Bornholm Road Trip from Copenhagen: Castle Ruins, Round Churches and Smokehouses in 3 Days

Bornholm is a Danish island far out in the Baltic Sea, closer to Sweden than to the rest of Denmark. The quickest way there by car from Copenhagen goes through Sweden: over the Øresund Bridge, along the coast to Ystad, and onto the car ferry to Rønne. On the island this trip takes in the castle ruins of Hammershus, the smokehouses of Gudhjem, the round church at Østerlars, the small town of Svaneke and the beach at Dueodde. It makes about 306 km of driving in three days, plus the ferry each way.

Neither Denmark nor Sweden has a vignette or motorway tolls for cars. The one toll on this trip is the Øresund Bridge, and you pay it twice, once each way. On the first and last day you pass through Sweden, so carry a passport or ID card, and check that your rental company lets you take the car to Sweden and on the ferry.

Day 1 — Copenhagen to Ystad and Rønne (96 km)

Pick up the car in Copenhagen and head for Sweden. The link starts with a tunnel of about 4 km under the sea to Peberholm, an artificial island, and goes on over the Øresund Bridge, nearly 8 km long, opened in 2000. The toll station is at Lernacken on the Swedish side, just outside Malmö. From there the E65 runs east to Ystad.

Ystad is an old market town of cobbled streets and half-timbered houses. Greyfriars Abbey, founded in 1267, is one of the best-preserved medieval monasteries in Sweden and now holds the town museum. Every evening a night watchman blows a horn from the tower of St Mary’s Church every quarter of an hour, and fans of crime fiction will know the town as the home of Kurt Wallander, Henning Mankell’s detective.

In the harbour, drive onto the Bornholmslinjen car ferry to Rønne. The crossing takes about 80 minutes. Rønne is Bornholm’s largest town; walk its cobbled streets of half-timbered houses around Store Torv, the main square. Sleep in Rønne.

Day 2 — Hammershus, Gudhjem and Østerlars to Svaneke (63 km)

Drive north to Hammershus, the ruins of a medieval castle on a rock about 74 m above the sea, believed to have been finished in the late 1200s. It is often called the largest castle ruin in Northern Europe. Leave the car at the large car park P2, which is paid from the Saturday before Palm Sunday until the autumn holiday in week 42. The ruins are free and open all year. The visitor centre, opened in 2018 on the other side of the gorge, is free too, but it opens only from Easter to mid-October.

Follow the north coast round to Gudhjem, a small fishing village around its harbour. The first smokehouse on Bornholm opened here in 1866, and you can still eat smoked fish by the water; the local dish, Sol over Gudhjem, is smoked herring on rye bread with a raw egg yolk, radishes and onion.

Just inland stands Østerlars Church, the largest of the island’s four round churches, built in the twelfth century. It is open to visitors when there is no service, for a small fee, and you can climb up inside to the rafters. Then drive east to Svaneke, Denmark’s easternmost town. Its well-kept centre won a European gold medal for preservation in 1975, and above the town stands a three-legged water tower from 1952, designed by Jørn Utzon, the architect of the Sydney Opera House. Sleep in Svaneke.

Day 3 — Dueodde and back to Copenhagen (147 km)

Drive south past Nexø to Dueodde, the southern tip of the island, where a beach of very fine white sand runs between the dunes and the sea. The Dueodde Lighthouse, 47 m high, is the tallest in Denmark; it opens to visitors only at certain times.

Then cross the island to Rønne for the ferry back to Ystad, and drive back over the Øresund Bridge to Copenhagen. Pay the bridge toll again at Lernacken.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. The Øresund Bridge costs DKK 470 for a car each way at the toll station in 2026, or DKK 420 with an online ticket bought in advance; you cross it twice. The ferry fare depends on the day, the time and the ticket type, so book the car ahead, above all in summer. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 306 km, car rental, parking at Hammershus, and entry to Østerlars Church and the museum at Greyfriars Abbey in Ystad.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.