ja_mageia

Jadrolinija ferries from Dubrovnik dock 3km south of SOBRA, an insignificant settlement roughly halfway along the island. After winding its way over to the west the road descends to POLAČE,

little more than a row of houses small stretched along a smaharbour – whose waters are clean enough to swim in. The harbour is bordered to the north by the impressively lofty walls of a fourth-century AD Roman palace, the inner courtyard of which is now home to a couple of lemon trees. A small white house on the harbour contains a tourist office which can point you in the direction of locals offering rooms. For food and drink, there are a couple of cafe-restaurants along the front, and a small provisions store open mornings and evenings.

Sheltering in a bay at the western tip of Mljet, POMENA is a seaside hamlet similar to Polače – save for the presence of a large modern hotel and a harbour which is becoming increasingly popular with touring yachtspeople. The Odisej hotel is a prim collection of whitewashed modern blocks and has exchange facilities. Room quality varies from one part of the complex to the other — insist on a room with air conditioning and TV Next door, the family-run, seven-room Pansion Pomena presents a more down-to-earth alternative, with plain rooms and shared facilities. For food, the restaurant of the Odisej is respectable, and the Pansion Pomena offers excellent-value set lunches and a more elaborate range of pricey seafood in the evening. There are regular taxi boats (check the lobby of the Odisej for details) to the naturist islet of Pomeštak,just offshore.