3 or 4 Day Trip from Copenhagen

We’re leaving n less than 3 weeks. Maybe Rick Steves’ top recommendation, to his “back door” Denmark destination, is getting to Aero Island by train/ferry from Copenhagen. He also suggests a bike ride around much of Aero.

Late September can be chilly and grey, but it can also be lovely autumn weather. It's hard to predict.

If you're looking for a few days in an urban location, Gothenburg is a great option!

Also, is there any reason you are considering the ferry to Århus and not the train?

Is this a first trip to Copenhagen? Odense is a 90 minute train ride. Hans Christian Andersen, charming city center, more museums than we had time to see in 1.5 days if you like that sort of thing.

With 3-4 days, I would suggest Oslo. Get a nice cabin with dinner on overnight ferry Copenhagen-Oslo. Arrive next morning, spend the rest of the day seeing Oslo and spend one night in a hotel there (or two would be even better). Next day, see more of Oslo and ferry back to Copenhagen overnight again. Oslo is an underrated city with a lot to see, especially museums if the weather isn't great.

Thank you for all of the suggestions!

I just realized that the ferry option to Aarhus was not as convenient as taking the train. Thanks, Badger!

Yes, this is our first time to Copenhagen. Odense is definitely on our radar for a day trip.

Oslo sounds amazing. We’re just not sure we want to spend that much time in transit. But the overnight option is interesting. I’ll do a little more research on this option.

You can do an overnight ferry to Oslo, and fly quickly back from Oslo. Check Norwegian air, and also Wideroe air.

I know you said you are not interested in flying, but https://www.seaplanes.dk/en might change your mind ?

For Bornholm you need a car (at least I do). Either rent it in Copenhagen and drive to Bornholm through Sweden or go by ferry or bus (https://bornholm.info/en/bus/ - unfortunately the ferry homepage is in Danish only) and rent in Rønne (Ronne).

With the caveat that it's been a few years and I haven't researched it lately, I found the ferry to Oslo to be very cost-efficient too, in that, the international transport, a decent cabin for two and a very good buffet dinner were about the same as what we would have paid just for a hotel room in either city for the night.