NEAR DUBROVNIK - Croatia and Slovenia - page 563

to the Pristanište transit hub at the Great Lake (runs hourly, scheduled to coincide with boat
arrival). From Pristanište, you can take a boat out to the island in the Great Lake (about
hourly), or walk around the lake toward the Small Bridge, Small Lake, and on to Pomena.
At Pomena: If you arrive at Pomena, you're most likely on a package excursion, in
which case your park entry ticket is included and you'll probably stick with your guide for
a while. But in case you're on your own, exit the boat to the left (passing Hotel Odisej) and
buy your park entry ticket at the kiosk. A few steps up the road beyond the kiosk, you'll
see a shortcut to the right that takes you up and down some steps on your way to the Small
Lake; once at the lake, bear left and continue to the Small Bridge, where you can catch the
boat to the island in the Great Lake or rent a bike or kayak.
Note that there's no official bus between Pola č e and Pomena, but Hotel Odisej operates
ashuttletocoincidewiththeDubrovnikcatamaran.Severalinformalminibus-taxiscanalso
take you for a fee.
At Sobra: If you come on a car ferry, you're in for a long haul over to Pola č e and Pom-
ena—abouta1.25-hourbustripontwistyroads.AvoidarrivingviaSobraunlessyou'redes-
perate.
Sights on Mljet
▲ Mljet National Park
All of the following attractions are inside the park.
Cost and Hours: The steep 90-kn entry fee (100 kn in July-Aug) includes the shuttle
busfromPola č etotheGreatLakeandaboatridetothelake'sisland.Theparkisopendaily
May-mid-Oct 7:00-19:00, shorter hours in shoulder season, closed Nov-Feb; park informa-
tion tel. [phone].
Day-Trip Plan: If you're doing the trip on your own from Dubrovnik, try this itinerary:
From Pola č e, take the minibus to Pristanište, where you can catch the boat to the island in
the Great Lake. Take the boat back to Mali Most (Small Bridge), where you can rent a bike
for a ride along the shore of the Great Lake. If you're heating up, take a dip in the Small
Lake at the beach near the Small Bridge. When you're ready for a bit of civilization, walk
intoPomenaandrelaxbytheseaside,thentakethehotel'sshuttlebusoraminibus-taxiback
to Pola č e to catch the catamaran back home to Dubrovnik. With more energy, skip Pomena
and hike up to Montokuc (you can hike down to Pola č e on the other side).
The Lakes
The “Great Lake” and “Small Lake” are technically saltwater bays—fed by the sea and af-
fected by ocean currents (as you'll clearly see if you're at the little channel by the Small