Taking a ferry is a stunning chilled solution to begin your journey. It’s much less irritating, greener and extra enjoyable than flying.

So when you’re travelling from the UK to France, Belgium or the Netherlands it’s a no brainer to take the ferry.

However what about Denmark? How possible it to get to Denmark by ferry?

Sadly, there are at present no direct passenger ferries from the UK to Denmark, however it’s potential to get there through the Netherlands and Germany. Learn on to seek out all about one of the best ways to get to Denmark overland.

Direct ferries from the UK to Denmark

DFDS used to run a direct ferry hyperlink from Harwich in Essex on England’s east coast to Esbjerg on the west coast of Denmark’s Jutland peninsula.

Sadly the M/S Dana Sirena was taken out of service in 2014, and the ship now runs from Karlshamn in Sweden to Klaipėda in Lithuania.

Nevertheless, there’s a robust grassroots motion campaigning to have the route reinstated. RHEG (Re-open the Harwich to Esbjerg ferry Group) contains campaigners from each the UK and Denmark in addition to different Scandinavian nations and is lively in attempting to get a ferry hyperlink between the UK and Denmark reinstated. 

They’ve arrange a web based petition to foyer for the ferry to re-start or another UK to Denmark ferry path to be arrange.

We hope they’ll achieve success, however till they’re, ferry lovers should select another (extra long-winded!) path to Denmark.

Oblique routes to Denmark from the UK

There are at present three primary choices for attending to Denmark by ferry, all through the Netherlands. General journey occasions for all three routes should not too totally different, so which route you are taking will most likely depend upon which a part of the UK you’re leaving from.

There are additionally routes through France, which can be faster total however contain extra driving.

Newcastle to Amsterdam

The DFDS in a single day automotive ferry from Newcastle to Ijmuiden (the port for Amsterdam) leaves Newcastle every day at 5pm and arrives in Amsterdam at 9.45am the next morning. The journey takes slightly below 17 hours. 

From Ijmuiden it takes six and half hours to drive to Puttgarden (in Germany), the place you catch a ferry to Rødby (in Denmark), a journey of 45 minutes. From Rødby, it’s about one hour, fifty minutes to Copenhagen.

The ferry runs each thirty minutes or so together with all through the night time, so it’s potential to depart Newcastle at 5pm within the night and arrive in Copenhagen late the next night.

Harwich to Hook of Holland

Stena Line ferries run from Harwich in Essex to the Hook of Holland within the Netherlands twice a day.

Ferries go away Harwich at 9am and arrive within the Hook of Holland at 5.15pm, and the in a single day ferry leaves at 11pm, arriving at 8am the next morning.

From the Hook of Holland, it takes slightly below ten hours to drive to Copenhagen, through the Puttgarden to Rødby ferry (see above), making this the quickest sea and land path to Copenhagen from the UK.

Hull to Rotterdam

The P&O Hull to Rotterdam in a single day ferry leaves Hull on England’s East coast at 8.30pm every night and arrives in Rotterdam at 8.30am the next morning. The journey takes 11 hours.

From Rotterdam to Copenhagen, through the Puttgarden to Rødby ferry (see above), take about 9 hours, half-hour in complete.

Dover to Calais and Dunkirk

Should you stay within the south of England, taking a ferry through France will most likely be faster total, though it is going to contain extra driving.

DFDS, P&O and Irish ferries run from Dover to Calais with ferries leaving each hour or so all through the day (journey time one hour, half-hour). DFDS additionally runs about 12 ferries a day from Dover to Dunkirk (journey time 2 hours).

The Calais ferry is barely faster, however it takes twelve hours and forty minutes to get to Copenhagen, whereas from Dunkirk it takes twelve hours and ten minutes, so total there’s little distinction between the 2 routes. 

Each contain taking the Puttgarden to Rødby ferry (see above).

Cargo ships from the UK to Denmark

At the moment the one direct ferries from the UK to Denmark are for freight solely. DFDS runs a nightly cargo ship from Immingham in Lincolnshire to Esbjerg, which leaves at 7.30pm and arrives at 3.30pm the next day.

Nevertheless, you possibly can’t journey as a foot passenger or guide personal vehicles on the crossing. The smallest car they are going to settle for is a van (with proof of economic car standing) and there are a most of simply 12 passengers per crusing.

The value of a van with one passenger is pricey, beginning at £904 every approach.

Extra choices 

There are, after all, faster and cheaper choices for attending to Denmark from the UK. These embrace occurring Le Shuttle, the practice and flying.

Le Shuttle

Previously Eurotunnel, Le Shuttle might be the most affordable and quickest approach of crossing the Channel. You drive your automotive onto a double-decker practice, which takes 35 minutes to run from Folkestone to Calais in France.

