Copenhagen how and what - a honest review - SKIP

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Denmark is a very expensive country, and when you travel as a person in a wheelchair, it becomes even more expensive. Being a budget traveler means I need to do my homework WELL, to avoid unnecessary expenses…

Fortunately, Copenhagen offers many free things to see. I’ve written more about all of that here.

So far I have always managed to use standard transport and I continued that trend in Denmark.

When you land in Denmark, the first contact with this country will be the excellently organized Kastrup airport.

Those who can walk will easily find their way, while we in wheelchairs wait until the end for someone to come and bring the wheelchairs for unloading.

It is a standard procedure, which airport staff perform more or less promptly, depending on the country. Some of them almost dropped me.

In this sense, my experience so far is that the staff, who waited and accompanied me at Nikola Tesla Airport, are by far the best and most organized.

When you leave Copenhagen, you will check-in at the airport at a clearly marked place and wait there for someone to escort you to the gate.

Sometimes wheelchairs even have an advantage, because you go via shortcuts, so you sometimes arrive faster than the others. That’s why you are the last to board or to leave the aircraft.

There’s no way you won’t notice the ticket machines at Kastrup Airport.

Next to them there is an authorized person who helps tourists with tickets. Everything is in English. In Denmark, by the way, everyone speaks very good English, so there won’t be any problems.

As tourists in Copenhagen, you need a small City Pass. That will be more than enough to visit all the city’s landmarks, as they are all located close to each other. Choose for yourself how many days you want to buy it for. If you are staying right in the city center, you may not even need it—just a ticket from the airport might be enough.

My hotel was on the outskirts of Copenhagen, and the pass worked very well for me.

Don’t even think about fare evasion, because ticket inspectors will check you countless times. The pass is valid for all means of transport: metro, bus, and ferry. I never buy the City Card, which allows transport and museum entry, because sometimes wheelchair users receive discounts.

Since there is quite a lot to see in Copenhagen, which I wrote about here, think about what will be most worthwhile for you.

As far as transportation to the city is concerned, Kastrup Airport is second to none.

Transportation

There are numerous options, the dumbest of which is to take a taxi. Taxis are very expensive in Denmark. If it’s for people in wheelchairs, it’s even more expensive, but sometimes you can’t avoid it.

That is not the case with Copenhagen, because the city has a fantastically organized metro and train, so you can choose. There is also a bus, but it goes much slower than the previous two, so the bus is only used when necessary.

If you choose the train, it will bring you to the city center, quickly and efficiently.

It has only one drawback, which is that it goes in intervals of 10 to 20 minutes. Delays are also possible, although I have not experienced them.

Wheelchair users can board the train with a little assistance. There are clearly marked spaces for wheelchairs on the train. When getting off, the conductor—who must have noticed me from who knows where—brought a portable ramp. With it, I exited without any problems, not even knowing that such a protocol existed.

The metro is your best friend in Copenhagen. This is not true for much more famous cities in Europe, but here it is perfect.

It is punctual, precise, organized, and automated—there isn’t even a driver. It is fully adapted for wheelchair users.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t think at all how I was going to get to a certain point. I used to enter the subway purely to get out of the rain, even though my desired destination was very close.

It also came in handy when I wanted to avoid cobblestones. It was easier for me to get on the metro for one stop than to bump along the streets. When going underground, I usually check whether there is one or more elevators, in case one of them is out of order.

Multiple elevators are rarely encountered, but here I had the impression that they never break down. I also like metro systems where there is always a member of staff available to give advice and help. Here there is no one at the stations, but I had the feeling that everything would function perfectly.

Copenhagen is considered the Venice of the North, because it is criss-crossed by numerous canals. This allows tourists to see the city from the water using numerous tourist boats.

However, none are wheelchair accessible. But there is another much cheaper solution for both us and those who walk. You can use your pass to ride up and down Copenhagen for free using their water taxis, called the havnebus.

They’re yellow, they’re striking, they don’t go that often, but they’re accessible for people in wheelchairs and they get the job done. Here’s another way to see the city.

So, there you go — “there is something rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Accommodation

While I was searching for accommodation in Copenhagen, the little hair I have left was slowly starting to stand on end. Hotels in the wider city area were extremely expensive. If you’re wondering why I didn’t choose apartments, the answer is simple: that type of arrangement leaves too much room for error. Of course, if I had a reliable recommendation, I wouldn’t refuse it.

However, the more I learned about Copenhagen’s metro, the more my confidence grew, so I dared to look for hotels outside the city at more affordable prices. In that search, the dice fell on the AC Bella Sky Marriott hotel, located on the island of Amager, closer to the airport than to the city.

The hotel offered everything I needed.

There are enough elevators that I can always go up to my room if one fails. I can walk through the bathroom door. It was a decent accommodation in an ordinary room. I gave up looking for adapted rooms for the disabled a long time ago.

The hotel is far from everything, but thanks to the excellent metro, I was in the city every day in about 15 minutes. However, I have to praise something that sets this hotel apart from others, and that is the breakfast. You can read the same in reviews on many travel portals.

I have never seen such a breakfast selection in a mid-range hotel.

We took the photos discreetly so as not to disturb people while they were serving themselves, so they can’t fully convey the richness of the selection. All I can say is that after this, eating the famous Danish sandwich is child’s play for guests of this hotel.

There is salmon, there is pate, there are sausages, beans, various hams. Brie, camembert and other cheeses are also available here.

A station with pastries, yogurts of every color, dried fruit, cereals, almonds, and hazelnuts.

Colorful vegetables, cherry tomatoes and arugula, it’s all here.

Coffees and teas of every color and aroma. To make your smørrebrød, the only thing missing is microgreens—everything else is available for you to arrange and change the combination every day.

At the AC Bella Marriott Hotel, after such a breakfast you can sweeten yourself with all kinds of fruit or various muffins.

Every time, I regretted not having three stomachs so I could try everything.

You can read about what else I tried in Copenhagen here.

It was the last day of my stay in Denmark. Since we were missing breakfast, we informed the hotel that we would take a “packed breakfast” with us, to eat at the airport.

We hoped it would live up to its reputation. However, we were in for a cold shower.

We had to pay for packing a breakfast that had already been paid for. The amount wasn’t large, but the principle matters. When we arrived at the airport and opened the package, we realized that the sandwich we received could easily stand side by side with any ordinary airplane sandwich. A small juice and a fruit yogurt were there to complete this “rhapsody of flavors.”

It’s not that we were particularly hungry. With the excitement of heading to the airport, you’re not very hungry anyway—but why spoil the overall impression like this?

We were very disappointed by such a farewell at the end.

Conclusion

With this, I conclude my visit to Denmark. If the dice fall into place, I may return someday. In the meantime, I’ll turn my attention to other destinations. If you have any questions, feel free to write.