Croatia national parks & more

Aaaaaaand, we’re back!

We certainly didn’t plan to take a full month off from blogging, but somehow we did. Four weeks on a diet crawls by but four weeks between blog posts seems like just a couple of days. Why is that? Anyway, now we’re back and looking forward to sharing our travels, or lack thereof.

To catch you up, we’ve got a couple of posts on deck. First, we’re tackling our trips to two of Croatia’s most beautiful National parks as well as a trip to visit a couple of villages on Krk Island. And for the second post, we’re finally saying goodbye to Croatia!

But first up, those national parks, Plitviče Lakes and Krka, two of Croatia’s most popular destinations. These were high on our list of places to visit, but because it can be snowy at Plitviče Lakes, we were always held back by weather. Then, Mark and Ingrid, our Irish friends we met in Vrsar, took a trip there and posted photos on Instagram. Oksana and Brad saw the photos, texted us and said, “Let’s go!” So we did. It was spur of the moment, Oksana messaged me at 10-ish, and we were on the road by noon. We met up at a campground just outside the park and the next day off we went on a hike to see the beautiful waterfalls.

We saw plenty of snow off to the side of the road, but none that slowed us down. However, only half of the park was open for visitors, the upper lakes were closed. Still, it was beautiful. The best way to tell you about Plitviče Lakes is to show you a few of the gorgeous photos Steven took while we were there. So, without further ado….

Lucky for us we had good weather for our visit. This is the first view from a platform near the ticket booth at Plitviče Lakes National Park. We knew we were going to be in for a treat.
Although fog came and went in the morning, we still managed to find lots of drama!
So many waterfalls. What’s missing in this photo is the sheer scale of the place. It was breathtaking to come upon this scene.
More gorgeous scenery as the morning light burned off the fog.
We enjoyed a picnic lunch as we were waiting for the free ferry to take us back to where we started.

We had originally planned to stay at the campground for three nights, but moved on after two and headed for Krka National park. News had just been announced that further lockdown measures would be put into place within days, which would forbid all travel outside of the county in which you reside. These new rules were put into place to keep the virus in check over the Christmas holidays. For us, it meant we had just a few days to see all we could see and then skedaddle back to Krk Island.

After visiting Plitvice Lakes, we moved on to Krka National Park, a very stunning place. For the next two nights we boondocked near the NP, it was the first time we had been wilding in a while and I was so happy. Plus, I really missed being in Bijou!

The little town of Skradin near Krka National Park. You can see Bijou in the top photo. That’s Brad and Oksana next to us and another French van next to them. Boondocking is not really allowed in Croatia, but in the wintertime the police tend to let it slide. We stayed one night in this spot, then moved on to another after visiting the park.
Enjoying the sunset and wildlife at the marina in Skradin.

Krka National Park was my favorite place of the two parks we visited. For your viewing pleasure, here are a few of Steven’s photos to give you an idea of just how spectacular this place is!

A beautiful walk to the Krka National Park entrance from our boondocking spot, about five kilometers.
It was a long walk inside the park until we got to the main attraction: the waterfalls.
…and they didn’t disappoint! There were many cats about and they served as free guides for the day 🙂
It was such a treat to see this wonderful park with almost no one else around.
More wonderful colors at Krka National Park. Much of the park consists of boardwalks built over the waterfalls, so you can walk across water, almost. The park cats liked to walk along with us, even walking on the rails over crashing falls. I am so glad we did not see one fall in, although they seemed fairly surefooted.
For our second night in the region we moved up to a huge rest area, from which we had this amazing view of the evening lights in Skradin.
Sunset rolls in over this impressive bridge, which is the opposite direction from Skradin and also seen from the rest area.

Nice, huh? After our whirlwind visits to the parks we were on our way home to spend the Christmas holidays at our little seaside cottage. The travel ban stayed in place until December 29th. On that date, central Croatia was hit with a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, which caused quite a bit of damage and left seven people dead. The travel ban was immediately lifted so that first responders and family members could render aid and so that those whose homes were badly damaged or destroyed could travel elsewhere.

