Getting around in Denmark is easy. Public transportation is found everywhere in the form of buses and trains, and in Copenhagen you will also find the metro bringing you quickly between different parts of the city.

When you come to Denmark you will notice that a lot of people are biking, so watch out when crossing the streets as the odds of getting hit by a bike are probably higher than getting hit by a car. Almost every Dane owns a bike and a lot of people use it as their main form of transportation to and from work or school so the streets will be full of biking Danes – especially during rush hour between 8-9 am and 4-5 pm where trains, buses and streets in general also will be packed.

Bus
Many locals use public transportation as their main type of transport and buses play a big role in the public transportation system in Denmark. In Copenhagen you will see yellow buses on all streets as well as on the water as the city offers public harbor buses in its famous canals.

We recommend you to try out the harbor bus. It will be a new experience for you and allow you to avoid rush hour on the streets. If you are heading to Aarhus you can get a full overview of buses here. You should expect to pay around 3 € for 2 zones allowing you to travel in the city center for 1 hour. If you expect to use bus, train or metro quite a lot during your visit be wise and get a a 10 trip card (klippekort) for about 20€ saving you quite a lot of money.

You can find the fastest way with public transportation in Denmark here.

Train
If you are travelling longer distances we definitely recommend you to take the train. It is more comfortable and will go a lot faster than any bus. In Copenhagen the train is also a great means of transportation between the big stations allowing you to continue from the train station by bus saving you an immense amount of time if you were planning on going by bus the entire way.

You can find the fastest way to travel with public transportation in Denmark here.

Metro
Copenhagen is the only city in Denmark with a metro (a subway network) enabling you to travel quickly from one point in the city to another. With stations all the way from the airport to the city center continuing to some of Copenhagen’s nearby suburbs, the metro is a great means of transportation and runs all day and all night and very frequently. Expect to wait no more than 7 minutes at most for the next metro if you missed the one before.

You can get an overview of the metro stations here.

Taxi
All taxis in Denmark use a taximeter which is to be turned on when starting your trip and turned off when reaching your destination. If you need a taxi they are easily found on the streets. You can also call them and order a cab to a specific address. In Copenhagen you can call Taxa 4×35 at (+45) 35353535 or Dantaxi at (+45) 70252525. In Aarhus you can call Aarhus Taxa at (+45) 89484848 to order a cab.

It is rather expensive to travel by taxi in Denmark and even more expensive during rush hour as the meter also takes time into consideration when running. In day hours during the week you should expect the taximeter to start at around 4.5€ and charge an extra 2€ per kilometer.

In the weekend and at night it becomes increasingly expensive. Expect the taximeter to start at around 7€ and charge an extra 2,5€ per kilometer.

Car rental
A handful of international car rental companies are present in the larger cities of Denmark, and if you are planning on going on a roadtrip to all the small villages in Denmark you may consider renting a car. If not, we recommend that you stick to the much cheaper and convenient public transportation (parking is expensive and a hassle, especially in Copenhagen).

You can find car rentals in the airports and in the larger cities in Denmark. To give you a few examples there are Budget starting from 60€/day, Europcar starting at approx. 80€/day and Hertz starting from about 120€/day.

City bikes – for free
In case you want to get around the city the “Danish way” there are plenty of ways of getting you on a bike. In both Aarhus and Copenhagen the municipalities let you borrow city bikes for free. In Copenhagen the free city bikes will be on the streets from the middle of April until the middle of November. In Aarhus the bikes will be out from the beginning of April until the end of October. You are allowed to use the bikes within the cities.

Get your city bike at one of the many city bike parking spots in one of the two cities. You can release the lock on the bike by inserting 20 DKK, which you will get refunded when you put it back into one of the parking spots.

See city bike parking lots in Copenhagen here and have a look here for city bike parking lots in Aarhus.