Krka National Park
July 11, 2006
Nick, Lucy, Moriah, Kate and I rented a car and we drove to Krka National Park. Al's directions to the hostel were less than perfect, but we managed somehow to find our way there. The highway infrastructure in Croatia seems really well developed, almost indistinguishable from the states. People in Croatia are generally pretty good drivers too, which was a welcome surprise from the chaos of Italy.
Anyway, we arrived at the parks, which were gorgeous. Imagine trees everywhere and crystal clear rivers winding around scenic bends, dipping down hills, and filled with schools of fish. The highlight of the park was the waterfalls which emptied out in a giant pool where everyone would swim. Some brave people, locals presumably, were even diving off the waterfalls into the pools. I thought about trying it, but then realized that I would probably die and not be able to update my TravBuddy blogs, which would not have been good at all.
Al's Place is a cozy little hostel set in the heart of old town Split. The owner of the hostel, Al, is really friendly and loves to show his guests around the city. He took us out to different bars and restaurants, and his recommendations were quite good (if a little vague). The rooms are clean and the beds are comfortable. Only drawback is that the hostel is quite small, and there aren't too many hostels in Split, so make sure to book your room early. If the hostel is completely booked, Al will try to find you a place in an apartment nearby.
Note: The hostel is hard to find, and nobody in Split really follows the street names in old town, so make sure to follow his directions on how to get to the hostel carefully!
Entering the hostel. It's not re
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Krka National Park is about an hour away from Split, but it is worth going to if you like the outdoors. Basically, it is a leafy valley with crystal clear waters and impressive waterfalls. There is one main walking path that runs through the park, and at the end of the path are large, beautiful cascading waterfalls that spill out into pools where you can go swimming.
The drawbacks of the park are that it is difficult to get to if you don't have a car, the swimming area can get a bit crowded, and overweight men can be seen prancing around in tight speedos.
Schools of fish in the clear water.
Nice waterfalls.
Ribbit.
If you are in Split for a few days, I would definitely recommend renting a car and exploring the nearby towns and sights. Although Split is an interesting and charming town, there isn't a whole lot to see. You can rent cars at an agency down by the main port. For a relatively small price (less than $15 per person split among 5 people to rent a car for a day), you can get a car plus accident insurance. In contrast to nearby Italy, the drivers in Croatia seem fairly sane and well-mannered, and most of the highway infrastructure is relatively new.
Just a word of warning -- Apparently there are still quite a few unexploded land-mines from the war, so make sure to stick to the roads, which are perfectly safe.
