Croatia National Parks: A Walker's Guide to All 8

Croatia's national parks are karst country, limestone that water has shaped into lakes, waterfalls, canyons and islands. In most of them you see the best of it on foot. At Plitvice the path crosses the lakes on boardwalks, at Krka it follows the river to the falls, and on Mljet it ends beside a salt lake warm enough to swim in.

Croatia has eight national parks and, since March 2026, 13 nature parks. Six of the eight have marked paths for a day's walk, while Brijuni and Kornati are reached by boat, with shorter walks once you land.

The parks run from Brijuni off Istria to Mljet near Dubrovnik, so most visitors walk two or three of them on one trip. May, June, September and October suit all eight.

The 8 National Parks in Croatia

The eight parks are numbered with the six walking parks first, from the lakes of Plitvice to the forest of Risnjak, then the two island parks reached by boat.

Choose by the day you want:

• For a full day on foot: Plitvice, where the longest lake programmes run to 17.5 km, or the Premužić Path on Velebit

• For a half day near the coast: Krka, 3.4 km from Skradin to the falls, with the park boat back

• For a swim after the walk: Mljet, where the smaller salt lake reaches 26 to 29 °C in summer

• For rock and big walls: Paklenica, a canyon walk under limestone faces up to 400 m high

Plitvice and Krka are the best national parks in Croatia for a first walk: Plitvice for a full day, Krka for a morning.

1. Plitvice Lakes

• Where: Lika, in the hills between Zagreb and Zadar

• Best walk: Programme C from Entrance 1, round the Lower and Upper Lakes with the electric boat across Kozjak

• Distance and time: 8 km and about 140 m of climbing, 4 to 5 hours

• Entry 2026: a timed ticket for one entrance, with the boat and the panoramic train included

• Without a car: buses from Zagreb take 1 hour 50 to 2 hours 37, and from Zadar 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 55; they stop at both entrances

• Best months: May, June, September and October

Plitvice Lakes National Park holds 16 named lakes, twelve Upper Lakes on dolomite and four Lower Lakes in a limestone canyon, dammed by tufa barriers. The park marks eight lake programmes from two entrances, from 3.5 km to 17.5 km. C and H are the shortest programmes covering both lake groups.

Tickets are sold for a time slot, and you cannot enter before it, though up to an hour late is accepted. About 61% of visitors start at Entrance 1, so Programme H from Entrance 2 starts with fewer people around you: 8.9 km in 4 to 6 hours.

K1 and K2, 16.5 and 17.5 km, are the programmes walked almost entirely on foot, and both reach the new Tomićevo pogledalo viewpoint. The lakes drop from 636.6 m at the top to 503 m at the last one. Programme C is also one of the best walks in Croatia, with the Krka, Paklenica and Mljet walks.

2. Krka

• Where: the Krka river inland from Šibenik, northern Dalmatia

• Best walk: Skradin Bridge to Skradinski buk on the right bank, then the boardwalk loop round the falls

• Distance and time: 3.4 km to the falls and the 1.9 km loop; the park boat back to Skradin takes 20 minutes

• Entry 2026: a day ticket for all land sites, with the Skradin boat included from April to October

• Without a car: FlixBus from Split to Skradin takes 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 30, and local buses run from Šibenik

• Best months: April to June, September and October

Skradinski buk is the last of the Krka's seven waterfalls and, the park says, the longest tufa barrier in Europe: 17 steps over 800 m of river, falling 45.7 m in all. The Skradin Bridge trail is gravel and earth shared with cyclists, and the loop at the falls is one-way over wooden bridges.

Swimming is not allowed at Skradinski buk, only at marked spots at Roški slap, Stinice and Pisak from 1 June to 30 September. A ticket allows one visit to each site a day, so you cannot walk in from Lozovac and leave on the Skradin boat.

