Mljet National Park: Lakes, Forests & Cycling on Croatia's Greenest Island

The national park on Mljet protects the western third of the long, green island of Mljet, and its best-known feature is a pair of connected saltwater lakes, Veliko and Malo Jezero, with a tiny islet in the larger lake holding a 12th-century Benedictine monastery. The lakes are enclosed from the sea by a narrow channel, so the water is calm and warm.

Mljet is the greenest of the larger Dalmatian islands, mostly forested, and the park is the part of it most worth stopping for. You can swim and kayak in the lakes, rent a bike to circle them, and take a small boat out to the monastery islet of Sveta Marija. The island is also linked to the legend of Odysseus, said to have been shipwrecked on nearby Ogigija.

Mljet is quieter than Hvar or Brač, and the park keeps the western end especially so. Reach it by ferry to Sobra or the seasonal catamaran to Polače and Pomena, and base yourself in Pomena if you want to be inside the park.

For photographers, the lakes read best early, when the water is still and the forest reflects. Bring shoes for the bike trails and check ferry times, there are only a couple a day.

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