Camping in Denmark - any tips please?

[rhinobaby]

I see there have been a few threads in the past, so maybe some of you made it to Denmark on summer holiday and can let me know how it went?. We are travelling bycampervan and thinking of 10-14 days in August, ferry harwich to esbjerg, then some time on a campsite by a beach. Trip to legoland and Copenhagen (maybe by train ).
All tips and advice please plus any useful websites.

[professorpoopsnagle]

We have been a few times, with and without children.

The ferry is ok, quite expensive but we were member os the YHA so got 10% discount. Book as early as you can for the cheapest rates. We didn't bother with the evening meals, had a hot lunch at Morrisons in Harwich and then bought picnic stuff to take on. We did do the brekkies which are reasonable value if you eat lots. How old are your children? There is an entertainer on board but apart from that it can get quite boring. We took the car dvd player up to our cabin with a plug converter which helped.

Campsites are of a good standard, nearly all have some sort of a children's playground and a kitchen equipped with hobs etc, then there are various add ons- swimming pools etc. It depends on what you what, we prefer slightly smaller sites over the caravan type ones. You need a card which can be bought on arrival for about a tenner, more info here.

There's loads to see and do, especially of a historical nature, legoland of course, we spent 4 days in Copenhagen and got a 3 day pass thing last time which proved good value, got into the zoo, various design museums, Tivoli, a canal tour, aquarium and this amazing place . We also enjoyed the Viking ship at Roskilde, Arhus for Den Gamle By (open air museum, lots of little house etc to visit) and the Moesgard museum with the Grauballe Man, I would also recommend a trip to Skagen, so dramatic. On Funen, there is Egeskov slot and the ladby ship museum. Trapholt is also a great place.

Nearly all of the campsites we stayed at I would recommend, and we have returned to a few. My absolute favourite is the nearest to Copenhagen Charlottenlund fort. Ideal for visiting the capital, you can get a bus from outside the site into town. It has such a great international buzz, the downside is that it doesn't have a playground but it does have a swimming beach nearby and also the aquarium is near too. If you want to go to this site you will need to book in advance.

I found food to be a similar price to that of the UK, wine/beer is also about the same. There are many Lidl and similar dotted around. If you need nappies take them, it cost us about £15 for a smallish pack. Going to museums can be costly but there are often family passes. If you take any smaller ferries across islands, booking in advance even by a few days gives cheaper tickets, I managed to book a ferry from Arhus-Zeeland using the oldest computer in Denmark at a campsite and google translate for half the turn up price. The bridges are exciting to cross too but there is a toll, you can use a credit card.

I would consider doing a 2 or 3 site holiday. If I had 14 days, my choice would be up to Skagen, then get the hydrofoil from Arhus/Ebeltoft to Zeeland and going to Copenhagen, then coming back via Funen and the bridges to Jutland for legoland.

HTH, let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know.

[rhinobaby]

Thanks for all the info. The site near Copenhagen sounds good. Kids will be age 5 and 7, it will be our first campervan trip abroad as have been reluctant to try long distances before. Harwich is our nearest port so seems a good reason to try Denmark! Did you stay anywhere near legoland, read that the closest campsite under flight path so not so good. We also prefer the smaller places, don't need huge facilities, just some space / beach for exercising the kids! A friend also recommended ebeltoft, did you stay at the site there? All looks exciting, I will see if the library has a guidebook. Realistically with days the ferry runs we will have 11 nights in Denmark and one either side on the ferry. Are the roads quite quiet for driving? Getting anywhere in the uk on summer holiday weekends seems to be very slow.

[professorpoopsnagle]

I believe there are a few site in Ebeltoft, we have stayed there at this one which was nice. The bathroom facilities are amazing- instead of separate showers, loos etc the block has 10 bathrooms so it feels more like being at home. We didn't use the beach there other than to gaze at the beautiful sunsets. The pool was on the brisk side but the playground was good. The town is within walking distance and very pretty. It's also a good base for Arhus and Grenaa and you can get a fast ferry from here to Zeeland which would cut hours off the journey for Copenhagen.

The campsite near legoland is convenient but very noisy, personally I wouldn't stay there. We have stayed in a different place each time on Jutland and I haven't found a campsite which is perfect, although we do tend to do that near the end of the trip and maybe I'm just a bit fed up with it by then! I would consider looking at somewhere like Ribe or Jelling and travelling in. Or even a bit further like Silkeborg. We were here last time, reasonable campsite- heated pool and some inside play areas too but quite impersonal.

The roads are very easy to navigate and drive, worth getting a road map if you can to take advantage of the back roads too. Copenhagen is busier, but no worse than most UK cities, and once you are there public transport is very good. Danish school children start back around the first week of August so there are less holidaymakers and yet the activities are still open.

[rhinobaby]

Thanks again, I have booked the ferry tickets so we're going to Denmark! I like the look of the site in ebeltoft. Will do some more research and try to find the perfect site near Lego land. Not sure if the fast ferry you have mentioned would take our campervan as is a high top. Some are car only, but would be good to avoid the drive round.