3. Mljet

• Where: the north-west of Mljet island, south Dalmatia

• Best walk: the park's route from Polače over Montokuc, down to Soline and along the shore of Veliko jezero

• Distance and time: about 9 km and about 340 m of climbing; the park allows an hour to Montokuc and 40 minutes back from Pristanište

• Entry 2026: a day ticket with one return boat to St Mary's islet

• Without a car: the TP Line catamaran from Dubrovnik to Polače, 29 May to 27 September, or the Krilo to Pomena, 12 May to 15 October

• Best months: May, June and September

Mljet National Park is built round two salt lakes joined to the open sea: Veliko jezero, 145 ha and 47 m deep, and Malo jezero, 24 ha. The park's own route climbs from Polače to the Montokuc viewpoint, 235 m, then drops to Soline.

From Soline the path follows 2.5 km of shore to Pristanište, where the park boat leaves for the 12th-century monastery on St Mary's islet in the larger lake. The park suggests a swim at Veliki most on the way, and Malo jezero reaches 26 to 29 °C in summer.

In high summer the Polače catamaran arrives at 11:00 and leaves at 16:55, or 16:00 from 31 August, time enough for the loop. From mid-October to mid-May no catamaran allows a day trip from Dubrovnik.

4. Paklenica

• Where: the coast side of southern Velebit, above Starigrad-Paklenica

• Best walk: up the Velika Paklenica canyon to the mountain hut, with a side path to the Manita peć cave

• Distance and time: 6 km and 400 m of climbing to the hut, about 2 hours; the cave path is 4 km and 450 m from the car park

• Entry 2026: a park day ticket, plus a cash-only ticket at the cave

• Without a car: Liburnija buses from Zadar on weekdays, about 45 minutes to Starigrad-Paklenica

• Best months: April to June, September and October

The canyon of Velika Paklenica runs about 3 km into Velebit, with walls up to 400 m high. The path passes under Anića kuk, 712 m, where climbing routes run up to 350 m long. Beyond Anića luka and the Lugarnica forester's house, open May to October, the hut at 480 m opens every day of the year.

Manita peć opens only from 10:00 to 13:00, on Saturdays in April, three days a week in May, June and October and daily from July to September. Its path is exposed and has no water, so start early in summer. Mala Paklenica and the summit paths of Paklenica National Park make longer days.

5. Northern Velebit

• Where: the northern ridge of Velebit above Senj; the main entrance, Babić Siča, is at 1,300 m

• Best walk: the Premužić Path from the Zavižan hut south to the Alan hut

• Distance and time: 15 km, 5 to 6 hours, with about 460 m up and 690 m down

• Entry 2026: a day ticket at one price all year, sold at Babić Siča, Alan and the Krasno office

• Without a car: no bus runs to Zavižan; the last 7 km from Babić Siča is unpaved mountain road

• Best months: June to September, in a park season that runs from May to November

The Premužić Path was built in dry stone between 1930 and 1933 and runs 57 km, 16 km of it inside the national park. It threads the limestone towers of Hajdučki and Rožanski kukovi, a strict reserve, yet there are virtually no steep climbs on it.

The Zavižan hut, beside the weather station at 1,594 m, sleeps 28 and is open all year. The Alan hut sleeps 40 and is staffed from mid-June to the end of October, and only at weekends in the other months.

Rossi's shelter, about two hours from Zavižan, is the lunch stop. Walking Velebit hut to hut on the path takes three days.

6. Risnjak

• Where: Gorski kotar, the forested mountains inland from Rijeka; the main entrance is at Bijela Vodica, beside Crni Lug

• Best walk: the Leska trail, a loop from the park office through forest and meadows

• Distance and time: 4.2 km in about 2 hours, with very little climbing

• Entry 2026: a ticket valid for two days; groups must book a park guide for Leska

• Without a car: one bus a day runs each way to Crni Lug, so the park advises coming by car

• Best months: May to October, though the trail stays open most of the winter

Leska, opened in 1993, was the first educational trail in a Croatian national park, with 23 boards in Croatian and English at about 700 m. Sports shoes are enough for the whole Leska loop, and forest covers 92% of Risnjak, named after the lynx, ris in Croatian. The Kupa river rises inside the park at 321 m, from a shaft 154 m deep.

