Getting around Denmark: transport and apps

Tickets changed in 2026, and older guides are wrong

• The physical Rejsekort is gone. The last day you could travel on one was 29 June 2026 and the system shut down the next day; the blue check-in posts are being replaced by yellow ones for the Basiskort.
• What to use now: the Rejsekort app for check-in and check-out, the Rejsebillet app for single tickets and City Passes, the DSB app for intercity trains, or a Basiskort if you want a physical card.
• Ticket machines still exist at stations and in the airport.
• You cannot tap a bank card at the gate, because there are no gates. Have a valid ticket before you step on.
• Inspections are frequent and the fine is about DKK 1,000, payable by anyone, tourist or not.

Trains

• DSB runs the network and it is fast: Copenhagen to Aarhus is about 3 hours, to Odense about 90 minutes.
• Book Orange fares in advance for a fraction of the walk-up price. The cheap tickets are tied to one departure.
• Seat reservations are cheap and worth it on Fridays and Sundays.
• The Great Belt and Oresund bridges are part of the network, so a train to Malmo or across to Jutland needs no planning.
• Bicycles travel on trains with a bike ticket, which is how Danes do a cycling holiday.

Cycling, which is the point of Copenhagen

• The cycle lane is a road. Do not stand in it, do not walk in it, and look before you step off a kerb - this is the most common visitor mistake in the city.
• Rent from Donkey Republic through the app, or from a shop; hotels often have their own.
• Lights are compulsory front and rear after dark, and the fine is around DKK 700. Rental bikes have them; check they work.
• Holding a phone while cycling is illegal, at about the same fine.
• Hand signals are used and expected: arm out to turn, hand up to stop.
• Keep right, overtake on the left, and never on the right of a lorry - the right hook is how cyclists get killed here.
• Helmets are not compulsory and most Danes do not wear one.

Buses, ferries and cars

• Buses use the same tickets and apps and the 1A, 2A and 5C are the useful Copenhagen routes.
• Ferries link the islands - Bornholm, Aero, Samso - and they take cars and bikes and book up in summer.
• Driving in Copenhagen is pointless. Parking is expensive and the city is built against it.
• Outside the cities a car is pleasant, roads are excellent and everything is close.
• The Great Belt Bridge costs about DKK 250 for a car and the Oresund Bridge more; both are cheaper booked online.
• Drink driving limit is 0.05% and enforcement is strict, including on e-scooters.

Apps worth having

• Rejsekort and Rejsebillet for local transport.
• DSB for intercity trains.
• Donkey Republic for bikes.
• MobilePay is what Danes pay with and it needs a Danish bank account, so you cannot use it. Bring a card.