Mljet

A long forested island with two saltwater lakes at its western end — a national park, quiet villages, and the best swimming in the region.

Mljet is a long thin island (37km end to end) about 90 minutes from Dubrovnik by catamaran. Its western third is a national park built around two connected saltwater lakes, Veliko and Malo Jezero, ringed by a shady walking and cycling path and dotted with tiny stone chapels. On an islet in the big lake sits a 12th-century Benedictine monastery, reached by a small boat included in the park ticket (€22). Beyond the park, the rest of the island is a chain of small hamlets, olive groves, and beach coves.

Stay at least two nights if you're coming — a day trip catches the park at its busiest. This suits swimmers, walkers, and quiet-seekers; the lakes are warmer than the sea, safe for kids, and largely empty by evening. Skip Mljet if you want restaurants, nightlife, or shops beyond a village grocer. The magic here is early-morning silence on a lake path with just cicadas.

By 9pm Pomena has gone dark and still — a handful of lit terraces along the small harbour, the odd clink of glasses at Konoba Konavoka, and otherwise just water slapping against moored boats. There is no promenade to stroll, no second bar to wander to if the first is quiet. People who've come from Dubrovnik's Stradun looking for an evening out are disappointed within a day; people who've come to read on a terrace and swim before breakfast are exactly where they should be.

The rest of the island, past the park boundary, is genuinely rural — Babino Polje, Blato, Korita, and Saplunara are working villages with a grocer, a church, and little else, connected by a single road that narrows to one lane in places. Hire a car if you plan to see Saplunara's beaches or the Odysseus Cave near Babino Polje; without one, you are limited to what a slow local bus and your own legs can reach from Pomena or Sobra.

Where to stay in Mljet

The Hotel Odisej in Pomena (inside the national park at the west end) runs €156-€225 half-board with direct lake access. Small family guesthouses in Polače (the north ferry port) and Pomena offer €74-€113 rooms. Apartments in Babino Polje (the main village, mid-island) go for €61-€87 with kitchens and a car essential. Hotel Bozica in Sobra, near the south ferry landing, sits around €90-€140 in high season and half that from October to April, useful if you're arriving late on the car ferry from Pelješac. For most visitors Pomena is the right base — steps to the lakes, small choice of restaurants. Avoid the east-island villages unless you have a car. Book Hotel Odisej for lake access, Hotel Bozica if you're arriving by the Sobra ferry.

The essentials

Around the big lake (9 km)

Start at Pomena, walk east along the shaded lake path, cross the small bridge at Mali Most between the two lakes, continue around the big lake past the monastery boat pier, small swim ledges, and stone benches, and return on the far shore path through pine forest, passing a second, quieter swim ledge near the old customs house ruin before dropping back into Pomena. Allow 2.5 hours with swim stops.

Getting there & around

Jadrolinija fast catamarans run from Gruž port to Mljet (Sobra or Pomena/Polače) 1-3 times daily depending on season, €10-€16, 90 minutes to Pomena. Faster than the car ferry (2.5 hours from Prapratno on Pelješac). From Dubrovnik Airport, allow an extra 30 minutes and roughly €30 by taxi to reach Gruž port before the catamaran. A local bus runs between Sobra, Babino Polje, and Pomena, timed to some ferries but with only a handful of departures a day, so check the timetable posted at the Pomena harbour kiosk. National park entry is €22 in summer, cheaper in shoulder season, free after 4pm.