The summit, 1,528 m, is a full hiking day, and its hut is closed for reconstruction; the Vilje path that supplies it is shut. Summit days on Risnjak and Velebit are covered under hiking in Croatia on our sister site.

7. Brijuni

• Where: 14 islands off Fažana, a village 8 km from Pula in south-west Istria

• Best walk: a self-guided loop on Veliki Brijun from the harbour to the Safari park and the Roman villa at Verige bay

• Distance and time: about 8 km on almost level roads, with about 80 m of climbing; the guided visit takes about 3.5 hours, an hour of it by train

• Entry 2026: a guided excursion, or a self-guided ticket with the park's app; both include the boat

• Without a car: bus 21 from Pula to Fažana, then the park boat, 15 minutes

• Best months: April to June, September and October

Most visitors see Brijuni National Park from the tourist train, but the self-guided ticket lets you walk it with the Brijuni Pocket Guide app. It covers the boat, the Safari park, the museum displays and the Boat House, and you choose your own pace on foot.

The Roman villa in Verige bay, from the 1st century AD, spread over three terraces, and more than 200 dinosaur footprints are known on four of the islands. Boats leave Fažana up to 12 times a day in summer, but from November to March only two boats a day go out, at 9:00 and 11:30.

8. Kornati

• Where: 89 islands, islets and reefs off Murter, between Zadar and Šibenik

• Best walk: from Kravljačica cove on Kornat up to Metlina, 237 m, the highest viewpoint in the park

• Distance and time: about 1.7 km each way and about 210 m of climbing, on a stony path with little shade

• Entry 2026: charged per boat; excursion boats include it in the fare

• Without a car: buses from Šibenik to Murter, then an excursion boat or a hired boat

• Best months: May, June and September

Kornati National Park can be reached only by boat, and it has no marked hiking trails. You walk on the island paths and tracks, across land that is almost all privately owned. Kornat alone has about 260 km of dry-stone walls, built to keep sheep on their owners' land.

The park recommends starting for Metlina from the coves of Kravljačica, Strižnja or Vrulje, and asks walkers to keep off the walls and leave the sheep alone. From Murter, Kravljačica is about 36 km by boat through Vrata od Opata, the park entrance at Kornat's south-east tip. Below the summit, Magazinova škrila is the largest bare limestone slab on the Adriatic, tilted about 25° above the sea.

Tickets and Timed Entry

A day ticket at most parks includes the boat, bus or train you need inside the park, and Plitvice sells entry by time slot.

These are the 2026 adult day tickets. Season bands differ a little from park to park: Paklenica's summer price starts in May, Risnjak's covers only July and August, and Northern Velebit charges one price all year.

At Plitvice you choose an entrance and a time when you buy online. Summer morning slots can sell out, and the late ticket after 4 pm in June to August, 3 pm in September, saves €15.

Krka's €30 ticket after 3 pm in summer works the same way, while Mljet takes 25% off after 4 pm, but only for tickets bought at the park. Krka also sells a cheaper ticket for Roški slap and the upper river alone, €12 in spring and autumn and €20 in summer. A Kornati ticket for your own boat under 7 m costs €25 or €45 a day, bought before you enter.

Getting Around Between the Parks

The mainland parks sit one to two hours apart by car along the coast and the A1 motorway, while Brijuni, Kornati and Mljet need a boat as well.

By car, Zagreb to the Plitvice area takes about 2 hours, Plitvice to Starigrad-Paklenica about 1.5 hours and Paklenica to Šibenik, for Krka, about an hour. A car is the only practical way to Northern Velebit and Risnjak, where there is no bus to Zavižan and only one a day to Crni Lug.

