Denmark Ferries: Routes, Ports & Operators

The Køge–Rønne ferry is the all-Danish route to Bornholm, avoiding Sweden entirely, which matters for travellers with pets, dangerous goods or no wish to cross the Øresund Bridge. It is slower than the Ystad fast ferry, at about five and a half hours.

Molslinjen’s high-speed ferries cut straight across the Kattegat from Aarhus to Sjællands Odde, a shortcut between Jutland and Zealand and Copenhagen that avoids the Great Belt Bridge. Molslinjen says these are the world’s largest high-speed ferries.

A seasonal Molslinjen crossing from Ebeltoft on the Djursland peninsula to Sjællands Odde, 15 minutes quicker than sailing from Aarhus and handy for summer-house trips to Mols Bjerge.

A 12-minute shuttle from Esbjerg harbour to Nordby on Fanø, the Wadden Sea island known for its wide car-legal beaches and kite festivals. The electric ferry Grotte now works alongside Fenja and Menja.

Samsølinjen’s electric ferry Tyrfing links Kalundborg on Zealand with Ballen on the east coast of Samsø, the island’s direct route from the Copenhagen side of Denmark.

The main Jutland link to Samsø, sailing from Hou near Odder to Sælvig on the island’s west coast in an hour. Prinsesse Isabella carries 160 cars and 580 passengers.

Alslinjen’s shortcut between south-west Funen and the island of Als in Southern Jutland, sailed by the all-electric Nerthus, named Shortsea Ferry of the Year at the 2025 Ferry Shipping Summit.

A shuttle across the Langeland Belt linking Langeland and Funen with Lolland-Falster. It saves drivers heading for Rødby, Gedser or the Femern crossing a long detour over the Great Belt.

The only car ferry to Læsø, the quiet Kattegat island famous for its seaweed-thatched houses and salt works, sailing from Frederikshavn to Vesterø Havn in an hour and a half.

ÆrøXpressen is the shortest crossing to Ærø: 50 minutes from Rudkøbing on Langeland to Marstal, the island’s maritime town, passing Strynø and the uninhabited islets of the South Funen archipelago.

M/F Anholt makes the near three-hour crossing of the Kattegat from Grenaa to Anholt, which the operator calls the most isolated small community on a Danish island, midway between Denmark and Sweden. Most days the ferry starts from Anholt in the morning and returns from Grenaa at midday.

The municipal Sejerø ferry crosses Sejerø Bay from Havnsø in north-west Zealand to the island of Sejerø in about 65 minutes. It is run by Kalundborg Kommune alongside the smaller Nekselø ferry from the same harbour.

A 20-minute crossing from Havnsø to the small island of Nekselø in Sejerø Bay. When fewer than 12 passengers have booked, the small boat Havlit runs instead of the ferry, and in winter every departure must be requested an hour ahead.

M/F Højestene runs from the heart of Svendborg harbour to the small island of Skarø in about half an hour before continuing to Drejø. The ferry takes up to 10 cars and 98 passengers in summer.

Drejø sits in the middle of the South Funen archipelago, and M/F Højestene reaches it from Svendborg in about 75 minutes, calling at Skarø on the way. The ferry carries up to 10 cars.

Hjortøboen, a 12-passenger boat, links Svendborg with Hjortø, one of Denmark’s smallest inhabited islands, in about an hour. Outside high summer it sails only when someone has booked.

Odder Kommune’s ferry runs from Hou, on the coast south of Aarhus, to the small Kattegat island of Tunø in 55 minutes. It carried a record 59,406 passengers in 2025, beating the previous record set in 2021.

MF Endelave sails daily from Snaptun, near Juelsminde on the east Jutland coast, to Endelave, a small farming island in the Kattegat that belongs to Horsens Kommune.

Øfærgen runs a triangle from Faaborg to the islands of Lyø and Avernakø, alternating direction through the day, so Lyø is reached in about 40 minutes on direct legs and about 70 minutes when the boat calls at Avernakø first.

Avernakø, just south of Faaborg, is served by Øfærgen’s Faaborg–Avernakø–Lyø triangle; direct legs between Avernakø and Faaborg take about half an hour, and the ferry carries cars as well as foot passengers.

Ærøfærgerne’s main route from Svendborg on Funen to Ærøskøbing, the island of Ærø’s storybook old town of cobbled lanes and painted houses. The car ferry takes 75 minutes and runs up to nine times a day.

Ærøfærgerne’s link from Fynshav on the island of Als, close to the German border, to Søby at the northern tip of Ærø. The crossing takes an hour and runs up to six times a day, a handy way onto Ærø from southern Jutland.

Ærøfærgerne’s crossing from Faaborg on south-west Funen to Søby on Ærø, an hour across the South Funen Archipelago. In the winter timetable it runs on weekdays only, with up to five departures a day.