The shuttle leaves each 20 minutes or so through the day (much less often at night time). It takes twelve and a half hours to drive from the Calais Shuttle terminal to Copenhagen through the Puttgarden to Rødby ferry (see above).

By practice

It’s potential to journey from the UK to Copenhagen by practice, however whichever route you selected will contain an in a single day keep in both Brussels, Cologne or Hamburg.

We expect one of the best route is to take any Eurostar practice from London to Brussels and spend the night time there. You’ll be able to then journey from Brussels to Copenhagen in a day. 

Depart Brussels Midi station at 8.23am on the German Deutsche Bahn intercity practice, which arrives in Cologne at 10.15. You allow Cologne at 12.11 on a Deutsche Bahn intercity practice and arrive in Hamburg at 4.14pm. 

Right here you’ll change onto a Danish intercity practice which leaves at 4.54pm and arrives in Copenhagen at 9.34pm.

Till 2019, the practice was truly pushed onto the Puttgarden to Rødby ferry and off the opposite aspect, however now it takes an overland route through Odense and throughout the Storebælt Bridge. 

The Brussels to Copenhagen stretch takes from 13 to fifteen hours, relying on connections, and could be booked although Omio. London to Brussels have to be booked by means of Eurostar.

The Deutsche Bahn trains are snug with a restaurant automotive, charging factors in any respect seats and free wifi, whereas the Danish intercity practice has free wifi in Denmark, however no catering automotive.

By airplane

After all, flying is the least inexperienced choice however it’s most definitely the quickest. And infrequently the most affordable too, when you can guide prematurely and journey off-peak on a price range airline. 

The journey time is round one hour, 45 minutes, with fares ranging from as little as £30 every approach.

Ryanair flies thrice a day from Stansted to Copenhagen. From Heathrow, SAS flies 5 occasions a day and British Airways has six fights a day. From Gatwick, EasyJet flies twice every day, whereas Norwegian has 4 flights a day.

Ferry ports in Denmark

Whichever of the above ferry and automotive routes you are taking you’ll arrive in Denmark on the port of Rødby, on the south coast of Lolland Island.

The crossing from Puttgarden to Rødby is considered one of Europe’s busiest ferry routes, and the port is about 5km south of city of Rødby.

The ferry terminal has a ready space, parking areas and bathrooms, with motels, petrol stations, eating places, chemists and retailers on the primary street out of the harbour.

From Rødby, it takes about one hour, fifty minutes to drive to Copenhagen. Flixbus runs one bus a day from Rødby Færge to Copenhagen, which takes two hours and quarter-hour: you possibly can guide it by means of Omio.

Ferry ports within the UK

Should you stay within the north of England, essentially the most helpful ports are prone to be Newcastle or Hull. 

The Newcastle ferry terminal is definitely about 9 miles east of Newcastle metropolis centre in North Shields. You’ll be able to drive there in about 20 minutes, or there’s a DFDS switch bus from town centre to the terminal.

The closest metro stations are Percy Primary or Meadowell.

From Hull, ferries to Rotterdam go away from terminal one and the check-in closes ninety minutes earlier than the ferry departure time, so be sure to enable your self sufficient time. The port is to the east of town of Hull, about quarter-hour from town centre through the A63.

Harwich ferry port lies simply north of the city of Harwich, and is accessed from London through the A12 and A120. Trains from London Liverpool Road to harwich take one hour, quarter-hour, and could be booked through Omio.

Dover is the primary ferry port for London and the southeast, and is the UK’s busiest worldwide ferry port, utilized by over 10 million passengers a 12 months. Seventy miles from London, it’s accessed through the M20 and A20.

As a result of it’s so busy and there are sometimes delays at safety or customs, be sure to enable sufficient to your journey.

What are the professionals and cons of taking the ferry to Denmark?

There’s no denying that taking the ferry is slower than flying and you’ll have to do a number of driving on the continent to get to Denmark.

It will also be costlier than flying, when you’ve factored in an in a single day cabin.

Nevertheless, we predict taking the ferry is extra relaxed, slower type of journey. You’ll be able to take your individual automotive, so don’t want to rent one on the continent. 

And it’s additionally greener, with many ferry corporations introducing hybrid ferries which might run on each diesel and electrical to cut back their carbon footprint.

So, when you do need to take the sluggish route and see some countryside on the best way, we suggest you examine ferry occasions and routes and purchase your tickets on Direct Ferries.

See additionally:
Getting from Copenhagen to Malmo
Scandinavian ferry routes
Denmark journey information