Wonderful Copenhagen 2019.

[Michael219]

Hello all, what an awesome thread with lots of great information.  We're planning for our visit in 2020, staying a few days after our Viking Ocean cruise.  I am in the process of finalizing our hotel choice, looking for a fairly centralized location and a property with air-conditioning.

 

My first question for either Danish Viking or anyone who has been in this situation - our departing flight is at 6am on a Friday which means a "very" early wake-up and ride to the airport. 

- Will there be any problem arranging for a taxi to pick us up somewhere between 3 - 3:30am?  - How early do we need to be at the airport in Copenhagen?

 

Regarding hotels, I am considering the following and appreciate any insight and/or suggestions about same or others (of course still with a/c): currently leaning towards one of the first two...

- 71 Nyhavin

- Anderson Boutique Hotel

- The Square

- Copenhagen Marriott (I am a longtime top tier member but uncertain if this is the right place here)

 

We had considered staying at the Clarion at the airport due to the early flight but really think we'd have a better Copenhagen experience if we stayed in-town.

 

Many thanks.....!!

[hallasm]

1 hour ago, Michael219 said:

Will there be any problem arranging for a taxi to pick us up somewhere between 3 - 3:30am?  - How early do we need to be at the airport in Copenhagen?

Not a problem with an early taxi - how early is primarily depending on your airport after CPH - I'll normally saying two hours - 15 to 20 minutes drive - so 03:30am for a 6 am departure will be fine.

 

1 hour ago, Michael219 said:

Copenhagen Marriott (I am a longtime top tier member but uncertain if this is the right place here)

Copenhagen Marriott is a quite nice hotel - if executive lounge access I would choose Marriott - maybe also pay using Bonvoy points? Staying a the airport will just require more travelling from airport to city - other hotels at your list are fine as well.

[vjblk]

8 hours ago, Michael219 said:

-Copenhagen Marriott (I am a longtime top tier member but uncertain if this is the right place here)

We stayed at the Copenhagen Marriott before and after our cruise in August. We had an executive level room both times. We really liked the hotel. Yes it is not right in the thick of things but it is what we thought was a short walk to Tivoli. We walked to quite a few of the sights.  It was also a short walk to the shopping mall. Nice walk along the water. Staff was great and the rooms were spacious.  Loved the heated floors in the bathroom. Their executive lounge also served a good breakfast and their early evening snacks were good too. Our flight wasn't as early as yours but it was a quick ride to the airport.  Hotels are so expensive in Copenhagen and all the ones I looked at that had decent sized rooms and had ac were comparable in price so I figured I might as well earn Bonvoy points.

[Danish viking]

Guys, today is the day when the city Circle metro line opens. 

 

So if any cruisers are in town (i know there is some ships in port) then join the festivities at Frederiksberg or Town hall square.

 

Service should start at 16:00 but I'll expect the line to be very busy today. 

 

Personally I have time off tomorrow so I'll do the trip tomorrow. 

 

Regarding the M4 line out towards the cruise pier it is still expected to open in Spring 2020. 

But until that time it isn't certain how things will operate out there. 

 

I'm still thinking that they will cut the 25 bus from Nørreport so it only runs from the cruise terminal to the Orientkaj Metro station, it will only be a short 5 minute trip a d the metro will stop at most tourist sites in downtown Copenhagen and it will be easy to get to the airport. 

 

 

[frederik123456]

23 hours ago, Danish viking said:

Regarding the M4 line out towards the cruise pier it is still expected to open in Spring 2020. 

But until that time it isn't certain how things will operate out there. 

 

 

Until the metro company announces an opening date, I wouldn't be all that confident about when it opens. The city circle line was delayed and so test runs and other things relating to the Nordhavn line will also be delayed because of that. It might open in spring 2020, but we don't know yet.

[Danish viking]

You can't compare these 2 line. 

 

The Circle line is 15,5 kilometers long with 17 Underground stations. 

 

The north harbour line is like 3 or 4 kilometers long with 1 underground station and 1 overground station and only around 1,8 kilometers of tunnel. 

 

The tunnels are done, the tracks has been layed and the official opening by the metro company is still spring 2020.

That can off course both mean early March but also late May. 

 

 

I understand that we danes can be very pessimistic and negative at times (like all the time) but on this one I trust then to be ready in time. 

