Last year, my friend C. and I went on a long-awaited long-distance bikepacking trip, cycling the entire Kattegattleden from Göteborg to Helsingborg. This year, we decided to close the circle and bike the Danish side of Kattegatt.

18-27 July 2024 9-17 July 2025 2024 + 2025
2024 track 2025 track 2024 and 2025 tracks

Last year, I wrote a proper blog post (in Swedish) with an interactive map about the experience. This year, partly inspired by the logbooks I read at 100r.co (e.g. this one), partly pushed by time constraints, I decided to keep things a little bit simpler and transcribe the notes I wrote in my pocket notebook while on the road, publishing them almost unedited (code switching included) along with some photos I took during the trip, also minimally postprocessed. English translations of the code-switched segments (there’s a lot of Italian and Swedish in the mix) are available at the bottom of this page.

Giorno1 1: Göteborg - somewhere 20 km south of Frederikshavn

Boarding the ferry to Frederikshavn
Our two bikes queueing behind two motorcycles at the Frederikshavn ferry terminal in Göteborg

Lunch & MTG on the ferry to Frederikshavn.

Short ride to an epic free campsite, Professorens plantage, with three wooden shelters (one with a view!), fireplaces and tables. The beach, which is 400 m away, is grey and covered of beautiful shells of different kinds; some look like the best ones in Lido Rossello - never seen in Scandinavia before! The sand is thin, like, la spiaggia di velluto2 di Senigallia. The only drawback of this place is the lack of running water, otherwise idyllic.

Professorens plantage
Some trees in the early evening light
The beach
Shells on some gray-ish sand

Giorno1 2: idyllic campsite - Egense

A deer peeped out from a field! This was while we were biking until the next town, Aså (funny name because it’s the reverse of “Åsa”, which was one of our first stops on the Swedish side of Kattegatt). We had lunch with supermarket food there and played MTG in the harbor, which had a nice clean toilet with room to change clothes, as well as tables in the shadow. Here a Venezuelan (or was he Colombian?) guy also explained us that, in Denmark, a sign with a daisy means a bike road. We then walked to the nearby beach and took a swim, or should I say a stroll? in the warm water between a sand bank and another.

A house in (as far as I remember) Hals
Part of the facade of a white house with a triangular roof. The word "KATTEGATT" is written on top of it.

We then proceeded to a nice small town called Hals, where we had decent pizza and subsequently took the ferry. Immediately after there is a paid but incredibly cheap camping. Funnily enough, though, children have to pay to use the playground (but not the pool!) for an hour. Mah.

Giorno1 3: Egense - Hadsund

Woke up in the cold (maybe it had rained a little) and ate inside, charging my powerbank - good to be at a paid camping.

Long lunch stop next to the supermarket in Bælum, a very boring place with not even a table. For the whole time we were there, the road was calling me. But, already for the second time, the supermarket came with a pantställe med vattenkran, vilket är ganska bra för att diska3.

The awesomest bike lane of Denmark
A straight bike lane surrounded by three

And after Bælum, the most awesomest bike lane of Denmark begins. A bike-only straight road in the middle of nowhere, only trees and fields (of course, we learned it is built on top of an old railway). After a few kms of this, we saw a sign for the Danish equivalent of öppen gård4 called Solpletten and decided to take a look. It’s a beautiful place to relax, built by volunteers from all over the works, full of art installations and playful things, such as a drum set made of kitchen pots and other recycled materials. We stayed for a bit and played MTG while snacking.

Snapshots from Solpletten
A drum set made of old kitchen pots and other recycled materials
Messages left by travellers on a big blackboard

We then continued to Hadsund, where we set up the tent in another even cheaper obemannad5 (!) camping/hostel with only one shower but surprisingly clean toilets. Then we went into town for dinner. C. had a disgusting calzone with spaghetti. I had a delicious pita with chicken.

