Otok Mljet Travel Guide

There's hardly any night life in villages. If you're looking for that Mljet is not place to be.

Only by the bigger villages where they have restaurants by the sea (Pomena, Polače, Sobra, etc) and tourists there's actually something going on... eating and talking, drinking and sometimes when mouth is wet enough - singing and dancing, maybe every now and then with live music. This should not make visitor too sad - young ones we hanged out with will hang with their friends at homes and will go to Dubrovnik for nightlife. They will go in winter to cities on mainland for couple of weeks, depends... as you know, they spend entire summer working here without break. Not only youngsters, everybody else who needs some buzz.

Road stalls on Mljet are great place to try and buy local products and fruits straight from farmers hand. No middlemen involved and for the fair price, though little more expensive than stuff in shops, where quality and amounts are incomparable with anything made by hand and grown under the 'real' Mediterranean sun (mostly without fertilizers), on small extensive farms and orchards.

What to buy: Goat cheese in olive oil is half hard cheese, very tasty and healthy thanks to composition of goat milk, comes packed in a jar. Many small farmers on Mljet have a few goats by their homes and their cheese is all home made. Their goats get the best possible food, naturally grown on the island.

Olive oil you buy from a local is 1001 difference to one bought at supermarket, imported from certain countries and sold at low price. The oils produced here are lot more tastier, gentle and of pleasant smell. Olives are hand picked and then cold pressed - that way oils keep the essence of olive fruit and can be as well used for medicinal properties.

Honey is worth and well recommended to take home from here... like with goats, the bees get superb food in very clean environment.

Wines, dried figs, grapes, tomatos and other fruits... no need extra comment on that. You'll miss all that when you're back home.

What to pay: Jar of cheese in oil for 100 KN, liter of wine between 20 - 30 KN, liter of olive oil 80 - 90 KN.

In sum, here's what you should keep in mind sometimes:

- side roads are narrow and take usual precautions when you drive. If you see car approaching both of you will make compromise on who will give a way by moving to niches. Main road is fine, though winding, so drive attentively.

- if you're not very active bicyclist, don't make too optimistic schedule and don't underestimate hills on Mljet. Most of terrain is hilly and roads seldom take part in flat lands, except some by the National park, which are easiest to take. Once you head to hinterland, there're serpentines and otherwise winding roads.

- water: it's such a scarce source and until recently collected from rain in the containers. Every drop is precious, don't waste if not necessary. Only few years ago desalination object have been built, but still... be good with water.

- abandon the idea of dropping a waste anywhere but trash bins. Despite all well intented propaganda, there are still bunch of peoples who think there's somobody who will clean after them. It's very rude.

- don't burn open fires in nature and don't smoke unless you can safely remove the cigarette to trash. It's too easy to set a fire on the island, especially when dry and windy. The damage can be fatal and price of it too high. It's just not worth the risk.

- microclimate on Mljet can be surprisingly changing. On our September visit you had wind, cloud, little rain and when going couple of kilometers on other hill or by the sea, it was completely different. When one part of island is sunny, other can be clouded. Depends on time of the year, but in general unless you're visiting in hottest months, take a few different types of clothes with you.

- if you plan on camping: there are only three camps on Mljet, none of them is in the National park area (it was before but it's closed since few years). Ropa and Kozarica are both close to sea, but not at the sea directly. Kozarica has best shade of them all. Third one is in Babino Polje, in hinterlands, few kilometers to each side of islands, but it's not bad place. Just its shade is not very thick and it looked small. In September, only Ropa was open.

- ATM and Exchange: ATM is in Polače, Pomena and Sobra; exchange offices are within post offices (Babino polje, Maranovići) for official rate. There's also exhange office in Odisej hotel in Pomena, but don't know at what rate.

- petrol station: only in Sobra next to ferry station.

2 more images

Modest ruin in the forest near Korita in the Eastern side of Mljet is all what remains from once St. Paul's church. Narrow, unpaved road connects the site to the main road and it's better you leave your car or bike parked there and walk some 500 meters among rocks, trees and bushes until you reach the ruin.
Two buildings used to be in the place: 5-6th century one-aisle presbitery with double apses and within it there was second, narrower building from 11-12th century. Both were stone built but little any other detailed information exist about them. In fact, you may find the site disappointing if you're expecting something dramatic, but after many centuries natural forces have done its work. Some people have speculated that actually St. Paul shipwrecked on Mljet when Bible mentions Melita - an it is ancient Greek name for the island. But there's other Melita in Mediterran and it's now known as Malta. That's why many things on Mljet are related to St. Paul though noone can confirm the facts.

However, the surrounding landscape is lovely, there were many butterflies and colored insects, aromatic bushes and herbs and forest that it was worth to stop and walk among them.