvice's hours page lists its entrances as open 7:00 to 18:00 with ticket sales until 15:00, and notes that hours vary with the season. Check both before you go.
Skradin, at the mouth of the Krka, where the park boat leaves for Skradinski buk. Image: VitVit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Getting there from Split, Zadar and Zagreb
Krka is closest to Šibenik and an easy day trip from Split or Zadar. Drivers use the A1 motorway: the Lozovac entrance is a short drive from the motorway, while the Skradin entrance means a boat ride up the river to the falls, available from April to October. From Split or Zadar the drive takes roughly an hour to an hour and a half each way. Out of season, check with the park how to reach Skradinski buk, as the boat and the Lozovac bus don't run.
Plitvice lies on the D429 road between Zagreb and the coast, which passes both main entrances. They are about 3 km apart: Entrance 1 is closest to Veliki slap and the lower lakes, and Entrance 2 to the boat dock and the upper lakes. Allow roughly two hours by car from Zagreb or Zadar, and more from Split. Buses between Zagreb and Zadar stop near the entrances; the park points to Zagreb bus station's timetable (akz.hr) for times. Parking at the entrances costs €2 an hour from June to September and €1.50 an hour in spring and autumn.
If you are driving, our guide to renting a car in Croatia covers age rules, tolls and documents.
Roški slap, upstream from Skradinski buk, reached by road or by the park's boat excursion. Image: Silverije, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Krka or Plitvice: which should you choose?
Choose Plitvice if:
- You can only see one, and you want the more spectacular landscape.
- You are travelling between Zagreb and the coast anyway, as it lies on the way.
- You like walking and have a full day, or want to stay nearby and arrive early.
Choose Krka if:
- You are based in Split, Šibenik or Zadar and have half a day.
- You want a boat ride and a waterfall in the same morning, with Skradin for lunch.
- You are travelling with people who don't want a long walk.
Out of season, both parks are cheap and much quieter. Plitvice in snow is a different place from Plitvice in July: see our Plitvice winter guide. In winter, Krka's boats and buses to Skradinski buk don't run, and some of its upstream sites close.
Plitvice in winter, when tickets drop to €10 and the crowds are gone. Image: Magdalena Miočev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Can you do both in one trip?
Yes. On a drive from Zagreb to Split, stop at Plitvice for a day, sleep nearby, then continue to the coast. Krka is then an easy day out from Split or Šibenik later in the trip. Doing both on the same day is possible by car but rushed: the two parks are a couple of hours' drive apart, and you would see only a corner of each.
A boardwalk over the cascades of Plitvice's lower lakes in autumn. Image: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
In summer, start early at both. The parks are at their quietest in the first hours after opening, and at Plitvice and Krka alike the afternoon ticket is the cheaper way in if you don't mind a shorter visit.
