It’s no secret that Denmark is expensive. In fact, it’s the fifth-most expensive country in the world to live in and it’s home to the second-most expensive Starbucks in the world (at $6.55 for a tall latte).
(Sorry, we didn’t mean to scare you!)
While Denmark is far from being a budget-friendly tourist destination like Thailand or Bulgaria, that doesn’t mean it should be off limits. In fact, there are plenty of ways to have a fun trip while saving your hard earned dollars euros krone!
If you’re dreaming of traveling to Denmark but worried about the expenses, worry no more! In this blog post, we’ll provide you with all the information you need to plan a budget-friendly trip to Denmark.
Although these tips aren’t in any order (per se), they’ll definitely help you to go traveling in Denmark without breaking the bank. We’ll take a look at how to save money on food, transportation, activities, and inexpensive accommodations in Denmark, plus some lesser-known travel hacks. By the time we finish, you’ll be able to confidently travel to Denmark on a budget — without compromising on fun.
Consider this your ultimate budget travel guide to Denmark!
Take advantage of budget-friendly activities in Denmark
Let’s start off with the good news, which is that there are many free things to do in Denmark!
To illustrate our point, let’s take a look at just some of the free things you can do in Copenhagen:
- Visit the Little Mermaid statue
- Stroll around Nyhavn and looking at the colorful houses (above)
- Relax at the Kongens Have (the King’s Garden)
- Search for street art in the Nørrebro neighborhood
- Watch the changing of the royal guards at Amalienborg Palace
- Roam around Freetown Christiania
Cool, huh? And we’re just getting started! (We told you this blog post was going to be useful 😉 )
Visit during free museum days
To tie in with the point above, many museums and galleries in Denmark (and especially Copenhagen) have free museum days — and they’re a great way to explore Denmark on a budget!
For example, the Glyptotek art museum is free on the last Wednesday of each month (125 DKK usually), while the Museum of Copenhagen is free every Wednesday (95 DKK on other days). Some other places, like the David Collection and Møstings Hus are always free!
Consider buying a Copenhagen Card
The Copenhagen Card is a popular ‘all in one’ travel card that allows tourists to save money on attractions, transportation, and dining in the Danish capital. It’s an excellent choice if you’re planning to see the most popular tourist attractions in Copenhagen and can save you a ton of money!
The Copenhagen Card comes in different options (a 24, 48, 72, 96, or 120-hour card) and includes more than 80 attractions around the city. In fact, many of Copenhagen’s most popular places are included, such as the Tivoli Gardens, the National Museum of Denmark, and Amalienborg Castle. You’ll also get a complimentary canal tour of the city and free public transportation (bus, metro, train, and more).
In summary, you pay one time and get access to 80+ attractions for free with the Copenhagen Card!
Eat at Dalle Valle
Hungry? Great — this next tip is just for you.
Although Dalle Valle isn’t much of a secret anymore, it’s still one of the best ways to save money in Denmark (especially for tourists!)
In short, it’s a buffet-style restaurant where you take as many appetizers, cold cuts, food, pizza, and desserts as you want!
The price is 99 DKK for a brunch buffet (10:00 to 16:00) or 149 DKK for dinner (16:00 to 22:00), plus 69 DKK for kids. For the price of one dish in a regular restaurant, you can get, well, an unlimited amount of dishes at Dalle Valle!
But that’s not even the best part: Besides the capital, you can find Dalle Valle in Aarhus and Odense, making Dalle Valle one of the most affordable dining options in Denmark.
If you’re looking for a little variety, there’s also a similar concept at RizRaz. They feature vegetarian dishes and a Mediterranean food buffet for 119 DKK (lunch) and 165 DKK for dinner (until midnight!).
Look for hotels offering free breakfast
There’s nothing better than free breakfast, right? Luckily, many hotels and hostels in Denmark offer free breakfast as part of the room rate.