Day 4: Hadsund - Fjellerup

Longest stretch so far, partly because of the grey, colder weather that doesn’t invite long breaks outside. The ferry between Udbyhøj and Udbyhøj Syd is twice as expensive as the one between Hals and Egense, but at least we got candy when coming aboard. We chose a camping spot right outside of Fjellerup because:

  1. we read it was free but had toilets and running water
  2. we saw pictures of big wooden instruments (various percussions) in the area
  3. the village has a bakery, which we thought could be good for breakfast
  4. we were expecting rain and we thought put the tent, without the waterproof layer, inside one of the wooden shelters and use it as a mosquito net.

All of the above were true and some instruments even sounded good, excepts it didn’t rain in the end. It was a very sweaty hot-cold night, but we still managed to sleep much longer than usual.

Some of the musical instruments available in the area
A group of wooden musical instruments in a green area

We camped next to a Kurdish family of four (with two small children) and a Danish motorcyclist who was gone before we even woke up.

Day 5: Fjellerup - Fornæs

10 km from Fjellerup is Bønnerup Strand. We happened to arrive there during their havnefest: live music, food, beer, inflatables for children and a small market. Some kids dressed as pirates came out running from a boat with a pirate flag, presumably from another village. We had to stay. We had delicious fish and shared a beer while listening to the rock band that was playing. The lady who sat in front of us was very into the music.

A boat sailing in the vicinity of Fornæs
A white sailboat under a cloudy sky

The day’s ride was cut short by the lack of affordable campings with showers, which were needed at that point, in the area we were aiming for. We decided that our best options was to stop before Grenå, at a camping called Fornæs Strand Camping. It was still a bit too expensive, but it has excellent services (although there could be more toilets and dustbins) and is right by the sea. We took an evening swim followed by a hot shower. There was even a hairdryer.

Then we were attacked by damn helicopters flying beetles while we were having dinner outsides. They all woke up at once at skymning6. We fled to some slightly more sheltered tables with belysning7, far from the bushes were they seem to live, and played MTG. When we came back to the tent, they were gone, tack och lov8.

The quiet before the helicopter attack
Silhouettes of trees and bushes against the horizon, at dusk

Day 6: Fornæs - Femmøller

Early morning guest
Silhouette of a little bird standing on the top of our tent seen from inside the tent

Pleasant temperature throughout the night for the first time, but hot in the morning. We woke up early. C. is sleeping outside the tent while I am writing this. I might go and start unmounting the tent while she wakes up.

We left quite late (after 12:00) and biked to , the largest town so far. At this time of the year, it seems pretty touristic, but also genuinely pretty. We took a short walk in the town centre, then tried to go to a beach to take a swim but left - it was too crowded and not as nice as the town itself.

We continued for a short bit until we found a large obemannad butik9. So far, we had only seen kartofler och brænsle10 in places of this kind, but this one had lots of fruit and vegetables. We got some strawberries. They were juicy, almost as good as the Swedish ones. Around there, we also briefly stopped to take a look at a privately owned manor house.

Then we went quite a long, relatively hilly stretch. The closer we got to Ebeltoft, the more beautiful the countryside looked. Ebeltoft itself seems like the most charming little town ever, but we couldn’t stay very long because it was getting late and the camping there was as expensive as the area was pretty. We just went to the centre and ate dinner at a Sino-Japanese place. I had yummy seafood, which has become the basis of our diet during this trip, even when we assemble our own meals with supermarket stuff (in those cases, it’s smoked fish).

Sunset during the bike ride from Ebeltoft to Femmøller
Sunset on the sea

We were tired at this point, but we continued to the shelterplats11 in Femmøller. It was a beautiful ride. I commented that I’m having more fun than last year, because I’m more relaxed now that it isn’t my first time cycling such a long distance. We mounted the tent inside of a shelter when we arrived as there was no space around it and no other camping spot nearby, but I didn’t really like the place we had ended up in.

Day 7: Femmøller - Århus - Havnebyen in Odden

This day was tough.

