Puttgarden - Rødby and on to Bornholm
Forty-five minutes across the Fehmarn Belt, then a drive across Zealand - and a choice between the night ferry from Køge and the fast ferry from Ystad.
- Puttgarden - Rødby: 45 minutes, half-hourly in season
- Køge: night ferry, departs 00:30
- Ystad: fast ferry, 80 minutes
The legs of the journey
Table of Contents
The Fehmarn Belt is the easiest crossing on any route to Bornholm: 45 minutes, sailings roughly every half hour in the season, and no real planning required. The part that decides your day comes after you drive off in Rødby, when you pick which Bornholm ferry you are aiming for. This page covers how the legs fit together; the departure times themselves are on the timetable.
Leg one: Puttgarden to Rødby
Scandlines runs this route with large ferries and a very dense schedule - dozens of sailings a day at the height of the season, dropping to a handful in the quiet months. You do not plan a day around it; you drive to Puttgarden and take the next one. Fares are dynamic and cheaper booked ahead, and a booking is worth having for anything larger than a car.
Leg two, option A: Køge to Rønne
From Rødby the E47 runs north across Zealand; Køge is about an hour and a half away. The ferry is a night crossing of around five and a half hours, and it leaves at 00:30 - half an hour after midnight, in the night before the morning you arrive. Read that twice when you book: a Saturday ticket means being in Køge on Friday evening.
In exchange you get the crossing for free, in time terms. You sleep on board and drive off in Rønne early in the morning with the whole day intact. Cabins and reclining seats are bookable and worth it.
Leg two, option B: Ystad to Rønne
The alternative keeps going north, over the Øresund bridge into Sweden and east to Ystad - roughly three and a half hours from Rødby, and a toll on the bridge. What you buy for that is the fastest crossing to Bornholm: 80 minutes, up to six departures a day in each direction in the high season.
This is the option for arriving in daylight, and the one that recovers best from a delay - if you miss a sailing there is usually another one the same day, which is not true in Køge.
Making the connection
Both onward options put a drive between the two ferries, and that is where the buffer belongs. The Fehmarn Belt crossing itself is reliable and frequent enough to be ignored in the planning; queueing at Puttgarden in the holiday peak and traffic on Zealand are not.
Bornholmslinjen asks you to be checked in fifteen minutes before departure in Køge and ten minutes in Ystad, and those deadlines apply even when the ferry runs late. For the Køge night sailing, treat the evening before as the deadline and plan to arrive with time to spare - there is no second departure that night.
Two tickets, or three
Each ferry is booked separately: Scandlines for the Fehmarn Belt, Bornholmslinjen for the Bornholm leg. There is no combined fare and no protection across the two. Book the Bornholm leg first, since it has far fewer departures than the Fehmarn Belt, then fit the crossing from Puttgarden around it.
Fehmarn Belt to Bornholm FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about combining the Fehmarn Belt crossing with the Bornholm ferry.
Køge or Ystad - which second leg?+
Køge is closer to Rødby and needs no bridge toll, but it has one departure a night at 00:30 and a five-and-a-half hour crossing. Ystad is further, costs a toll on the Øresund bridge and is only 80 minutes at sea, with several departures a day. Køge suits travellers who want to sleep through the crossing; Ystad suits anyone who wants to arrive on Bornholm during the day.
Why does the Køge ferry depart at 00:30?+
Because it sails half an hour after midnight, in the night leading into your booked day. If your ticket says Saturday, you have to be in Køge on Friday evening. This is the most common planning mistake on the whole route.
Do I need to book the Fehmarn Belt crossing in advance?+
Not for the sake of getting across - in the high season sailings leave roughly every half hour, so a missed one costs you thirty minutes. Booking ahead is still worth it for the fare, which is dynamic, and it is close to essential for a motorhome or a car with a trailer.
How much buffer should I leave for the Bornholm ferry?+
Enough to absorb the drive, not the crossing. Rødby to Køge is roughly an hour and a half; Rødby to Ystad is closer to three and a half including the bridge. Bornholmslinjen wants you checked in fifteen minutes before departure in Køge and ten in Ystad, and those deadlines hold even if the ferry is late.
Does this work without a car?+
Not really. This is a driving corridor: the Fehmarn Belt ferry is part of a road route, and the onward legs on Zealand assume a vehicle. Without one, the sensible way north is by train to Copenhagen and on to Ystad, then the fast ferry to Rønne.
Book the crossings
The Fehmarn Belt leg and the Bornholm leg are separate tickets - pick both before you set off.