Šipan:

The island of Šipan - the largest of the Elephant islands — is a wonderful place to stop for the first night out of Dubrovnik. Yachts generally anchor in the bay of Šipanska Luka, which has a small town that’s ideal for an evening stroll. While you are ashore, you’ll likely follow the sound of church bells uphill to the church and then follow the main road back down the hill into town. If you walk around during the daylight hours, you will enjoy the views of carob trees, orchards and olive groves. Figs, grapes and almond trees also abound.

We very much like the restaurant, “Marka” as a place to dine ashore… and note that for a late afternoon stroll there is a pathway around through the trees to a small pebble beach, where you can also climb up a bit of a hill and admire the view of the Adriatic Sea.

Mljet

This is a beautiful stop - due mostly to the fact that it is a national park. We chose the biking option and soon were spinning through the national park on Mljet Island with 21 speed mountain bikes. The uphill ride left us panting wildly, but the views were great and the lake was just a short cycle away downhill. Imagine the peace and serenity of a salt-water lake, silently lapping the shores beneath thick forest, with the smell of damp earth rising in the air and birdsong, spiraling down from the treetops. That was the scene of Lake "Velika Jezero: in the Mljet National Park -- and yes, we did get out to the island that sits to one side of the lake… where we had a chance to walk around and inspect the monastery complex built upon it. We also got to walk an unsealed road through the forest….. at one stage this unsealed road converged with an old Roman road, which seemed the perfect way to end our island walking experience.

While on the island of Mljet, we dined out at the Konoba Ankora. They treated us to a traditional Dalmatian dish, "Black Risotto", which we ate while seated at long tables with bench chairs, and happily washed down with local wine, carob liqueur and fig liqueur. Try any of the local seafood dishes - they won’t disappoint!