Even though the spot we slept at is quite popular for hiking (it is the starting point of a foot path to some “mountain”), I kind of hate it. I slept badly and woke up way too early. The trash bin - forgotten for however long - was right behind our shelter, the toilet was disgusting and, in general, the nature around us was just not very clean. At least there was running water, I guess. I read my book in the sun while waiting for C. to wake up, then we ate breakfast and got going.

On the way to Århus, we only really stopped once, at a random beach, for some time by the sea and an ice cream. That place felt somehow mediterranean: the type of sand, the temperature of the water, its color… There were two little brothers con le facce serie serie, da adulti. Quasi un po’ comici. Con il più grande abbiamo giocato a schizzarci.12

We tried to follow the signs for National Bike Route 5 ‘cause all batteries were about to die, even though we had already noticed that the signage (as well as the bike infrastructure at large) is not quite at the same level as on the Swedish side. Even with both of us paying attention, we went the wrong way and had to check the map a couple times, eventually ending up at a nasty crossing. So overall, the ride to Århus will not be one of my good memories from this trip.

Arriving in Århus
Some rails in the foreground, some buildings of Århus in the background

But the Route 5 bike lane entering Århus is quite spectacular, even more so in the thin fog that was surrounding the harbor. The city seems najs13 and has a jazz festival that takes place more or less in parallel with Umbria Jazz [my hometown’s very own Jazz festival]. I would have wanted to explore more and maybe stay an extra day, but we had a ferry to catch in a couple hours and batteries were running out, so we went to a cafe and played MTG while waiting for them to recharge enough to get to the boarding point and show the tickets. For once, I won twice in a row. I kinda like the two “travel decks” we brought, balanced and not too important to us (writing this on the train back after intense rain, I’m even more glad that we opted for them). After the games, a quick stop at Lidl and off to the harbor, which is quite far from the city itself.

Exploring Århus
A colorful building against a gray sky
A quick peek inside a church in Århus
Detail of a fresco inside a church

The whole time, the sky looked menacing, but it still didn’t rain when we arrived to Själland, o come si scrive14. Ci siamo dirette subito a uno shelterplats, che con mia grande sorpresa dava direttamente sulla marina, ma tutti e tre i rifugi erano occupati. Ho chiesto a una coppia di ragazzi danesi se fosse ok piantare una tenda lì vicino e ci hanno detto di sì, invitandoci a sederci con loro una volta che la pioggia - ormai visibile a una certa distanza - fosse arrivata. Abbiamo montato la tenda in fretta e furia, cercato di proteggere tutte le nostre borse dall’acqua e accettato l’invito. Ci hanno raccontato15 that they were exploring the region on a dingy! They were very friendly, but it was hard for me to keep the conversation going. After a while, since the rain wasn’t coming, we moved to a picnic table and tried to eat. Needless to say, we were interrupted by a torrential downpour. We withdrew in their shelter a second time. When the intensity of the rain - temporarily - diminished, we ran back to the tent and went to bed. Despite the intense rain and a minor leak from the ventilation, that we initially forgot to close properly, we got some good sleep.

Rain coming
A small marina against a stormy sky

Day 8: Havnebyen - Liseleje

Outside of a church near Havnebyen Inside of a church near Havnebyen
Entrance of a bright red church Inside of a church. Someone is playing a small organ

We left The Harbor Village right after breakfast and started zigzagging through Odden, back and forth from a coast to another, approximately following National Bike Route 2. The route is, again, relatively hilly for Danish standards and le condizioni del manto stradale non sono sempre delle migliori. Inoltre, i segnali sono - come anche altrove - talora fuorvianti. Tuttavia, il panorama è piacevole e16 downhills are very rewarding. La mia tappa preferita è stata la prima. Siamo state attratte dal colore rosso della chiesa di Odden, a poca distanza dal villaggio che avevamo appena lasciato, e abbiamo deciso di fermarci un attimo.17 Det var en perfekt stund. Kyrkan är ganska vacker även på insidan och någon satt helt ensam och övade orgelmusik.18

Two houses in a village between Havnebyen and Nykøbing S.
Two traditional Danish houses. The yellow one on the left has a grass rooftop; the light blue one on the right has a very triangular roof and flowers in front of it
The part of the trip where you start feeling a bit tired…
A skeleton with a hat riding a bike in front of a house.

