Getting to & from and about in Copenhagen – The missing Links
Have you ever wondered why there are so many information agencies for tourism? Don’t worry; there is no sense in wondering stuff like that!!! Tourists usually experience an overload of information from the many agencies and or institutions, and organizations existing out there, while giving the poor tourist a hard time taking decisions from the many available choices. A vital part of information required for the place in visit is the transportation choices from the first moment the tourists enters the new country borders. There is no doubt that there are plenty of websites and other offices where you can acquire this type of information. However, in having a complete picture of all the available transportation options, ticket fares and other smart way of acquiring the necessary services for your desired journey, below we will present some very cool opportunities.
Transportation Options
Entry Point Copenhagen Airport:
From here you have several transportation options, depending on where you’re going and how fast you want to reach your destination.
Taxi. Of course you have the option of taking taxis that are to be found on the “Taxa” platform on your right side, the moment you come out of the arrival hall in Terminal 3. Taking a taxi in Copenhagen is not always the best choice in terms of costs. A single trip from Copenhagen Airport and all the way to downtown Copenhagen can easily round up 40-50€.
Train (Øresunds train & S-tog). Øresunds trains connects the øresund region, which is the region between Denmark (East Sjælland), and Sweden (West Skåne), which you can find on both sides of Terminal 3. With Øresund trains you can go to Malmö (Sweden) from track 1 (lower deck platform) through the magnificent Øresundsbridge. You can also go to Copenhagen central station from track 2 (lower deck platform). It takes approximately 12-15 min by train for both destinations (Copenhagen and Malmö central stations). The end stations for both destinations are usually the city of Helsingør in Denmark, and on the other side Helsingborg and Kalmar city in Sweden. S-tog is an easy way of being transported through the metropolitan area.
Busses. You also have the option of taking busses from Copenhagen Airport. The fastest ones are A busses, which are indicated by Red and yellow colour. 5A leaves from Copenhagen Airport and towards downtown Copenhagen and further to Nørrebro and are to be found outside terminal 3. The trip takes around 40 minutes. In center Copenhagen other A or S-busses will take you trough the city (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 6A, 150s and 350s). You can also take the Transit/Terminal Free buss if you are going to any of the parkin places, i.e. if you have ordered a rental car.
Metro. Metro is definitely a hot choice, and the one strongly recommended in any occasion, unless you’re going towards Malmö (Sweden) from Copenhagen Airport. It is the most optimal choice because it is fast, frequent, comfortable, and connects you with some of the most important places around Copenhagen area. Copenhagen Airport is the last/first metro destinations, so all trains from here leaves towards Vanløse. Metro leaves usually every 2-5 minutes from 08:00-22:00, and every 15 min from 22:00-08:00.
Tickets & Prices
There are different tickets and transportation cards available on the Copenhagen public transportation offerings. The best thing about ticketing while faced with so many different transportation options is that the same ticket or card can be used in all of the above mentioned public transportation options (trains, busses and metro - except Linje 888 privately owned busses). However, there are different types of tickets and cards, all depending on how far you want to go, and for how long you want your ticket to be valid. Below you can see some of the ticket and card options:
Single Ticket. Usually can be purchased anywhere on the ticket machines or the ticket office on Terminal 3 at Copenhagen Airport or other offices nearby train stations and in city busses. Copenhagen city is divided into zones (see below) and therefore the cost of a single ticket depends on the amount of zones you have to pass through. Example: Copenhagen Airport is zone 4 and Copenhagen central station is zone 1. You have to pass through three different zones in order to reach your destination, thereby giving you a price of 36 DKK (5 €) for a ticket, which is valid for 1 hour.
Clip Card (Klippekort). Gives you a card with 2 or 10 clips, and comes in form of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and all zones. In every train and metro stations as well as in the buss you have the clip card machines where you can clip your card before starting your journey. One clip of the card activates the ticket of the corresponding zones. Example: if 2 zones clip card clipped, it activates a trip through 2 zones only and is valid for one hour (just like the single ticket). This choice is recommended for those who are staying in Copenhagen from two days and up to a week or maximum 10 days.
Travel card (Rejsekort). This is the new type of service in the Danish public transportation offerings. It is definitely a good choice if you’re planning to stay longer and don’t have a Danish CPR number (Personal number) where you will need to pay a fee of 80 DKK in order to benefit from cheaper fares.
Monthly/Period card (Periodekort/månadskort). Definitely the best choice if you are planning to stay for more than 10 days and travel by the public transportation at least once a day. A 2 zone period card costs 360 DKK (50 €) and is available for 30 days within two zones of your choice. Copenhagen downtown is zone 1 and quite big, so you should easily be able to visit all the main sightseeing places and possibly commute everyday from and to any important location and maybe a temporary work.
What are Zones?
As already touched upon, Copenhagen is divided into zones, where every ticket or card is bounded within or by these zones. The cost of a single ticket depends on the amount of zones you have to pass through. Example: Copenhagen Airport is zone 4 and Copenhagen central station is zone 1. You have to pass through three different zones in order to reach your destination, thereby giving you a price of 36 DKK (5 €) for a ticket, which is valid for 1 hour. For more information, you can orientate yourself on the map of Copenhagen zones below:
The prices for each ticket and card with the corresponding zones are found below:
Smart Apps for your Journey
Before going to bed and waking up to take the flight towards Copenhagen, there are some cool apps that we recommend for you to download.
Mobilbilletter Hovedstaden (Buying tickets and Clip cards through mobile)
Mobilperiodekort Hovedstaden (Renewing the monthly card)
Rejseplanen (Journey planner)
CPH Airport (Check your upcoming flights and other cool information about the Airport)
If you are planning to stay for longer than five months in Copenhagen, you should definitely buy a bike. Copenhagen is one of the world best bicycle friendly cities. You will definitely enjoy commuting around the city by bike in the summertime.
Sources: journeyplanner.dk, dsb.dk, rejsekort.dk
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