To check which hotels offer free breakfast, click the map below and look for ‘Breakfast Included’ in the filters on the left-hand side:
Booking.comVisit during shoulder season
June, July, and August are the high season for Denmark, and this is the time when the country gets a lot more visitors. Most Danes take July and some of August, which means there are a lot of local travelers around Denmark as well.
To beat the crowds and high prices, we recommend traveling to Denmark during the ‘shoulder seasons,’ which are right before or after the tourist season. May or September are excellent times, but April and October are also worth considering.
Book a hostel
If you’re the type of person who flinches at the thought of staying in hostels, let us change your mind! (We, too, were in your shoes before 🙂 )
Like we mentioned in our Accommodations in Denmark blog post (another great resource to check out!), Denmark has an amazing hostel system. Instead of the typical rowdy gap year students, you’ll find businessmen, couples, and even families who prefer to stay in hostels.
Hostels in Denmark are a great way to save money while still enjoying comfortable accommodations. The majority of hostels in Denmark have private rooms (with en-suite bathrooms!), plus other great amenities like bike rentals and free tours.
Recycle bottles
While this might sound a little far-fetched, it’s a great way to get some money back…
… and then spend it on souvenirs. 😉
There are thousands of self-service machines around Denmark called pantautomat. Yes, it sounds like a pants vending machine, but it actually translates to ‘deposit machine’ (pant – deposit, automat – machine). Denmark is one of the leaders in recycling bottles, with a 90% collection rate across the country!
You can designate a bag and fill it up with all the bottles and cans that you used, and then take them to the pantautomat at any participating grocery store or grocer. Then simply feed the cans and bottles into the machine, get a scannable voucher code, and present it to the cashier to get your money!
Walk everywhere
Unlike huge megapolises like New York City or Istanbul, most of Denmark’s cities are fairly compact and very walkable — including the capital.
If you get tired, you can always stop and relax on a bench in one of the many parks and green areas in the city. For example, about 25% of Copenhagen’s overall area is made up of green spaces!
Buy a Rejsekort pass
Don’t feel like walking? No worries, we have an alternative for you 🙂
If you plan to travel a lot by public transportation, it might be viable to buy a Rejsekort travel pass. You can get an Anonymous Rejskort at the airport and other major sales points, and it comes with many benefits. You’ll get 20% off fares if you travel outside of rush hours; you can use the Rejsekort for multiple people; and it automatically gives you the lowest possible fare automatically. Of course, there’s also the added convenience of buying a bunch of individual tickets!
Avoid tourist trap areas
We can’t take credit for this one, as it’s actually a travel trip from the great Anthony Bourdain.
He said that when traveling, don’t go to restaurants that cater towards tourist crowds or places who have photos on the menu, as they’re a surefire tourist trap.
Similarly, it’s best to avoid restaurants around the Nyhavn area and in Tivoli, as they’re definitely overpriced and catered to unsuspecting tourists.
When in doubt, check Google reviews — there’s a useful feature where you can scroll through photos of the menu and decide if it’s within your budget. 🙂
Buy food at grocery stores instead of eating out
If you want to save a nice chunk of your food budget, why not swap out a meal or two with some food from the grocery store? You can save up to 50% or 75% on meal costs, and many Danish grocery stores have ready meals that are delicious and healthy (think sandwiches, salads, fruit cups, etc)
The cheapest supermarkets in Denmark are REMA 1000, Lidl, Coop 265, and Netto (with the cute little dog logo). Speaking of which: there are more than 500 Netto stores across Denmark, including smaller cities and towns – you really can’t go wrong with them!
Stock up on snacks From local bakeries and 7/11s
Prefer a snack instead? Check out a local bakery or 7/11, which can be found every 500 meters (0.3 miles) or so. Many items are reasonably-priced, convenient, and delicious!
This tip also works if you prefer a light breakfast and want a quick bite.
Go local — Eat street food!
In most cases, street food tends to be cheaper than eating in a cafe or restaurant — and luckily, Denmark has a booming street food scene!
