Rarely have I ever traveled where I felt more at home than I have in my journey to Denmark. After my first visit in May 2025, I felt a complete connection with Denmark. Copenhagen has easily become one of my favorite cities in the world, and I am looking forward to a return visit. One of my coworkers recently visited Copenhagen, which encouraged me to create this travel guide for anyone considering a trip to Denmark. Except for a brief connecting flight through Copenhagen International Airport, I have only been once, but I know that my insights and reflections should be of benefit to anyone planning to visit this wonderful country. I have also included multiple other sources to assist you with your planning. My travel guide includes links to my posts and hints on what to do in the country. I will update this guide after any future trips to Denmark. The map below shows all the blog locations I have visited across the country. Zoom in on the map to see posts related to the areas we visited.
Copenhagen is very easy to fly into from the United States, though from most cities it will require a connection. There are only direct flights from Copenhagen to nine cities (Current July 2026) in the United States (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.). Copenhagen serves as a major point of entry for all of Scandinavia, and Copenhagen is one of the world’s busiest cruise ports, so flights in and out of the city are frequent.
The main language in Denmark is Danish, but English is widely spoken and widely used in print throughout the country. It is worthwhile to learn a few phrases, but it is very easy to get around the country without knowing Danish. Denmark has very strong cultural ties to the United States of America and the United Kingdom, so speaking only English was not a barrier I encountered during my visit. Actually, I was confused pretty often as a local, and reflected on it, amazed by how quickly I seemed to integrate into the country.
The currency of choice is the Danish Krone. Denmark is mostly a cashless society, but it is still beneficial to have some cash on hand when you visit, as cash can be very useful for purchases from street vendors. If not, it should be pretty easy to withdraw money from an ATM during your visit. Typically, I withdraw some cash from our bank a little before our travels. If you can get the cash in smaller bills and coins, do so, as it will help ease your transactions in areas that might be cash-only.
Like the rest of Continental Europe, the Danes drive on the right. As with all foreign countries, you can secure a Temporary International Driving Permit that will allow you to drive for up to 1 year from the date of issuance. We really did not need a car during our visit, but some of the more remote locations in the country, especially in Jutland, can be reached more easily by car. Over 40% of homes in Denmark do not have a car, as public transportation is dependable and prevalent. If you are spending the majority of your time in Copenhagen, I would not recommend renting a car. I was very impressed with the Danish Public transportation system. Just be certain that you always have a ticket to avoid the steep fines.
One of the best ways to experience Copenhagen and the Capital Region is through the Official Copenhagen Card. One day can be pricey, but for a three-, four-, or five-day visit, the Official Copenhagen Card makes a visit here very reasonable for your wallet.
Like much of Europe, Copenhagen can be overcast and cold in the winter. My visit was during May, and the weather, while cool, was very pleasant for a visit to the country. The days are much longer, and we have found ourselves with plenty of daylight for many of our visits. It’s hard to believe the photos from the beach sunset were taken around 9:30 PM.
Here are my absolute favorite destinations in Denmark. It was very difficult to narrow this list because I enjoyed this trip so thoroughly.
Copenhagen
Hillerød
Roskilde
Also, many people consider the Little Mermaid statue to be overrated. The walk to the statue takes about 30 minutes each way, and you will encounter many tourists trying to take photos. I found that it was best to just view the statue from on board our cruise boat. Nyhavn can also be pricey, so it might be best to just visit but eat or stay elsewhere in the city.
As for all other travel itineraries, build them based on your desires. If you like doing something at home, you will also like doing it on the road. I like visiting different churches, historical sites, natural places of beauty, and live sporting events. One of my favorite sporting events occurred during my first visit to Copenhagen.
As for food, Denmark has excellent hot dogs; you can find them in many places, from street vendors to the many 7-11s.
I also became a fan of a couple of dishes I tried in the country, including the national dish, Smørrebrød, and the novelty dish, a Viking Plank.
Finally, let me direct you to some experts:
Rick Steves is my absolute favorite travel author and TV Show guide. His website and guidebooks provide a wealth of information for people going to Europe. Below are the links to the two specials that he has covered on Denmark.
Mark Wolters is a marketing professor at the University of Illinois who also does a very good job of covering Denmark. I appreciate Mark Wolters’ style in breaking down a destination from a real perspective. He consistently adds new videos from destinations around the world, and his channel, Wolters World, is a wealth of travel knowledge. I learned about Mark Wolters through his YouTube Channel and didn’t visit his blog until many months after I started writing my own posts. I was a little surprised that we have a very similar format. Dr. Wolters provides solid travel advice, and his videos are great views into the countries you might want to visit. Here are four of the videos that he has about Denmark from his channel.
I’ll periodically update this page, but I wanted to offer some honest travel advice to anyone considering a visit to Denmark.