 

 

I would like to bet you a beer on it. 🙂

[FredZiffle]

I'm planning our route from Kobenhagn H to Hillerod to visit Frederiksborg Castle.  It looks to me like I can take the A train on a direct route, but the Journey Planner has me taking what I assume is a regional train (RE 1337) from the Central Station and transferring to the A train at a later stop in Copenhagen.  Am I missing something?

[I_am_a_Dane]

2 hours ago, FredZiffle said:

I'm planning our route from Kobenhagn H to Hillerod to visit Frederiksborg Castle.  It looks to me like I can take the A train on a direct route, but the Journey Planner has me taking what I assume is a regional train (RE 1337) from the Central Station and transferring to the A train at a later stop in Copenhagen.  Am I missing something?

What date are you searching on? It sounds like there are some changes on the S-trains that day... and yes, "Re" is short for regional train. 

[FredZiffle]

6 minutes ago, I_am_a_Dane said:

What date are you searching on? It sounds like there are some changes on the S-trains that day... and yes, "Re" is short for regional train. 

 

Saturday, October 19th.  Around 10 AM.

[I_am_a_Dane]

15 minutes ago, FredZiffle said:

 

Saturday, October 19th.  Around 10 AM.

Okay! I can see that there are no S-trains on the line between Østerport and Svanemøllen that weekend due to work on the overhead lines (source: https://www.dsb.dk/trafikinformation/andringer-i-trafik-og-drift/andringer-i-trafik-og-drift/910---osterport-hellerup/). The fastest and easiest option for you is then to take the regional train to Hellerup and then take S-train line A to Hillerød from there - like the journey planner is suggesting.

[FredZiffle]

2 hours ago, I_am_a_Dane said:

Okay! I can see that there are no S-trains on the line between Østerport and Svanemøllen that weekend due to work on the overhead lines (source: https://www.dsb.dk/trafikinformation/andringer-i-trafik-og-drift/andringer-i-trafik-og-drift/910---osterport-hellerup/). The fastest and easiest option for you is then to take the regional train to Hellerup and then take S-train line A to Hillerød from there - like the journey planner is suggesting.

 

Thanks for the confirmation.

[Danish viking]

The Øresund train is actually 1 minute faster to reach Hellerup. 🙂

[daffyraffy]

Hello all,

 

I am sailing from Copenhagen May 6, 2020 on Princess.  I am traveling from Florida, USA and would like to arrive a day or two early and take a tour of Copenhagen that includes either a tour and drop off at the ship or simply a tour and I will find my way to the ship.

 I prefer a group tour rather than a "hop on and off" type visit.  I understand there is lots of walking which I enjoy, but prefer the security of a group tour that picks up at hotel or close by.

 

Any tour company suggestions and any suggestions are greatly appreciated.  Looking forward to this very exciting trip.

 

Thank you!

daffyraffy

[Danish viking]

I'm no expert on this but I think that most tour operators in Sankt Petersburg offers tours in the other cities as well. 

 

Or else you can contact the people at guides.dk, its the official guide union for Denmark. 

 

 

There is also the "free" walking tour. 

But its a little bit dodgy.

The tour is called free but the guides don't get a salary. 

They only get payed if they get a tip. 

 

I understand that some people here on this board don't see a problem with this business model but they don't work there either 🙂

 

Problems like to report how much you earn in order to pay tax. 

Pension savings are non existing. 

The guides can't be sure about their monthly income because they don't now how many people there will be on their tour and how much they will pay. 

[Lagerta]

On 10/9/2019 at 12:38 AM, daffyraffy said:

Hello all,

 

I am sailing from Copenhagen May 6, 2020 on Princess.  I am traveling from Florida, USA and would like to arrive a day or two early and take a tour of Copenhagen that includes either a tour and drop off at the ship or simply a tour and I will find my way to the ship.

 I prefer a group tour rather than a "hop on and off" type visit.  I understand there is lots of walking which I enjoy, but prefer the security of a group tour that picks up at hotel or close by.

 

Any tour company suggestions and any suggestions are greatly appreciated.  Looking forward to this very exciting trip.

 

Thank you!

daffyraffy

It is right that most tour operators in St Petersburg also offer tours in other Baltic ports, just as Danish Viking says. If you read through the threads discussing St Petersburg, you find some names that come up very frequently. I would suggest contacting a couple of them and asking if they also run tours in Copenhagen. As far as I know, some companies also provide discounts for loyal customers. Cheers!

[GradUT]

On 10/9/2019 at 1:36 AM, Danish viking said:

There is also the "free" walking tour. 

