Is safe for Americans to travel to Copenhagen in February?

You might find this recent thread helpful:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/denmark/danish-reaction-to-american-tourists-in-light-of-threats-to-greenland

There are protests going on all over the world. If you use that as a reason not to go, then you won't ever go anywhere. I wouldn't worry about being treated any differently than you have in the past.

Agree with Mardee.

Its not you the protests are directed at.

I’ve traveled abroad during each administration since Nixon. Also of the generation who knows not to talk about politics. Who I’ve casted my vote for is nobody’s business but my own.

Canceling your plans is your choice. I’d never ever consider it.

I am fairly sure there are no safety risks. But IMHO it is the wrong way of putting the question. The international situation is getting complex and I can foresee that in the future travelling may get more expensive or difficult. For example I have been three times in Russia, but this would not be the moment to go again, and I cannot foresee the situation getting better in a reasonable timeframe. As an European, I would not even travel to USA now, to tell the truth. As usually travel condition tend to be reflect a bilateral understanding, I would expect that making bilateral understandings difficult will make even travel more difficult. So the time to go is now, tomorrow it could get more difficult - remember the time that USA put a $160 price tag on visa requests from Chile and suddenly US travelers to Chile were charged $160?

I know I am getting political and getting political is not appreciated on this forum. I understand politics and religion are great forum killers; but even if you do not deal with politics, politics will find a way to deal with you, without asking you for permission.

Travel now, as who knows what the future might hold.

Also, I wouldn't blame them if you are charged 10% more :)

What I notice: the question comes more often and many posts as answers but surprisingly not one word of regretting the situation while everyone posting to suffer from a flu gets "sorry" and some kind of empathy by forum members.

To Jennifer's questions:

there protests again America going on due to Greenland

Heads up: it is not "due to Greenland", it is against something I am not allowed to write here. No political discussions. But I recommend travelers to be aware about the true "due".

Will we be safe or should we cancel our trip? Does anyone know how Americans tourists are being treated currently when traveling?

Did you hear or read anything about bad treatment of American tourists in Denmark now? I guess no, in opposite to what Danes receive from the US they would not threat US citizens. May be an interesting and significant cultural difference to explore by tourists?

You can expect correct, short and politely formulated answers by Danish people; like the answer to your same question in TA forum. I would not expect sympathy and recommend to avoid this topic.

Also, I wouldn't blame them if you are charged 10% more

This is not the Nordic way or humor. They would charge 10% or 35% less and call it conqueror discount.

I we were in London when the million person protests against the US and the Iraq War happened and we always felt safe. Please remember that most Europeans can differentiate between citizens and their government and while people might ask about why America is protesting Trump, etc, most Europeans won’t be mean. However there are always the drunk or nasty wankers but they are few and far between.

Honestly, going abroad while the US has had global conflict has allowed me to see US from a different perspective and the truths and misconceptions that Europeans have about us. That’s why travel is so important.

I don't think you are at any risk from Danish people you may encounter but there could be financial and/or bureaucratic hassles. Hypothetically, for example, if the US State Dept. decided to issue a certain level risk for Denmark, that could affect some travel insurance policies, depending on the policy and the risk level. I could imagine this happening as a political tactic even if the risk isn't "real." Although strictly hypothetical at this point, if you buy or have travel insurance, you might ask for some information. If you were traveling 6 months from now rather than in a few weeks, I would say don't reserve anything non-refundable.

I sincerely hope that this thread does not get cancelled too quickly because although it is likely to generate responses that are deemed "political," there are situations emerging that are potentially different for US citizens or residents traveling to European "allied" countries than what was experienced during the Vietnam War and Cold War. It is helpful to have a forum to calmly share some thoughts and concerns.

Very useful thread, great information. And things I hadn't thought about, like travel insurance. Thanks to all. We all know the reason this thread exists, but don't need to discuss that aspect of it here.

I offer the same reply as one I made to a similar question about traveling to Scandinavia:

Each person has their own risk tolerance, so you'll have to decide
that based on information that is meaningful to you, not what other
people tell you. Speaking for myself, I would be concerned if a
country had a Level 3 or higher from the US State Department (if you
are American - here is Sweden's page for reference
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Sweden.html)
I might reconsider travel if the requirements to enter the country
were complicated or very difficult to get. I might be concerned if
there was active military conflict in the destination country, but I
did knowingly travel to Thailand during a civil uprising (as I said,
each person has their own risk tolerance). I concur with the
recommendation to have good travel insurance; it may not be your
destination country that has issues, but any unexpected sudden event
worldwide could cause disruptions in travel plans (e.g. air traffic).

If you are hoping to see Queen Mary or her three younger children, you may miss out.

In my observation, Copenhagen is safer for any American than any city in the USA.

Regards Ron

CL, Denmark is a very safe country. See Safety and Security advice by Gov UK.

Hi,
In the interest of retaining this thread as the conversation has gone reasonably well with varying opinions, I'm concerned that the thread won't survive if I don't lock it for the night and MLK tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for your understanding.

Thanks to you all for doing your best to keep the focus on the effect being had on travel. It's hard when politics and travel intersect, and your effort is appreciated.

What I notice: the question comes more often and many posts as answers but surprisingly not one word of regretting the situation while everyone posting to suffer from a flu gets "sorry" and some kind of empathy by forum members.

I'm a little confused by this sentence, Mark. I tell someone who has the flu that I'm sorry they're sick. It's similar to sending a get-well card to someone, hoping that they get better soon. But I don't understand your comment that says, "surprisingly, not one word of regretting the situation."

