Ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo

I haven’t taken this particular ferry, so I will let someone else comment on the scenery.

I’ve taken overnight ferries in Scandinavia multiple times. With regard to the expense, remember that you are saving the cost of a night in a hotel. Usually, you save money by taking the ferry when you compare to the alternative (e.g., train/plane plus hotel). With regard to the time, you usually leave in early evening, have a nice dinner onboard, sleep, and arrive in port shortly after breakfast. I personally find it a pleasant way to travel.

Do yourself a favor and fly to Oslo. It's only a 1 hour flight and budget airlines make it very inexpensive.

Do yourself a favor and fly to Oslo. It's only a 1 hour flight and budget airlines make it very inexpensive.

The ferry may not be everyone’s preference, but a one hour flight never takes just one hour of your time (check-in 2 hours in advance, travel to and from airport) and Oslo is among the most expensive cities in Europe. The flight may be cheap, but the extra night in the hotel won’t be.

We have taken the ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo several times. Many times as a "mini cruise" where we keep our cabin during the stay in Oslo and go back with the same boat.

We do it for the relaxation, the food, the night club, and the scenery, especially entering Oslo Fjord early in the morning and leaving in the afternoon. Depending on the time of year you can do this from the deck or from one of the bars.

We usually spring for an outside cabin (with window), but you can save a lot of money by taking an inside cabin and only use it to shower and sleep. Might feel a bit claustrophobic though.

Thank you all for the input.

Of course things have changed with the advent of the Schengen zone. But these ferries partly grew up as drinking and cigarette-buying tax-free overnights for locals. I suspect it is hard to avoid that overhang even today. In fact, we took the ferry from Germany to Copenhagen just two years ago, a short crossing with no private cabins. But shopping and unlimited drinking were important parts of the trip, it seemed. From a previous post of mine:

"When I went to Copenhagen from Hamburg in 1987, I remember the passenger cars only, being pushed onto an open "float" (barge) and being kept in the coach during the water crossing. From Lübeck today, the entire four car train, with locomotive, drives onto the middle of the truck deck of a huge ferry. There are two rows of tractor-trailers, one on each side of the train. The deck above carries cars, and the top deck is food, shopping, and (windy) observation decks. All vehicles have to be vacated before casting off from the dock. FYI, the popular (if mediocre looking) all-you-can-eat-in-45-minutes buffet includes unlimited "box" (!) wine."