But its a little bit dodgy.

The tour is called free but the guides don't get a salary. 

They only get payed if they get a tip. 

 

 

Danish Viking (and others) may not like the business model of the Copenhagen Free Walking Tours, but it's a legitimate business and the tours are not at all "dodgy".  In fact, the tour that I took with them was one of the highlights of my entire Baltic cruise. 

 

DaffyRaffy, you can be assured that there will be a group if you do one of the free walking tours as they are very popular. 

[Danish viking]

I'll take it that you don't know how the Danish wellfare system works 🙂

 

But this is clearly not the subject of this forum and I should never have voiced my opinion on that matter. 

 

 

[hallasm]

18 hours ago, GradUT said:

others may not like the business model of the Copenhagen Free Walking Tours, but it's a legitimate business

....not quite sure about the legitimacy of this type of business model in Denmark.  Also companies like Uber are banned in Denmark

2 hours ago, Danish viking said:

this is clearly not the subject of this forum

You're right, but a principled points of view.

[copper6606]

Wow - so much information. I am trying to take it all in. Thanks to All that have contributed...

We are sailing from Miami to our final Port in Copenhagen on a 21 day MSC Meraviglia cruise starting April 21/2020. I'm sure I will be popping in again and asking questions as it  get closer. 

Thanks again 🙂

Edited October 13, 2019 by copper6606

[Von & John]

Hello - we are hoping you can provide train directions from CPH to Axel Hotel Guldsmeden.  

Thanks!

[Danish viking]

Take the train (not metro) from the airport to København H (central station).

 

Direction should be Nivå or Helsingør. 

[Von & John]

Thank You

On 2nd of 4 flights - will arrive CPH Wed Evening...

Realized we forgot to double check b/4 leaving.

Thanks for the super quick response!!!

[Danish viking]

Normally i would prefer a break in the middle of a long haul flight but 4 is maybe to much 🙂

 

The longest I have flown was to Thailand and there I had a break in the middle of the trip in Qatar and that was wonderful to be able to walk a little bit around for a few hours. 

[buffy9678]

Could someone who lives in Copenhagen please advise me on this?. Our pre-cruise visit to Copenhagen coincides with two events that I hadn't realized. First, June 3-7, 2020 is Distortion Festival. We're booked at a hotel near Central Station in Vesterbro for those exact dates. Can you tell me how disruptive the festival is regarding late night noise/sleep disturbance, street crowds, transportation cancelations/closures, general things that may negatively affect residents and tourists--that sort of thing? We're in our early 40s with kids, I don't think the festival is our sort of scene. I realize that the venues change by day but some of the street parties are right around the block from our hotel. Is the festival easy to avoid or is it a constant for those days? Additionally, I now realize that June 5 is Constitution Day. Would one expect museums, restaurants and such to be open or closed? Thanks in advance. 

[frederik123456]

2 hours ago, buffy9678 said:

Could someone who lives in Copenhagen please advise me on this?. Our pre-cruise visit to Copenhagen coincides with two events that I hadn't realized. First, June 3-7, 2020 is Distortion Festival. We're booked at a hotel near Central Station in Vesterbro for those exact dates. Can you tell me how disruptive the festival is regarding late night noise/sleep disturbance, street crowds, transportation cancelations/closures, general things that may negatively affect residents and tourists--that sort of thing? We're in our early 40s with kids, I don't think the festival is our sort of scene. I realize that the venues change by day but some of the street parties are right around the block from our hotel. Is the festival easy to avoid or is it a constant for those days? Additionally, I now realize that June 5 is Constitution Day. Would one expect museums, restaurants and such to be open or closed? Thanks in advance. 

 

There is no programme out yet, but usually the street party on Vesterbro is on Thursday afternoon/evening during the festival. There will be disturbances like noice, drunk young people roaming around etc. But it depends very much on your exact location. I live close to the event on Nørrebro and is not affected very much, it's easy to avoid. But people who live just above a stage feel differently. There is music at various small stages on Istedgade, Sønder Boulevard usually, but they generally close down at midnight. The festival has become better at managing noice and garbage though, so the neighbourhood should be back to normal the next morning. Distortion usually also has other events during the festival, like classical concerts, stuff for kids etc, so the programme is worth checking out even for you. And most of it is free.

 

 On June 5th, some museums and many shops are closed. Restaruants are open. Just plan ahead and check opening hours beforehand, you will find a lot of stuff to do on June 5th as well.