Mljet & Korcula

[wowsaidtheowl]

We’re off to Croatia in July - first visit and very excited!

We’re staying near Sobra on Mljet and Vela Lula on Korcula. Does anyone have any recommendations? We have two children 5 and 8.

Bring water shoes - water is beautiful- extremely clean and clear so can have black spiky sea urchins - you don't want to stand on one! Bring snorkels too as sea full of interesting things to look at. You can buy these things there, but cheaper in Uk. Lidl/Aldi usually do the shoes before summer. Beautiful, wonderful country.. you will fall in love. Best macaroni cheese I ever had in restaurant next to the wall next to the water in Korcula. Happy days😊

Definitely agree with post above. If you have hold baggage also bring sun cream as it's expensive in Croatia and not that easy to find on the islands. Mljet is gorgeous, I stayed in Pomena (where the Dubrovnik to Split ferry stops) so only know that part, but you can swim in the 2 crystal clear inland lakes or rent a bike to cycle round them or a kayak to paddle on the bigger lake. Take a walk up the hill with the fire lookout on it, easy walk up through the forest and the views of the North of the island (national park) are stunning. Very limited grocery supplies if you are self catering, consider bringing stuff, although you can get basics like bread, cheese, milk, fruit, veg..

Korcula town is great too, didn't see much else of the island though. There is a little bakery there that does some local treats and owner is very friendly. Large Tommy supermarket there and the rooftop parking lot has a great view of Korcula town.

You made an excellent choice, Mljet and Korcula were two of my favourite places in Croatia, especially Mljet as a place to 'get away from it all' and for hiking and swimming.

Oh and you need to buy a ticket for the national park on Mljet, but when you buy it make sure you tell them how long you are staying for and they will validate it for the length of your stay. Otherwise I think it's only valid for that day, but the price is the same!

This is the bakery in Korcula Old Town:
www.total-croatia-news.com/eat-in-korcula/28840-cukarin-korcula-s-best-kept-well-known-secret

Yum - that bakery looks amazing!

Re supermarkets - I’m assuming it’s easy to pick up fish and veg? We’re self catering and don’t really have the cash to eat out much. I’m hoping this won’t cause any issues.

How easy is it to island hop on the ferries?

In the bigger Tommy and Konzum supermarkets, yes, no problem. The white wines are very good too. In smaller shops, like on Mljet, no fish just bread, cheese, dried pasta, jars of pasta sauce, milk, yoghurt, wine, crisps, juice etc. Bread was fresh daily but some of the fruit and veg looked a bit tired..

I was also self-catering and on a limited budget. Best place to buy fresh fish was the fish market in Split, but maybe the fisherman on the islands would sell you some if you asked (I never saw any to ask, but was there a bit off season in October and wasn't really looking). You will find food though even if you have to eat pasta, cheese and bread for a few of the days. Maybe stock up in a big supermarket on the mainland before you go if you can though...

I’m so surprised- I thought there’d be fish markets everywhere! How do the island inhabitants shop?!

Looking at Google maps, where you are staying on Korcula, there is a Tommy and a Konzum and on Mljet a Studenac like the one in Pomena, but a bit bigger plus a Tommy a bit further away, so you should be fine...

Island hopping very easy on the ferries and catamarans, less frequent in October when I was there but you will be on summer timetable, so should be daily or every second day..

Thank you! Pasta for two weeks didn’t sound fun!!

According to this there is a fish market in Vela Luka as well as in Korcula town.
www.apartments-vela-luka.com/vela-luka.asp

I probably didn't see the Korcula town one as I arrived on a Saturday night and first day was a Sunday plus there was then a few days of stormy weather (ferry cancelled, etc) so I guess no fishing...

On Mljet the place I stayed had maybe twenty or thirty houses, so likely not enough demand and the locals maybe caught their own?