Copenhagen is a beautiful place, brimming with incredible experiences to discover. If you’re planning a trip to Denmark for the first time, it makes sense to start with some time in Copenhagen.
However, you may decide that it’s worth taking a trip outside of the capital too.
Malmö is one of the best places to visit on a day trip from Copenhagen, and it’s also surprisingly easy to make the journey. Even though a visit to Malmo means crossing into Sweden for a day, you can easily get to your destination by bus, train, car, and ferry (among other options).
Not so long ago, crossing the water that separated Copenhagen and Malmö would have meant a trip on a ferry was your only option. These days, there are more options available thanks to the opening of the Øresund bridge in 2000.
This fantastic 8km bridge is a must-see part of any Scandinavian trip, and it can also be the thing that connects the two countries of Sweden and Denmark for you. In fact, with the Øresund bridge, journeying between Malmö and Copenhagen is quicker and easier than ever!
Today, we’re going to look at some of the best ways you can travel from Copenhagen to Malmö when you’re looking for new ways to expand your Scandi adventure.
How to get from Copenhagen to Malmö
Malmö is located in Sweden, and although it’s not the country’s capital city, it’s one of the most popular destinations for tourists to visit.
As the third largest city in Sweden, Malmö is a beautiful and diverse location, brimming with stunning architecture, cutting-edge design, and even some of the latest tech innovation in the landscape.
The distance between Copenhagen and Malmö isn’t as significant as you might think. A trip between the two destinations can take as little as around 50 minutes by car.
These two cities are only 30km apart in a straight line, although you might cover a little more ground depending on which travel option you choose.
Let’s take a look at some of the most popular options.
Getting the train to Malmö from Copenhagen
The fastestoption for getting to Malmö from Copenhagen is actually to use the incredible train transportation. There’s a train leaving from Kobenhavn every 10 minutes or so, so it’s easy to catch one. Plus, you can get to the centre of the city within 40 minutes.
Once you’re in the heart of Malmö there are plenty of things to do and see. Fortunately, you should have plenty of cash left over from your journey, as the train is quite cheap.
If you’ve got a hefty itinerary planned and you can’t afford to waste even one minute, then you might want to consider getting one of the extra-fast trains in Copenhagen. However, these trains are slightly less frequent, and the tickets are more expensive.
To find out when trains from Copenhagen to Malmö are available, check the ACP rail website. You can get an e-ticket instantly here.
How to travel between Copenhagen and Malmö by bus
If you’re all about frugal travel, taking the bus across the Øresund bridge to reach Malmö might be the best option. There are plenty of services to choose from for getting from Copenhagen to Malmö.
For instance, the private company Flixbus delivers around 10-15 busses per day, with prices starting at around 80 SEK.
You can also hit up one of the public busses at Copenhagen’s main train station. You’ll usually arrive in your destination within around an hour and fifteen minutes.
Even better, you get access to free Wi-Fi on all busses, and depending on your seat, you might have access to a plug socket too.
Nettbuss runs about five services per day from Copenhagen to Malmo, with slightly more expensive tickets, although you do get better legroom and more electrical sockets.
If that option doesn’t work for you, then you can take the #999 Greyhound bus three times per day. Day tickets cost around 120 DKK, and you can visit a bunch of destinations on route to Malmö.
Getting from Copenhagen to Malmö by car
If you’re planning on using the road to travel from Copenhagen to Malmo, using your own car or renting a car gives you more control over your route.
You’ll be able to drive across the Øresund bridge. However, it’s worth noting that there is a toll for crossing, and it usually ads up to around 62 euros if you don’t book ahead.
If you’re getting from Copenhagen to Malmö in a car that you own, then you shouldn’t have too much trouble. However, if you’re renting a car, it’s best to check with your rental company that you won’t need to pay any fees for crossing international borders.
One interesting tip to keep in mind is that you can save a little cash on crossing the Øresund bridge multiple times if you plan in advance. The BroPas costs around 43 euros per year, and it allows you to get across the bridge multiple times.
You can also register your number place and skip the toll station entirely.
If you want to get from Copenhagen to Malmo by road, but you’re not interested in driving yourself, you could always consider getting a taxi. There are metered cabs around Copenhagen’s downtown region and airport so that you can cross the bridge that way.
However, if you don’t want to drive from Copenhagen to Malmo yourself, you can end up spending quite a bit of money.
One way to possibly reduce the price of your car journey is to team up with other people going in the same direction and split the fare. If you do get a taxi, make sure you agree a fare in advance.
Getting the ferry from Copenhagen to Malmo
Often, the easiest and fastest way to get from Copenhagen to Malmo is by road. However, if you feel like trying something different, you could consider going from Copenhagen to Malmö by ferry.
Since the bridge opened in 2000, the closest ferry route runs from Denmark’s Helsingor, to the Helsingborg port in Sweden. Forsea ferries operates this trip.
If you do plan on travelling via water, then it might make more sense to take a guided tour. There are options available that take you to Helsingor, Lund, and Malmö before bringing you back to Copenhagen.
Is it possible to fly from Copenhagen to Malmö?
Flights from Copenhagen to Malmo would probably be the fastest way to travel if there was a direct route available.
Currently, there’s no way to fly from Copenhagen to Malmö, but that’s not as much of a disappointment as it might seem.
Honestly, getting from Copenhagen to Malmö by air wouldn’t make much sense. You’d spend more time driving to an airport and waiting around for your flight than you would getting from one location to the next using a train, bus, or car.
The fact that flying from Copenhagen to Malmö doesn’t make sense is probably why no airline service is available.
Tips for travel from Copenhagen to Malmo
Travel from Copenhagen to Malmo is easier than you might think. There are no formal border checks that you need to worry about at the bridge. You should always have your passport with you, however, as identification is crucial to enter Sweden.
Swedish police make ID checks on trains and busses entering Sweden and may sometimes examine passengers at the bridge toll too. It’s best to be prepared with ID, just in case.
Here are some quick facts about getting from Copenhagen to Malmö:
- There’s a direct bus to Malmö that departs from Kopenhamn Ingerslevsgade and arrives at Malmö Norra Vallgatan Lage K. Services are available every day.
- There’s a direct train from Copenhagen to Malmö departing from Kobenhavn H that arrives at Malmö C. Services are available every day.
- It’s around 18 miles between Malmö and Copenhagen, which means the average journey takes around 40 minutes with no stops (by car).
- If you don’t have a car to get to Malmö in, the cheapest and fastest option is to use the train services.
Enjoy your journey between Copenhagen and Malmö. For more tips on day trips to take when you’re in Denmark, check out the other articles here at Scandification.
Scandification: Discovering Scandinavia.
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