We live in Germany and therefore have our own car to use for travel. We're considering the most efficient use of time, effort, and money for a long weekend trip to Copenhagen. Has anyone done this drive? I'm most curious about ferries and tolls in Denmark.
Posted by
Copenhagen, Denmark
265 posts
Basicly, there are two routes from Hamburg and north.
From Hamburg, you have the option on either go on the A1 Autobahn towards Lübeck and Puttgarden and take the Puttgarden-Rødby ferry crossing, then continue on the E47 motorway in Denmark to Copenhagen.
The other possibility is to take the A7 Autobahn from Hamburg to Flensburg and continue on the E45 motorway to Kolding, then the E20 to Copenhagen crossing the Great Belt Bridge.
You pay for both the ferry or the bridge. The ferry is 64 € one way (75 € weekends in summer). The bridge toll is DKK 215(or 30 €) one way. All credit cards are accepted, so are EUROs on both the ferry and the bridge.
The ferry is more expensive than the bridge, but the route taking the ferry is approximately 160 km shorter, so what you pay more in ferry toll, you will save in gas. Timewise, it's almost the same as well. Taking the ferry, you will also avoid the dreaded Elbtunnel, wich is almost always congested.
I prefer the ferry, since it makes a nice break in the journey and you save some time behind the wheel. But you could take one route one way and the other route on the return to see it all.
There is one ferry departure every half hour, the crossing is 45 minutes. You can reserve on the internet for a specific departure, but it's not really worth it, except when travelling in the busy weekends in the vacation season (July/August). Normally you get on the next ferry when you arrive.
The ferry website is www.scandlines.com
The Great belt bridge website is: www.storebaelt.dk/english
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
Amy, make sure you listen to radio traffic advisory before you leave. Your route is A66 to Frankfurt NW, then A5 to Bad Hersfeld and then A7 towards Hamburg. A5 just North of Frankfurt (between Frankfurt NW and Reiskirchener Dreieck) can be a b..ch! In the Göttingen area just off the freeway you could stop by Saba Burg castle, the original the Grimm brothers had in mind when writing up their fairy tales. There is a nice zoo and gardens around the castle, too. Also do check with DB German Rail as you can get great deals from Frankfurt to CPH at times (€39 one-way and so on).