Without a car, buses link Zagreb and Zadar with Plitvice and Split with Skradin, but the Zadar to Starigrad-Paklenica bus runs on weekdays only. Murter, the port for Kornati, has regular buses from Šibenik, and bus 21 runs from Pula to Fažana for Brijuni.

Mljet is easiest from Dubrovnik, a base with its own walks around Dubrovnik, where the catamarans leave Gruž port. A car ferry also crosses all year from Prapratno on Pelješac to Sobra in 45 minutes.

UK flights reach Zagreb and Dubrovnik all year, but Split, Zadar and Pula mainly in summer. United is the only airline flying non-stop from the USA, to Dubrovnik and Split in summer.

Best Time to Visit the National Parks

Ticket prices, boat timetables, cave hours and even which paths are open all change with the season in the parks.

• April and May: Plitvice's Upper Lakes have usually reopened by early April, the shoulder ticket costs about half the summer price, and Manita peć opens on Saturdays in April

• June to September: the longest opening hours and every boat running, but Split reaches 30 °C on about 16 days in July, so walk Paklenica and Krka early

• October: autumn colour in the beech forests of Plitvice and Risnjak; the Krilo to Mljet stops on 15 October and Manita peć closes on 31 October

• November to March: quiet and cheap at Plitvice and Krka; Northern Velebit's season ends with November, and Mljet takes visits only by arrangement

In Lika the mean daily high is 19 °C in May and 21 °C in September at Gospić, the nearest weather station to Plitvice. On the coast, Zadar averages 21 °C in May and 24 °C in September, which is the most comfortable heat for walking the canyon at Paklenica.

What to Pack

Bare limestone, summer sun and boat crossings set the kit for the parks, from boardwalks at Plitvice to stony tracks on Kornat.

For any park walk:

• Walking shoes with a good grip for wet boardwalks and loose stone

• A sun hat, sunglasses and sun cream, as the paths on Kornat and to Manita peć have little shade

• A light rain jacket for the inland parks; Gospić, near Plitvice, has about 10 rain days in May

• A phone with the park map and a power bank

For the national parks:

• Water for the whole walk on Kornat, where the park asks you to carry enough, and on the Manita peć path, which has none

• Light boots for the canyon at Paklenica and the Premužić Path

• Euros in cash for the Manita peć cave

• Swimwear for Mljet's lakes and Krka's swimming spots

• A warm layer for the cave at about 9 °C and for Zavižan at 1,594 m

• Your Plitvice ticket on paper or on your phone, for the entrance and time you booked

Linking the Parks in One Week

Plitvice, Paklenica and Krka lie in a line from the inland hills down to the coast, so a week works best driven north to south, one park a day.

The hard part is the timing. Plitvice wants a booked slot and the Manita peć cave opens only from 10:00 to 13:00. The walks at Paklenica and on Biokovo, the mountain above Makarska, go best with an early start before the heat.

Our self-guided Croatia National Parks Walking Holiday is that week, planned for you.

• Days and route: 7 days and 6 nights, from Zagreb airport to Split airport, May to October

• How you travel: a self-drive trip, with car hire available on request

• Lakes and river: Plitvice, 8 km on day 2, and Krka, 10.8 km on day 4

• Canyon and mountain: Paklenica, 16 km with the cave on day 3, and Biokovo, 13.3 km from the hotel door to Vošac on day 6

• What we book: six nights in 3-star hotels with breakfast, a digital guidebook, a GPS app and support during the trip

For Northern Velebit, our five-day Velebit hut-to-hut trip walks the Premužić Path from Zavižan to Alan and on to Baške Oštarije, May to September, with two nights in mountain huts. Ask us about dates for either.

The week starts among the lakes and beech woods of Plitvice, two hours from Zagreb, and ends six days later at sea level in Makarska, under the limestone wall of Biokovo.