Get to know the Danish street food culture and save some money by stopping at a food truck or kiosk. Some typical street food includes pølse (hot dogs), smorrebrod, flæskesteg (a type of pork sandwich), healthy breakfast bowls, and even tacos.
Be flexible…
Prices for transportation tickets fluctuate significantly depending on season, quantity, and even how the stars align on the time!
To illustrate out point, we took a random day in March and checked how much train tickets cost from Copenhagen to Odense. As you can see in the screenshot above, the cheapest ticket was 89 DKK, and the most expensive was 253 DKK!
The moral of this story is to be as flexible as possible. Doing so could save you almost 3 times as much money!
… or use Flixbus
While the train system in Denmark is fantastic, there are some times when all you want to do is sit back and enjoy a direct connection — without the stress of transfers, lugging your baggage around, and trying to find the next bus/train.
Thats what Flixbus is for! This popular European bus company has a ton of intercity routes all around Denmark, and in some cases, Flixbus can be cheaper than taking the train!
Go beyond Copenhagen
Since we’re on the topic of traveling, here’s another great tip to save money in Denmark:
Capital cities around the world tend to be the most expensive destination in the country, and Denmark is no exception. If you have a few extra days, why not go beyond Copenhagen and explore some other awesome cities in the country?
For example, you could soak up the sun on Esbjerg’s sandy beaches, learn more about Danish fairytales in Odense, look at some amazing modern art in Aarhus, and much more! Check out our City Guides page for inspiration. 🙂
Drink the tap water
Yes, really — we drink it all the time!
Denmark has some of the best tap water in the world, as it’s actually ground water that’s naturally filtered. Besides that, the water undergoes strict quality controls every day to make sure that it’s fit for consumption.
Speaking of which, be sure to pack a water bottle or reuse one that you bought in the store. There are many places where you can fill up your bottle for free (in Copenhagen, there are more than 60 drinking fountains!)
Get deeply discounted food from TooGoodToGo
Too Good To Go is a popular app in Denmark (and other countries) that helps reduce food waste by connecting consumers with restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores that have surplus food that did not get sold before closing time.
The concept of Too Good To Go is simple: stores and restaurants list their surplus food on the app at a deeply discounted price, and users can browse and purchase these items directly from the app. The app also provides useful info on the contents of the bag, such as the type of food, the quantity, and the expiry date. After reserving and paying the bag, the user goes to the store/restuarant, gets their food, and voila!
Travelers in Denmark can use this app to save money on food and contribute to the reduction of food waste. Or rather, it’s good for the environment and good for your wallet. 🙂
Plan in advance
Last but certainly not least, we leave you with perhaps the most important piece of advice: plan your trip in advance.
There’s a popular phrase that goes something like, “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” Although it’s a little harsh, it’s also quite the truth — especially if you want to travel Denmark on a budget! After making a plan, you’ll be able to see how much everything costs and, therefore, there will be less surprises (and by that, we mean no surprise spending nor a surprise credit card bill in the mail!)
Let’s see this advice in action: Start by looking at all of the free museum days in the places you want to visit and plan your trip around those days (and add some free activities as well!). You can also group your days by area (reducing the need to use transportation) or see if you need to buy a Rejskort).
Making a plan also allows you to come up with a few options where you plan to eat (thereby avoiding tourist traps) — which might mean trying a budget-friendly bakery or opting to eat street food.
Lastly, if you want to travel around Denmark, you’ll also be able to spend some time researching the cheapest transportation options (whether that’s by DSB, Flixbus, or another choice).
If you want to go the extra step, you can also add up the costs per day (accommodations, transportation, food, activities, etc) and seeing how much everything costs — and then adding or editing your plan as needed.
Voila! Isn’t that awesome? We just saw how a few of the tips listed in this blog post came together and helped you save money. 🙂
We hope this guide has inspired your budget-friendly adventures in Denmark!
Photo credits: Breakfast waffles by Megan Savoie (Unsplash) | Walking in Ribe by Gitte Lindeborg | Netto by John Hertz (Colourbox) | Bakery by Nick Karvounis (Unsplash)