If you’re planning to visit Denmark, then your prospective Denmark trip cost is likely something you’ve been thinking about quite a bit. You might be wondering ‘is Denmark expensive to visit?’ and whether or not travelling to the charming Scandinavian country is feasible for you.
While Denmark is perhaps not what comes to mind for most of us when considering budget-friendly travel destinations, there are plenty of ways for you to make your trip there as cost-effective as possible.
While Denmark is expensive to visit with an average cost of €95-275 per person per day, there are plenty of ways you can save (or spend more) depending on your habits!
In this guide, we’ll be breaking down the prices of different goods, amenities, and necessities in Denmark, as well as providing you with some tips on saving money while you’re there.
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Denmark Trip Cost Guide
Below, we’ve compiled a list of the average prices that you can expect to pay for accommodation, food, transportation, activities, and entertainment in Denmark, to help give you a better idea of what your trip to the Nordic nation might end up costing.
Accommodation Prices in Denmark
Denmark has plenty of variety to offer visitors in terms of the types of accommodation that are available there. Their prices can vary quite dramatically, though.
For instance, if you’re looking for the most affordable accommodation option, the cost of a bed in a hostel can be anywhere from €25-90, depending on the type of hostel you’re looking at staying in, its location, and so on.
Your average room in a 3-star hotel isn’t significantly pricier in most instances; you can expect to pay somewhere between €115-150 per night in this case.
If you’re planning on staying in a more upscale hotel, then costs will generally vary more; you’ll be looking at spending anywhere from €250-500 per night in most cases.
It’s worth pointing out here that Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities in the world, so, accordingly, accommodation prices in cities like Aarhus or Odense, for instance, tend to be a tad bit lower than what you’d find in the Danish capital.
However, the difference isn’t massive, so you’ll need to anticipate that your trip to Denmark cost is on the higher side when preparing a budget, regardless of where you do end up staying.
Transportation Prices in Denmark
Public transport in Denmark is, for the most part, somewhat pricey. A 24-hour City Pass day ticket for Copenhagen’s metro service, for instance, will set you back around €10.70 (80 DKK).
Copenhagen’s City Pass, while more expensive than day tickets in many other major European cities, is still, relatively speaking, something of a steal. The pass covers travel within the city’s 4 metro zones and includes Kastrup airport.
What’s more, travelling by metro from central Copenhagen to Kastrup can take as little as 15-20 minutes, depending on the time of day.
In many cities, tickets for dedicated airport shuttle bus or train services can cost as much as €20-25, so you might find you (surprisingly!) spend a lot less in Copenhagen to get around than you would in other parts of Europe, particularly the rest of Scandinavia and the UK.
It’s also worth pointing out that, while Copenhagen is typically pricier than the rest of Denmark, pricing for public transport across the country is fairly consistent. A day pass for Aarhus’ bus network costs €10.70, too.
Renting a car is generally not necessary for travel in Denmark and it’s not exactly the most cost-effective option if trying to visit Denmark on a budget.
Public transport across the country is both comprehensive and reliable, with rail networks connecting most major and minor cities. Naturally, the cost of intercity train fares can be quite variable, depending on how far in advance you book your journey and where you’ll be travelling to and from.
On average, though, you’ll generally be looking at paying somewhere between €25-50 for an adult single ticket to travel between Denmark’s major cities or towns. You can view schedules here.
However, you might choose to hire a car if you want to explore some of the more rural parts of the country, or have some more flexibility on your trip.
The cost of renting a car in Denmark can vary dramatically depending on the city or region you’ll be picking your vehicle up in, as well as its size and any additional features it might boast. You can browse Rentalcars.com to compare prices.
Finally, Denmark’s cities and towns are great for cycling in, and renting a bike can be a fantastic, cost-effective way to see more of the country without having to go to the hassle of renting a car.
Bicycle rental services are a dime a dozen in Denmark, and you’ll typically be looking at paying somewhere between €15-20 per person, per day.
Food Prices in Denmark
Just like in the other Nordic nations, food and alcohol are two commodities that cost dramatically more in Denmark than they do pretty much anywhere else in Europe, with the exception of, perhaps, Switzerland.
At a casual restaurant or eatery, you can expect to pay around €20 for an average meal with a drink. As far as more upscale establishments go, a meal with a starter, main, and drink can cost upwards of €90 per person.
While some restaurants and cafes do have set lunch menus available, this isn’t standard practice in Denmark. Where they are available, deals like these will usually cost somewhere between €15-30.
While groceries are certainly more expensive in Denmark than in most countries, they’re still significantly more affordable than it is to eat out in, say, Copenhagen or Aalborg. So, if you’re trying to keep your Denmark trip cost as low as possible, then self-catering wherever possible is definitely worth keeping in mind.
Also, certain food products high in sugar, such as soft drinks, chocolate, and ice cream, are subject to significant excise duties in Denmark, making them far more expensive than they would be elsewhere. However, you’ll find that they’re much cheaper at the duty-free shops in Danish airports, as excise fees generally don’t apply there.