We had quite a few families take shelter at the resort where we were staying. Our little camping village went from deserted to bustling overnight. But after a couple of weeks, everything went back to normal. I would have loved to talk to some of the folks who came there, in fact, one family invited us for dinner. But we decided to keep our social distancing rules intact for their sake and ours.

With travel once again possible, Mark and Ingrid drove over from Polidor, their campground near Poreč, and checked in to stay a couple of nights in ours. Only guests can eat at the restaurant and it was great to be able to share a meal with friends. The following day we loaded up into their Volkswagen T5 van and headed out to visit a couple of the villages on Krk Island.

Irish friends Ingrid and Mark.
Ingrid and Mark were gracious enough to be our drivers to see some of the local attractions. Nothing was really open, but the scenery was stunning.
Beautiful Mountain views.


NEXT UP: Goodbye, Croatia!


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22 Comments

  1. Catherine Wolfe

    We have a good friend here in the States who’s originally from Croatia and we knew from hearing him talk that we’d love to visit. Thanks to your great travelogue (both written and photographic), we’ve gotten a bit more of a peek at beautiful Croatia. Once again, thanks for taking us with y’all on your travels!

    1. 2chouters

      I would most certainly recommend visiting Croatia, but I can’t say it’s at it’s best in the dead of winter. But we were lucky because we practically had the place to ourselves. I hope you get there one of these days! 🙂

    1. 2chouters

      Yes, Croatia is stunning! Wish we could have seen more of it, but I guess that means we’ll have to go back someday! Hope you are enjoying your winter in Canada. I know you’re missing Q and all the shenanigans happening there!

  2. Oh, this brings back so many great memories! I was last there in 1990 when Croatia was still part of Yugoslavia. Plitviče Lakes and Krka are gorgeous, and your photos are stunning, especially your perfect captures of the waterfalls. How lucky you were to have the parks to yourselves and that you had kitties to guide you along the way. Glad you weren’t affected by the earthquake!

    1. 2chouters

      The parks really are quite beautiful and the fact we had them nearly to ourselves was just amazing. My first trip to the area was in 1972, to Porec on the Istrian Peninsula. Did you visit there, too, during your yearlong stay? We really loved it there.

  3. Spectacular photos as always! What an amazing place! Sorry you weren’t able to accept the dinner invite but happy you are staying safe! Seems COVID has “helped” your travels in some ways – less crowds – but has been a hindrance in others. I’m sure you are happy to have your wheels turning again!

    1. 2chouters

      We got that dinner invite because the wife was cooking something and every time we passed by it smelled so good! The husband was on the deck drinking whiskey and I hollered to him how good it smelled. She came running out, insisting we come eat because I had complimented her food. LOL, I was so very tempted! Yes, it’s good to be on the move again, it’s so easy to get in a rut! Moving keeps us busy!

    1. 2chouters

      You probably drove over that big bridge yesterday on your way to Split! On your way back to Istria, the big rest stop will be on your right just before you cross that bridge again, so you can wheel right in if you at least want to take a look at the little village where we boondocked! Enjoy, can’t wait to hear about your stay south!

  4. Steven’s photos are beautiful; my fav is “evening lights in Skradin.” We were with a tour group and surrounded by millions of people from other groups at Plitvice Lakes in Sept ’19, so, while we ooohed at the sights, we didn’t have time or room to truly appreciate them. Didn’t get to Krka … next time.

    1. 2chouters

      I can’t even imagine what these parks would look like with all those people. I feel so privileged to have had them to ourselves. Krka NP is definitely worth going back for! Thanks for taking time to comment!

    1. 2chouters

      Thanks, Tracy! We should have gotten out to see more, but the lockdown rules kept changing. Anyway, we’re happy to have seen the parks. You would love the waterfalls!

  5. Those waterfalls don’t even seem real, they’re so magical!! Love the fog photos – a place of whispers and slow walks. How fun to have friends to share all the unique beauty. And of course a rare and wonderful meal out 🙂
    Glad you’re “back” and sharing such incredible places.

    1. 2chouters

      Good to hear from you, Jodee! I just can’t believe how much things have changed. I hope you and Bill are doing well. Hopefully you’ll be back on the road again soon!

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