We were nearing the end of our Sail Croatia tour of the Dalmatian coast and had already seen so much of this lovely country. But when we landed in Mljet National Park, we were ready for even more of Croatia! Croatia is home to eight national parks, but Mljet was the only one we had time for this trip. It was certainly worth the stop.
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About Mljet National Park
Mljet National Park is located on the island of Mljet (sensing a theme – like here and here?). It is known for its two saltwater lakes. These lakes stay in the memories of visitors long after they leave Mljet as they are the bluest turquoise you can imagine. They are stunningly clear and seem more like Caribbean beach waters than lake waters tucked away on the western side of a large evergreen-laden island.
Mljet, the island, is called the “Green island,” for a reason. One-third of the island is protected land. It was those lands that brought us to Mljet.
The place is full of folklore and has held a place in people’s imaginations…
Just off the coast, numerous shipwrecks and sunken Greek amphora hint at the island’s history. It is said to be Mljet, not Malta, which is the island “Melita” on which Saint Paul was shipwrecked. Similarly, it is Mljet, not Gozo (off the coast of Malta), which claims to be the mythical island of Ogygia described in Homer’s Odyssey. On the southern shore of the island, not far from Babino Polje, the island’s largest settlement, travelers can visit the limestone cave believed to be where Odysseus drifted after his shipwreck. There, he came across the beautiful nymph Calypso, who held him captive for seven years until his release was ordered by Zeus.
Yet despite all of this, it is not nearly as touristed as other parts of Croatia. Sailing cruises such as the one we were on have added it to their itinerary, but given the remote location, it doesn’t receive as many daily tourists as one would expect. That was glorious! It was so easy to get lost in here.
How to Get to Mljet National Park
You are going to need a boat! There are ferries, catamarans, and private boat rentals. This post by Life and Ventures does a great job of providing the options from Dubrovnik, so I won’t reiterate that here.
Once you are on the island of Mljet, you can easily get a car service, a bike, or rent a car to take you to the national park.
Our boat dropped us off in Pomena, a tiny coastal town very close to one of the park entrances. It was a quaint and easy place to spend some time. We walked up to the entrance from where we docked, paid, and walked in – and note that you will have to pay an entrance fee to visit the park.
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Getting Around Mljet National Park
The park has a ferry service, and you will need your entry ticket to use it. Entry into the park gives you only a few ferry rides and they will tear your ticket to note your usage.
The ferries are quick and smooth. They run quite often (the lakes aren’t THAT big). It was a bit confusing as to where they picked up, as the day we were there the wind was intense, and the schedules were changed. But, again, given that the service area isn’t that big, we had no problems figuring it out.
Your best use of the ferry will be to get to the monastery (see below). But it was also just fun to be on the water.
Mljet National Park is well-marked, the paths are well groomed, and the map we were given upon entry was easy to use.
Bike Mljet National Park
Mljet is a great place to rent a bike! I honestly wish we had done this now that we know what we know, but given we had just done a hefty ride in Hvar, we decided we wanted to mix things up by hiking here.
But Mljet National Park has wonderfully maintained, wide paths that loop through the park, and it is a great way to cover ground. (And you can still get on the ferry to go see the monastery, of course.)
You can easily find bike rental vendors in the towns where you will disembark the vessel that brought you to the island, making this easy to do logistically. (Most of our fellow travelers rented eBikes.)
Hike Mljet National Park
As I mentioned, this is what we decided to do: get around on foot. After going over to the monastery and back, we found some trails that took us up to a viewpoint. We didn’t have too much time to explore during our visit, but we enjoyed what we did see.
Most of the “hiking” is done on the bike paths, which makes it more like easy walking (no complaints). Check out this blog post on popular loops and paths to take in Mljet National Park. The main park paths and trails were well-marked and easy to follow. We had a bit of a harder time when we decided to get off the main road, so to speak, and go into the woods. But we didn’t get lost, either!
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Visit One of the Villages
There are some small villages and towns on the island of Mljet, and some residents live year-round inside the national park. Goveđari is the oldest inland settlement inside Mljet National Park, and there are places in the park to stop and grab some food and a refreshing beer.
Go to the Monastery
This was my favorite part of Mljet National Park: Saint Mary, a 12th-century Benedictine monastery. This monastery can only be accessed using the park’s ferry system, but it was beautiful!
It didn’t take us too long to visit this spot and see what we wanted, but the sense of peace was intense. Nature is slowly taking over the space (reminding me, oddly, of Alcatraz). Despite that bizarre comparison, I can see coming here to contemplate the divine.
There is a restaurant/cafe on site, as well, to sit and enjoy.
Kayak
This was shut down when we arrived due to high winds, but you can certainly rent kayaks inside the park and paddle the lakes. Kayaking looked like a great way to enjoy the park in warmer weather, especially if everything lined up for a summer day of paddling and swimming in those blue salt lakes!
Swim (Snorkel)
There are quite a few spots to swim inside the national park and the lakes, so take your pick!
Snorkeling is also available, and we even saw SCUBA divers in Pomena harbor. We didn’t swim given the weather, the small window of time we had, and the logistics, but lots of tourists were happily splashing around.
We also gave ourselves some time to explore Pomena for just a bit – walking back into town from the national park via an old trail used by fishermen through the centuries. We ended up getting quite sweaty and worked hard, in spite of the slightly overcast skies (swimming sounded good at the end of that trek!) and sat in the shade at a local cafe, enjoying a beer and watching happy people come and go.
Mljet National Park isn’t the largest park – it also isn’t the place to go if you want to see Croatia’s famed waterfalls. It isn’t easy to get to, either. But that’s what makes it all so fantastic! We felt we could truly get away from it all, like we were encapsulated in a world so enticing that it would have lured Odysseus. And I can see why he would have stayed here for years.
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