Copenhagen to Oslo - Ferry vs Flying

I took the ferry on this route. I was told to get up early and go outside to see the final couple of hours sailing into Oslo. The scenery is wonderful.

I recommend the ferry. Afterall, a plane is a plane is a plane. And how much do you see at 30,000 feet.

We took the ferry and loved it! It is a more interesting experience than flying.

We originally planned to reach Norway from Copenhagen via overnight ferry on our trip back in September. But we changed the itinerary, and saved Oslo for the end, and flew on Norwegian Air to Trondheim, then to Bergen. After touring lots of Norway by rental car, we flew from Bergen to Oslo. Each flight had stunning views, especially the last 10 or 15 minutes before landing - get a window seat!

We rode ferries in fjord country, but flew between Copenhagen and Norway. As our round-trip ticket between home and Scandinavia involved flying to/from Copenhagen, we also flew back to Copenhagen for the last 2 nights of the trip. Flying Norwegian worked well.

While a ship is of course much slower than a plane, I didn't feel that I lost time by taking the ferry. Quite the contrary, as most of that time is overnight when you would be sleeping anyway, and the rest of it is evening (dinner on the ferry, reserve ahead, was as good as any of the restaurants we would normally eat at in the city, and with better view) or early morning before most things open up in town. I thought it was a really fun trip, and since the cost of a cabin was about the same as what we would have spent for a hotel room in either city, the transport came out as basically free (noting though that this was some years ago and I don't know about current fares).

I haven't taken a ferry between Copenhagen and Oslo but have done so twice between Stockholm and Turku, Finland (that one was overnight), and once between Helsinki and Tallinn--plus I've taken quite a few ferries (some overnight) in other parts of Europe. All have been comfortable, and I haven't had any trouble sleeping on a ferry; ferry cabins are usually very basic, but the beds are very different from couchette berths on trains and coach-class seats on planes.

On my 2023 Stockholm-Turku trip I learned overnight ferry fares can escalate sharply if you buy your ticket late for a date when demand is high. I think my fare to Turku nearly tripled because I dithered over when I'd want to make the trip.

One more vote for the ferry. It's a more relaxing way to travel, and you get some nice views of the Oslofjord when you arrive in the morning.

Scandinavia is on our bucket list and I've been researching a tour that another tour company has. It includes the DFDS ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo so I've been looking at the ships, cabins and amenities. It seems to be fine with lots of different cabin categories, several dining venues, and even a duty free store. It took me awhile to find where on their site to see what the different cabins looked like and provided. The link below will take you directly to where on their website the info is.

https://www.dfds.com/en/passenger-ferries/onboard/copenhagen-oslo/sleeping

Thanks all! I think we will stick with doing the ferry! Sounds like it will be worth it. Does anyone have recommendations on the cabins? We will have 5 people, 3 adults and 2 kids. If we do a 5 person cabin is that too tight for us, should we get two? And are sea cabins preferred?

I would take two cabins - at least. If for no other reason, then to have two bathrooms.