Daily Mail Declares Mljet Croatia's Greenest Island
The British outlet has included Mljet on its list of Europe's best islands for a holiday, highlighting its nature, tranquility, and excellent gastronomy as key selling points.
The British outlet has included Mljet on its list of Europe's best islands for a holiday, highlighting its nature, tranquility, and excellent gastronomy as key selling points.
The British Daily Mail has included the Croatian island of Mljet on its list of Europe's best islands for a holiday, describing it as "Croatia's greenest island." According to the article, as reported by Index.hr, Mljet is recommended for travelers seeking a more peaceful vacation with fewer crowds compared to better-known Croatian islands like Hvar.
As the main attraction, Daily Mail highlights Mljet National Park, a vast protected area surrounding two saltwater lakes, Veliko and Malo Jezero. The park was established in 1960 and covers approximately one-third of the island, making it the oldest marine protected area in the Mediterranean.
At the heart of Veliko Jezero lies the islet of Sveta Marija, home to a church and Benedictine monastery dating back to the 12th century, making it one of Mljet's most prominent landmarks. These two lakes are actually karst depressions that were flooded by the sea after the last Ice Age.
For accommodation, Daily Mail recommends Saplunara, a bay on the southeastern part of the island known for its sandy beaches, including Velika and Mala Saplunara. Nearby Blace Bay visually resembles a lagoon, and the sandy beaches of Saplunara and Blace are a rarity on the eastern Adriatic coast, where rocky shores dominate.
Among the accommodation suggestions, PineTree Boutique Apartments are mentioned. The island is also home to Odysseus' Cave, which is linked to the story that the mythological hero Odysseus, after being shipwrecked, ended up on Mljet, where the nymph Calypso kept him for years. The cave, whose floor is covered with seawater, can be entered from the sea through a natural passage.
Daily Mail also touches on gastronomy, recommending trying the traditional peka, which is meat or octopus cooked under an iron bell covered with embers. In their article, they mention lamb, veal, and octopus as examples.
According to them, Mljet can be reached from Dubrovnik by ferry or catamaran.
Mljet is not the only Adriatic island recommended by Daily Mail, but it is the only Croatian representative on their list. The list also includes Italy's Sardinia, singled out for its beaches, sea, gastronomy, and the La Maddalena archipelago, as well as the UNESCO-protected archaeological site of Su Nuraxi di Barumini.
France's Corsica attracts with a combination of beaches and mountain landscapes, with special mentions of medieval Bonifacio and the hard-to-reach sandy beach of Saleccia. Portugal's São Miguel, the largest island of the Azores, is known for its volcanic craters, lakes, hot springs, and green landscapes, offering activities like hiking and whale watching.
In Northern Europe, Norway's Lofoten Islands are highlighted for their fjords, towering mountains, and Arctic beaches, where visitors can experience the midnight sun in summer and the Northern Lights from autumn to spring. The list also includes Scotland's Isle of Skye, with sites like the Fairy Glen and the Old Man of Storr, and Italy's Elba, where Napoleon Bonaparte was first exiled.
Daily Mail also recommends Greece's Syros as a quieter alternative to Santorini and Mykonos, Spain's Menorca with its numerous beaches and coves, Portugal's Porto Santo with its nine-kilometer-long sandy beach, and Greece's Corfu, whose old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The list concludes with Germany's Heligoland in the North Sea, known for its red cliffs and natural landmarks, where cars are largely banned.