La seconda tappa (pranzo) l’abbiamo fatta a Nykøbing S. (una delle tante “Nykøbing” della Danimarca e, in generale, del nord Europa). La cittadina è piccola ma graziosa e con un minimo di vita culturale,19 (kulturhus med bibliotek t.ex.20) ma ne abbiamo percorso la via principale sotto un cielo ancora minaccioso.21

Arrivate a Rørvig abbiamo preso il battello per Hundested, dove abbiamo conosciuto un’altra ciclista probabilmente nostra coetanea diretta a Capo Nord in solitaria.22

L’ultima notte l’abbiamo passata al campeggio di Liseleje, compatto, carino e ben pensato.23

Giorno1 9: Liseleje - Helsingør - Helsingborg - Göteborg

Giornata lunghissima, sembrano almeno 3 giorni in uno!24 We woke up earlier than usual (7:30) and decided to take the shortest path to Helsingør in order to have enough time to explore both the Danish town and its twin on the Swedish side. Well, the shortest path isn’t the best path: much of it is a relatively fast road without any hint of a bike lane, which C. hated. Aside from two very quick snack stops - one in Helsinge, one in the forest just out of the busy road - we did not really take any breaks. Again, we were prepared for rain - it had rained heavily even the night before, but I was fast asleep and didn’t even notice - but the weather kept improving until it became perhaps the warmest day of the entire trip.

Helsingør
Narrow street of Helsingør
Red traditional house in Helsingør

Helsingør is really pretty. It has a proper (Renaissance) castle, but I found its side streets to be the most charming. On the other hand, it is very touristic and internationally so. I heard at least 5 different foreign languages, the most prominent being of course Swedish.

Leaving Denmark
The trail of the ferry to Sweden; Helsingør is visible in the background

Helsingborg, which we reached by taking the totally överdriven25 Øresundslinjen ferry (such a huge vessel for such a short distance!), has its points of interests too (such as Kärnan, a medieval tower), but feels like a much more normal/real place where I could actually live. Its rådhus26 looks like an even fancier version of the castle of Kviberg [it’s actually a group of barracks in the area where I live, but it really looks like a castle, see central photo here] and many other buildings seem a bit copy-pasted from Göteborg, but the kultur-and-everything-else-_hus_20 (where I got ideas for future bike trips across Skåne) stands out.

We came back home with the good old Øresundståg. The exchanges between two other passengers we were sharing the bike compartment with made the trip back anything but boring. We arrived at 23:30 in a record-warm Göteborg night (some 23 degrees!) and I came home to an even warmer apartment, since I forgot to close the curtains upon leaving. After a phone call to my parents and updating these notes, it is already 2:30. Time to get some rest.

Translations

  1. giorno (it): day ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  2. la spiaggia di velluto (it): the velvet beach ↩

  3. pantställe med vattenkran, vilket är ganska bra för att diska (sv): pantställe with water tap, which is quite good for doing the dishes. A pantställe is a kind of recycling place where you return cans and plastic bottles and get your deposit back as a pantkvitto, a receipt you can use to pay for part of your groceries. ↩

  4. öppen gård (sv): open farm (a kind of farm that you can visit and that hosts a series of activities) ↩

  5. obemannad (sv): unmanned ↩

  6. skymning (sv): dusk ↩

  7. belysning (sv): lighting ↩

  8. tack och lov (sv): thank heavens ↩

  9. obemannad butik (sv): unmanned shop ↩

  10. kartofler og brænsle (da): potatoes and firewood ↩

  11. shelterplats (da/sv): a camping spot with wooden wind shelters [the word, provided that is Danish, but my spelling is incorrect due to the influence of Swedish. The correct spelling is shelterplads ↩

