Our Guide to Visiting & Driving in Denmark with a Motorhome

Odense

This guide is part of the new format of 'Country Guides' we will write to try and provide some of the information we struggled to obtain while researching our trip. It is based on our own experiences and is provided in good faith but your own experience and impressions may differ to ours. We hope that you find it of use and will encourage you to visit.


Country Facts
Country Code (DK), Currency DKK, Capital Copenhagen, Full EU Member. Schengen Country; no visa requirements for EU citizens. There are no import restrictions but there are export limitations for alcohol and tobacco.

Road Vignette Required?
NO.

Toll Roads
No, but there are tolls on bridges. Oresund Bridge joining Denmark to Sweden costs €40 for motorhomes up to 6m and €80 for motorhomes over 6m. Storebaelt Bridge (linking eastern and western Denmark) costs €31 up to 6m and €47 over 6m.


Road Condition ★★★★★
Excellent. 
All main arterial and side roads which we encountered in 2011 were excellent.

Driving Standard ★★★★★
Excellent.
Be wary of right turns as pedestrians have right of way.


Winter Tyres Required
Not by law but is highly recommended


Diesel, LPG & Autogas
Diesel/Bifyl. Fuel prices vary depending on the time of day, the only pattern we could muster is that it seems cheaper in the evenings. Be wary of Automatic stations which have a surcharge. Practice filling up where you see it cheapest rather than when you are nearly empty as the variation can be as much as 25p!
LPG is rare and expensive but is available if required. Click HERE for a list of LPG Stations in Denmark.



Official Aires / Service Points ★★★★★
Generally Good. There are a handful of aires but the ones publicised in 'All the Aires' as being free, now largely charge so beware. Wild Camping opportunities are frequent and this is perfectly legal to do so, especially around beaches and marina locations. There is a 'grey area' between the 'No Camping' signs and what constitutes as 'Camping' - i.e. getting your chairs out etc. If you don't fancy risking it you'll be sure to find somewhere else to stop just down the road.




Campsites ★★★★★
Generally Good. 
When it comes to campsites, they are geared up to cater for the Danish obsession with Caravans, although stopovers are encouraged through the 'Quick Stop' scheme. That said, Denmark is an expensive place to visit and in our view the best way to offset that cost is to Wild Camp - which is perfectly legal and practised by all the visiting nationalities. There are plenty of signs emerging specifying "No Camping" in some popular locations as to be expected, but finding somewhere to stop close by is not hard.


Availability of Fresh Water / Waste Disposal ★★★★★
Generally Good. 
Fresh water and waste disposal is available at a number of dedicated service points on the main motorway networks (click here for link) We also found both fresh water and chemical toilet disposal at many marina's, check with the harbour master before doing so to avoid ruining it for future visitors.


Free / Wild Camping ★★★★★
Excellent.
City Camp is available for central Copenhagen or there are lots of Wild Camping opportunities, see our blog posts and summary's below for more info.

Price Index / Food and Supermarkets ★★★★★
You'd be wise to stock up with food and alcohol prior to entering Denmark; the Lidl's in Germany are excellent for doing so. If you have the capacity to bring enough food and alcohol for your visit then do so, we found bottled water especially hard to come by (due in part to the 35p refundable deposit you pay on bottles, vs 8p in Germany) and a strange absence of fresh fish. If you're making your way to other Scandinavian countries afterwards, you'll be wondering why you didn't stock up with more food! We found fuel prices on par with Germany and other EU countries nearby.

Ribe

Eating & Drinking Out
Generally expensive, we found that a takeaway sandwich and drink could set you back up to £14.


Availability of Open Wifi ★★★★★
Our success rate for finding unsecured Wi-Fi in Denmark was 59%.



Denmark is a clean and safe country and from the look of some of the improvements which are on-going, it stands to get even better. Every town has an excellent tourist information office with thick, full colour glossy materials available in every language. The reality when you scratch the surface is a lot of the attractions are manmade and some of the towns offer little by way of history with any real narrative. The flat terrain is perfect for cycling and if beaches are your thing Denmark holds countless prestigious "Blue Beach" awards and the beaches are worthy of any Mediterranean destination (fingers crossed for the weather, 27c Easter Weekend 2011). Anyone under 40 will without doubt speak fluent English and many older people too, we heard very little other than English music on the radio during our time there.

Denmark is made up of three main Islands: Jutland, Funen and Zealand. The trip to the most northern point of the first island, Skagen, is a worthwhile visit to see the mysterious sight of the two seas lapping over each other but the journey there and back is largely unrewarding save for a handful of nice bits and pieces. Ribe, Arhus (if you're under 40) and the mysterious dune covered Ringkobing Fjord were our personal highlights, not forgetting Lego Land - worth a whip round and free to get in 30 minutes before the rides close where the park stays open for a further 2 hours.

Much of Denmark’s parking is free but limited by time; you will need a Parking Disc displaying your arrival time so best get one before you set off.


Our Summary and Posts on Denmark:
Summary of our tour of Denmark
First Taste of Denmark
Windy Denmark
Hirtshals, Skagen and Grena
Aarhus
Vejle & Legoland
Faaborg, Svendborg & Island of Langland
Svendborg & Odense
Kalundborg & Roskilde
Copenhagen in a Motorhome