Pomena Village

Pomena sits at the western tip of Mljet, right at the edge of the national park, and it's the busier of the two main entry points (the other being Polače). The village started out as the fishing outlet for nearby Goveđari — locals kept their boats and nets here because it was their closest access to open water — and stayed a small fishing settlement until Hotel Odisej was built in 1978, turning Pomena into the main gateway for park visitors.

It's still tiny: around 50 permanent residents, most connected in some way to fishing, farming, or the tourist trade that now dominates. From the harbor it's about a 5-minute walk to the park entrance and another 10 minutes or so to reach Veliko and Malo Jezero, the two lakes at the heart of the park.

The harbor has around 25 berths with an anchoring depth of roughly 6 meters on a muddy bottom (watch the rocks closer to shore), plus a marina run by the hotel. Seasonal catamarans also call in here, with connections to Korčula, Hvar, Split and Dubrovnik running from spring through autumn.

Between the harbor, the beach by the hotel, and the walk into the park, Pomena is worth a visit if you're chartering a gulet from Dubrovnik — most itineraries pair it with a stop at the lakes.