So, in short, if you have a bit of a sweet tooth, then getting your confectionary at the airport when you land if you’re flying into the country will save you plenty of money.
Or, if you’re planning on hiring a car while you’re in Denmark and are considering making a longer trip, then you might actually want to head across the southern border and do your grocery shopping in Germany.
It might sound crazy, but, if you’re in the south of Denmark, it will likely cost you significantly less to head to Germany to pick up your groceries than it would in Denmark itself.
In fact, plenty of Danes who live near the German border do so regularly; another option could be bringing food with you from wherever you’re travelling to Denmark, as this will likely be much cheaper, too, unless you’re travelling from somewhere else in Scandinavia.
Activities Prices in Denmark
The cost of admission to Denmark’s many museums varies, but you can generally expect to pay somewhere between €10-15 for a ticket.
A number of Denmark’s major museums also offer free entry to children under the age of 18, which is definitely worth keeping in mind if you’re worried about your trip to Denmark cost.
Prices for admission to various historical sites in Denmark tends to be similar, at around €10-15. However, tickets for entry to some of the larger palaces in Copenhagen are typically a bit pricier, costing upwards of €20.
With that being said, there are plenty of free activities on offer in Denmark – you just have to know where to look!
Free walking tours are fairly commonplace in Copenhagen, for example, and it’s also not unusual for certain historical sites to offer free entry to sections of their displays or exhibitions.
Entrance to the tower at Christiansborg Palace, for instance, is complimentary. If you plan to visit a number of attractions in the capital, consider purchasing the Copenhagen City Card to save on admission fees.
Entertainment Prices in Denmark
Being a more expensive country in general, it’s perhaps unsurprising that entertainment in Denmark is, generally, somewhat costly.
Concert tickets, for example, can vary widely in price, but you can usually expect to pay somewhere between €25-60 for smaller acts. Cinema tickets, for the most part, will cost between €11-13.
Coffee and alcohol are two things that can seem exorbitantly expensive in Scandinavia compared to the rest of Europe, and Denmark is certainly no exception here.
A simple black coffee or americano, for instance, will usually cost between €3-4, depending on where you purchase it from, with drinks like lattes and cappuccinos setting you back €4-5.
As mentioned above, prices in Denmark for alcohol are also high, but they can vary wildly depending on the product itself. Domestic beers in Denmark, for instance, cost significantly less than imported ones (usually less than half the price).
A bottle of locally-produced beer can cost as little as €1.30 in Denmark, while a pint of imported lager may set you back between €6-8; naturally, this depends in part on where you purchase it from.
If you want to limit your Denmark travel cost as much as possible, then you can brew your own coffee if you’ll be self-catering. While groceries in general cost more in Denmark than they do in the majority of European countries, you’ll still pay significantly less for a bag of coffee grounds than you would if you were to buy your coffee out every day.
Another tip is to purchase any alcohol you’re planning on drinking at the airport if you’re flying into Denmark. A major reason for the high cost of alcohol in Denmark is the heavy taxation levied by the Danish government on a number of substances, like alcohol and foods containing sugar.
This practice is common to the Scandinavian countries; in fact, Denmark probably has the lowest alcohol prices of all of them – especially when compared to cities like Stockholm or Oslo!
Because of this, alcohol sold in duty-free shops at Danish airports is not subject to these taxes, and is significantly cheaper than it would be if purchased elsewhere. You can also pick up your drinks from Vinmonopol shops that you’ll find around the country; these are administered by the government and sell a wide variety of different kinds of alcohol.
While not tax-free, alcoholic beverages purchased in Vinmonopol shops will generally cost less than they would if you were to buy them at a bar or restaurant, for example.
Is Denmark Expensive? Average Prices in Denmark
So is Denmark expensive to visit? Below is a breakdown of the average prices you can expect to pay in Denmark. Some of these are assuming that you’re splitting the cost of things like accommodation between two people.
Accommodation: €25-130 / night
Transportation: €10-20 / day
Food: €30-65
Activities: €20-40
Entertainment: €10-20
All in all, a very rough average estimate for an adult’s daily expenditures while visiting Denmark would be somewhere around €95-275.
For accommodation in Denmark, the price per night really depends on the type of accommodation you end up choosing. When it comes to transportation, note that you can spend a lot more if you rent a car or even save some krone if you plan to walk everywhere in the cities.
Should you decide to eat all three meals per day out while visiting Denmark, you can probably expect to pay at the high end of the budget for food.
Naturally, as noted previously, self-catering will be significantly cheaper, even if groceries themselves are more expensive in Denmark than they are in the majority of European countries.
Naturally, the amount you end up spending on activities while in Denmark will vary based on what you plan to do and you can spend as much or as little here as you wish. The same really goes for entertainment and it really depends on your habits.
Finally, remember that these prices don’t factor in pre-trip expenses such as flights or travel insurance.
Denmark might be one of the countries in Europe with the highest costs of living, but this doesn’t mean you can’t have a great time there, even while travelling on a budget. We hope that this article has given you a better idea of what to expect and plan for, cost-wise, when you visit Denmark.
Are you planning to visit Denmark? Have questions about the prices? Let us know in the comments!