Day Trip to Copenhagen From the UK, an Honest Look at the £122.20 Day
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A day trip to Copenhagen from Manchester on Wednesday 25 November is £60.00 return with easyJet and £122.20 for the whole day. From Stansted, Monday 9 November is £62.00 return and £124.20 all in.
I'm going to be straight with you about Copenhagen. The flights are cheap. The city isn't.
Most of our day trips cost more in the air than on the ground. Copenhagen is the other way round, and that changes how you should plan it. Here's what it actually costs and how I'd do it without wincing every time I paid for something.
The days to look at
Three stood out on the board when we checked.
- Manchester, Wednesday 25 November. easyJet out at 07:10, back at 21:35, home at 22:40. £60.00 return, £122.20 all in, about 6.8 hours in the city. See the day
- Stansted, Monday 9 November. Ryanair out at 06:45, back at 20:40, home at 21:35. £62.00 return, £124.20 all in, about 7.7 hours. See the day
- Gatwick, Tuesday 8 December. easyJet out at 07:00, back at 20:40. £62.00 return, £124.20 all in, about 7.3 hours. See the day
Which one would I pick?
If you're in the north, Manchester on the 25th is the obvious one. It's the cheapest of the three and the 07:10 departure means you're not up at 3am.
From London, it comes down to light and leave. The Stansted Monday gives you the most time in the city by nearly an hour, and early November means a bit more daylight. The Gatwick Tuesday is the one to go for if you want December atmosphere, with the city dressed up for Christmas.
All three are midweek, so you'll need a day off. That's actually a good thing in Copenhagen. Fewer people at Nyhavn, shorter queues at the Round Tower, and an easier time getting a table.
So where does £62.20 go?
That's the ground cost on every one of those days, per person.
- Transport for the day, including the airport, £11.00
- Lunch, £15.20
- Dinner, £36.00
Dinner is the shock. £36.00 is more than the flight costs some days. It's just what eating out in Copenhagen costs, and there's no getting around it if you want a sit-down meal.
The good news is transport is simple. The metro from the airport takes about 15 minutes, and a City Pass Small for 24 hours is DKK 100, which covers the airport as well as the city. Buy that and you're sorted.
How to bring it down
If £122.20 feels like a lot, these are the easy wins.
Swap dinner for a late lunch. Have your main meal mid afternoon and grab something small before the flight. That alone can save a good chunk of the £36.00.
Do the free stuff. Copenhagen has loads of it. Nyhavn, the colourful harbour you've seen in every photo, costs nothing to walk along. The changing of the Royal Life Guard on the square at Amalienborg Palace is free. So is the Little Mermaid on the Langelinie waterfront, the King's Garden and Freetown Christiania.
Pick one paid thing, or none. Rosenborg Castle is DKK 150 and the Round Tower is DKK 60. The Round Tower is the better value of the two, you walk up a spiral ramp rather than stairs and the view over the rooftops is great.
Walk. The centre is compact and flat. Between Nyhavn, Amalienborg and the King's Garden you won't need much more than your feet.
A day in Copenhagen
Land, metro into the centre, coffee. Start at Nyhavn while it's quiet, then walk up to Amalienborg and on along the waterfront to the Little Mermaid. She's smaller than you think. Everyone says that, and everyone's right.
Head back through the King's Garden towards Rosenborg and the Round Tower, then lunch. In the afternoon, Christiania is a world of its own and well worth an hour. Be respectful there and don't take photos where people ask you not to.
The sun sets at 15:51 on 25 November, so the second half of your day is in the dark. Copenhagen handles that well, everywhere is lit up and cosy. It's a city that's at its best on a cold, clear evening.
A couple of practical bits
Denmark uses the krone, not the euro. Cards are taken pretty much everywhere, so you probably won't need cash at all.
Dress warm. It's a waterfront city and the wind off the harbour in November is no joke. Layers, a proper coat and something on your head will make the day a lot more fun.
Is it worth it?
Yes, if you go in knowing what it costs. It's not a bargain day out like Kraków or Faro. But for £122.20 you get a day in one of the best looking cities in Europe, and that's still less than a lot of people spend on a Saturday at home.
If you'd rather go when the Christmas lights and markets are on, have a look at our Copenhagen Christmas market day trip. And if the ground cost puts you off, our spending money guide shows you which cities are cheapest once you land.
Prices and times checked on 30 October. The trip pages update daily, so look there before you book.
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