As you know, there is a ban on speaking about politics on this forum. So if I get into the question of "regretting the situation", it gets dangerously close to the political talk that we are supposed to be staying away from. I am sure you figured out by this time what the political persuasion is of most people on this forum. I think I can safely say that just most Americans "regret the situation" (and that is putting it mildly) but we don't talk about it here because we are trying to obey the rules. If you want more detail, please PM me and I'll be happy to explain the feelings of most Americans about this. 😊

I'm concerned that the thread won't survive if I don't lock it for
the night and MLK tomorrow.

It sounds to me like the webmaster intended to lock this thread. Let’s respect that wish and refrain from further posts here.

I think there's a lot of good and pragmatic advice on this thread.

I’m not an American, but like the others I also don’t see any indication that your personal safety will be put at risk. Not only is Denmark a safe country and the Danes/Greenlanders peaceful people, but its people are also capable of distinguishing between the individual traveller and the actions of the government.

It is being called the biggest foreign policy crisis in Denmark since World War 2, and it has been the top story every day for more than 2 weeks at this point. So naturally it is something people are worried about. That does not mean you have to cancel your trip, just be mindful and respectful, by not being "loudly American" in what you say, wear and carry around (think US American symbolism such as flags, etc.). And of course anything related to the MAGA movement will not make you any friends here these days, but I think that's stating the obvious.

Keep monitoring the situation, as the US seems to keep escalating it while repeating the same old threats - and read up on your travel insurance policy, just in case. And then, all you need to do is to enjoy your vacation.

I spent eight of the last 12 months in Europe. All over.

At no time did I feel threatended or unwelcomed. I did hear a few people make comments about the political situation in the US--mostly from taxi drivers--but none was negative towards me. In fact, many asked me to explain how our government operates as it different from most of Europe.

I plan to spend about the same amount of time in Europe this year including Greenland. I have absolutely no hesitation about going.

YMMV

I did not see the post by Mark that Mardee quotes, but from the quoted part,I was aghast to realize how someone who does not closely follow this forum might look at this thread and think RS forum people only care about ourselves and our vacations. This leaves us with a heightened challenge to craft wording that doesn't violate forum guidelines on one hand, but doesn't come off as indifferent to the real threats experienced by people in the places we may plan to visit.

Mark, I cannot speak for anyone but myself and I am sorry that you needed to post that. These are not “normal times” in the US. That sounds like an excuse but it is reality. I am traveling to Scotland and Germany this May. Hopefully, I will be perceived as a good listener and traveler.

Frank, the taxi drivers absolutely make sense - it is basically the only people in some European countries that engage in this small talk thing I have heard rumors about…

It was mostly taxi drivers in the UK. In much of mainland Europe I use Bolt and Uber and there is rarely a conversation.

Ha ha, I used Bolt in Bucharest and the driver talked my ear off about the current administration. Although in his case he sided with the more conservative side. Needless to say, we had a very interesting conversation. 😊

I did not see the post by Mark that Mardee quotes, but from the quoted part,I was aghast to realize how someone who does not closely follow this forum might look at this thread and think RS forum people only care about ourselves and our vacations.

Well, I look to all the other threads and I have exactly the same impression, in spite of following the forum and having posted 2000+ times.

I stumbled upon a news article about Americans living in Copenhagen, who have begun to keep quiet about their nationality, due negative comments from other locals. Though I assume they as residents have a lot more contact with other locals than you will have as a tourist, I thought it still might have some relevance in the context of this thread.

It’s in Danish, but Google Translate does a pretty good job: https://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2026-01-17-skjuler-om-sin-nationalitet-jeg-kan-ikke-holde-til-den-negative-respons

Published by TV2 Kosmopol (the regional public service network for the Copenhagen area) on January 17, about 4 hours before the American president announced additional tariffs on several European countries, including Denmark.

I also note that the article focuses on verbal comments (not to belittle their experiences, of course), so I still see no reason to fear for your personal safety or cancel your vacation for the time being.

It gets crazier, with an even wilder turn of events or statement every day it seems.

It's so unpredictable and unprecedented. I'm prone to speculation as I'm following events closely and trying my best to work out what will happen, same as everyone else. I think an attitude of "I'm going to Greenland this summer" as one valued contributor has already expressed, is foolhardy though. Greenlandic people, if you have any respect for them, might not want folks from the US there, even though the island may be swamped by them by summer. Just because you won't necessarily get beaten up, it doesn't make planning a visit right now a good idea.

At least you might not need your passport... Oof...

In response to Mark and Lachera, I’d like to point out that our media here in Europe covers mainly what affects us in Europe. There is very little coverage of what is happening inside the country, what posters there are experiencing and feeling on a daily basis.

Due to the rules, it does give a lopsided impression. But the information and quantities of information we receive on these two continents is different.
The NY Times and Washington Post cover it well.

.

I got sidetracked a little by Frank II mentioning going to Greenland itself, but I'd be a little trepidatious about going to Copenhagen in the next few weeks until we see what's happening. I think the same things still stands, you're unlikely to get beaten up, but if I were an American I'd be expecting people to possibly say something negative, be refused service or have bad service. I think that may be more true amongst the young, more reactionary members of society. Danes keep themselves to themselves usually.

My personal position if I were an American going next month, I'd still be planning to go to Copenhagen until being told I definitely couldn't. I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it were a little frosty in more ways than one though. It's so hard to predict two weeks in the future with the current situation, and it could get worse before it gets better, even for visitors to Copenhagen.