  12. con le facce serie serie, da adulti. Quasi un po’ comici. Con il più grande abbiamo giocato a schizzarci (it): with super serious facial expressions, like adults. Almost a bit comical. The older one and I played splashing each other ↩

  13. najs (sv): nice ↩

  14. o come si scrive (en): however you spell that [the correct Danish spelling is “Sjælland”] ↩

  15. Ci siamo dirette subito a uno shelterplats, che con mia grande sorpresa dava direttamente sulla marina, ma tutti e tre i rifugi erano occupati. Ho chiesto a una coppia di ragazzi danesi se fosse ok piantare una tenda lì vicino e ci hanno detto di sì, invitandoci a sederci con loro una volta che la pioggia - ormai visibile a una certa distanza - fosse arrivata. Abbiamo montato la tenda in fretta e furia, cercato di proteggere tutte le nostre borse dall’acqua e accettato l’invito. Ci hanno raccontato (it): we went directly to a shelterplats11, which, to my surprise, overlooked the marina, but all three shelters were occupied. I asked a young Danish couple if it was ok to place our tent right there and they said yes. They also invited us to sit with them once the rain - now visible in the distance - would reach us. We rushed to set up the tent, tried to protect all of our bags from the water and accepted the invite. They told us ↩

  16. le condizioni del manto stradale non sono sempre delle migliori. Inoltre, i segnali sono - come anche altrove - talora fuorvianti. Tuttavia, il panorama è piacevole e (it): the condition of the road surface is not always the best. In addition, the signs are sometimes misleading, as they are elsewhere. However, the scenery is pleasant and ↩

  17. La mia tappa preferita è stata la prima. Siamo state attratte dal colore rosso della chiesa di Odden, a poca distanza dal villaggio che avevamo appena lasciato, e abbiamo deciso di fermarci un attimo. (it): My favorite stop was the first one we did. The red color of the church in Odden, close to the village we had just left, attracted our attention and we decided to stop there for a moment. ↩

  18. Det var en perfekt stund. Kyrkan är ganska vacker även på insidan och någon satt helt ensam och övade orgelmusik. (sv): It was a perfect moment. The church is rather beautiful even inside and someone sat there alone and practiced music at the organ. ↩

  19. La seconda tappa (pranzo) l’abbiamo fatta a Nykøbing S. (una delle tante “Nykøbing” della Danimarca e, in generale, del nord Europa). La cittadina è piccola ma graziosa e con un minimo di vita culturale (it): Our second stop was in Nykøbing S. (one of the many “Nykøbing” in Denmark and, in general, Northern Europe). The town is small but cute and has some amount of cultural life ↩

  20. kulturhus med bibliotek t.ex. (sv): e.g. cultural centre with library ↩ ↩2

  21. ma ne abbiamo percorso la via principale sotto un cielo ancora minaccioso (it): but the sky was still stormy while we walked through the main street ↩

  22. Arrivate a Rørvig abbiamo preso il battello per Hundested, dove abbiamo conosciuto un’altra ciclista probabilmente nostra coetanea diretta a Capo Nord in solitaria. (it): Once we arrived to Rørvig, we took the boat to Hundested, where we met another bikepacker who was likely our age, solo cycling to Cape North. ↩

  23. L’ultima notte l’abbiamo passata al campeggio di Liseleje, compatto, carino e ben pensato. (it): We spent the last night at the camping in Liseleje, which is compact, nice and well designed. ↩

  24. Giornata lunghissima, sembrano almeno 3 giorni in uno! (it): Such a long day, feels like at least 3 days in one! ↩

  25. överdriven (sv): exaggerated ↩

  26. rådhus (sv): city hall ↩