Travel period: May 2021
Hi there! The Adriatic highway is a highlight itself as driving along the beautiful croatian coast makes (almost) every kilometer a pleasure. Our idea is to visit the island of Dugi Otok on our way south, but due to off season no camp ground is open yet and a camp owner literally said “It´s not nice over there at the moment!" – so we skip that idea and will go there some day!
Nationalpark Krka
After an overnight stop in Bibinje we head for the nationalpark Krka. It is a 109 km² big nature reserve around sections of the Krka River and the lower course of the Čikola River including seven waterfalls and several hiking trails. (More information see: http://www.np-krka.hr/en/ )
We start with exploring the main attraction - Skradinski Buk (entrance fee of 100 HRK/13 EUR p.P. which includes a same day visit to another part of the NP). Wooden walkways lead through a beautiful flora and fauna alongside the Krka river and it´s waterfalls. Here we are lucky about the off season as we share this wonderful place with just a few other tourists. We spend about three hours in this place walking around the waterfall area and visiting the old mill.
Krka Nationalpark
Mandatory "I was there!" photo
We are hooked! As we want to explore the other parts of the nationalpark Krka the upcoming days we decide to stay in Rupe at Camp Europa. What sounds like a classic „well measured parking lots“ campsite is actually the big garden of a hospitable croatian family. This place is simple but nice and well situated to reach the different sites of the nationalpark. When visiting the countryside expect an animal concert among birds, rossters and dogs at night, though. We stay two nights and try to share stories with the owners communicating with a mix of croatian, english and sign language. They tell us a sweet story about the two of them riding through the Balkan on their motorcycle 20 years ago.
After a 45 minutes walk from the campsite we reach Roški Slap - another waterfall which is a good starting point for a hike in southern direction through the Krka marshland. Returning we walk up north and discover the water cascades. The canyon in this section widens into a funnel shape and the beginning of the travertine barriers is made up of a series of small cascades which are called a “necklace” by the locals. 517 steps, which despite cloudly weather make us sweat, take us up to a cave and allow great views on this nature spectacle. Absolutely worth it!
The staircase to the cave
Manjolovac waterfall
Remote Bay
Happy and a bit tired after 37.000 steps done in the nationalaprk Krka we leave for the coast again to find a bay where we can relax and enjoy the sun which is forecasted. Luckily we find such a spot close to Vinišće where we stay unexpectedly for 3 nights – until we run out of supplies actually. This place is like paradise and with Rosie we're able to park up the hill which has two benefits: a great view & remoteness from the other two campers parking on sealevel. The sunny days with (very) refreshing swims in the crystal clear water pass by quickly and it is good to stay at one place for a while to give ourselves time to process all the experiences we had so far.
The bay with a 4x4 view
Before we leave the bay for good we drive around the headland enjoying the landscape and discover another bay, sadly full of washed up trash. We pick up as much as we can carry and it makes us think a lot about this controversial topic, which will keep follow us along our journey.
Rosie strolling around the peninsula with Trogir in the background
Trogir
We drive back towards civilization again and stop by in Trogir where we treat ourselves to an ice cream. Trogir is a historic city and its oldtown has been included in the UNESCO list of heritage sites. The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo. We stroll through the alleys, spotting lovely planted balconies, and checking out the boats along the harbour promenade. If you ever drive from Zadar towards Split this pretty town is worth a stop!
Trogir oldtown and harbor
Without any further plan we just follow the adriatic highway down south and end up just shortly after Omiš at the end of the day. At Autocamp Sirena which has a nice terrace setup ensuring seaview for every camping spot – a smart use of the quite steap coastline. We spend two nights here to get some to-do's like some office tasks and a big load of washing done. Housekeeping on the road!
Little terrace at Autocamp Sirena
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