alanwar

I understand that the grounds of Kronborg are open and do not require a ticket or fee. The website for the castle also states the castle is closed on Dec 24 and 25. Is the closure for the interior of the castle only or will the grounds also be closed.

Thank you

helosc

The grounds are always open so you can get up close to the castle at all times. I can see on their website that they charge a ticket for the inner courtyard for 3 months in summer - must be something new, I have never experienced that. But that also means that access is free outside of these months. I can't imagine the courtyard not being accessible even if the castle is closed but I don't know for sure ( see added comment and link ).
Remember that you also get a brilliant view of the castle from the water; take one of the ferries to Sweden.
If you have any practical questions fx about public transport Feel free to ask.

Added :
Just found this page which seems to indicate that the inner courtyard is indeed closed when the castle is closed. Check it out for yourself and see how you read it ( the grey column to the right ).

http://www.kronborg.dk/english/plan-...ours-kronborg/

alanwar

Thank you Helosc for you reply.

Do you think it is worth traveling up to there from Copenhagen if the inner courtyard is closed ? Will public transport from Copenhagen be running on the 24th and 25th to and from Helsignor ?

I see there is a ferry from Helsingor to Helsingborg (Scandlines) however it seems impossible to just buy a by-foot ticket between the two ports. The website only seems to offer it for cars or motorcycles and in conjunction with the Rodby-Puttgarden line. I am also not sure if it will be running those days. Do you know if the ferries are running those days and if I need to buy an advanced ticket (there are 4 of us). Also is it worth getting off in Helsingborg and wandering around. Would there be any place to buy dinner ?

Thank you,
Alan

helosc

Is it worth it? I think so. But it depends on how much time you have here in Denmark. I find it very impressive looking from the outside but it is a longish trip and it gets dark early. Well not that long. The train ride is 45 minutes.

The train runs every 20 minutes from Copenhagen to Helsingør ( øresunds
toget ). According to the routeplanner it even runs on the 24. in the evening.
but I wouldn't count on it. You do know that the evening of the 24. is the big christmas celebration here. But it definitly runs during the day on the 24. and all the time on the 25.

The tickets for the ferry you simply buy at the ticket counter just before you board. and the ferries are supposed to run all the time. They normally sail every 15-20 minutes and the crossing takes half hour. You enter the ferry area directly from the station. Very convenient.
I will call and ask them tomorrow if they are running and if the ticket counter is
open on the 24 and 25 just to make sure and then I'll come back to you.

Yes I think Helsingborg is worth a visit. And the sail is nice with a view of the castle and Helsingør and Helsingborg.

Food can be tricky those two days - but MacDonald etc is always open. Sweden also have their own burger chain MAX which is quite nice.

Addition
Helsingør itself is also worth a visit. Very old town with a lot of old buildings.
Remember shops are closed on 24. and 25.

Just remembered that I will be going on the ferry to Helsingborg on Sunday so I will simply ask at the ticket counter and come back to you afterwards.

Siebrand

The Danish website of Scandlines has more information than the English one. Click on Priser for the prices (DKK55 for a return) and Sejlplaner for the timetable. The ferries run every 30 or 60 minutes on the 24th and 25th of December. If the ticket office is closed, you can buy tickets with a credit card from a machine.

An even cheaper option is buying a combined train/boat ticket from Copenhagen via Helsingør to Helsingborg. The combination ticket is cheaper than the train ticket to Helsingør alone.

Helsingør and Helsingborg are a nice diversion from Copenhagen, but expect many things to be closed on the 24th and 25th.

helosc

I'll just give you a few links concerning this combination ticket :

http://www.oresundstag.se//en/Start/

http://www.reseplaneraren.oresundsta...px?language=en

Notice that you'll need the route with the ferry pictogram otherwise it is via malmø and involves no ferry and no Helsingør.
And notice that the prices are given in SEK. (100 SEK = app. 86 DKK).

The Danish planner for trips between Denmark and Sweden keeps giving me an errror which is why I gave you the Swedish but here it is if you want to try it :

http://euspirit.rejseplanen.dk/bin/q...uMode=ORESUND&

alanwar

Thank you Siebrand and Helosc. Your information has been very helpful.

It seems that the train between Copenhagen and Helsingor runs every 20min while the ferry between Helsingor and Helsingborg runs every half hour. Perfect.

I did compare the combination ticket to purchasing the train and ferry separately and it ended up being more expensive via the combo ticket. Combo ticket turns out to be 204SEK ($30.89) while the train and ferry separately are 135DKK ($24.45). The Oresundstag site did mention a "duo/family" ticket type that looks discounted but I couldn't navigate pricing that. In any case I think I will stick to buying the tickets separate as the combo ticket requires me to pick the train and ferry times and I'd rather be more spontaneous.

The last thing I will worry about is not having a chip and pin credit card but I assume any ticket vending machine will accept bills.

Thank you again, my family is excited for our trip.

And the Danish planner website was not working for me either.

helosc

I just checked the ticket machine by the ferry.
They take only cards ( pincode needed ) and only visa and mastercard. No cash..
I did not get an answer as to whether the ticket counter was open on christmas
( their system was down and they were writing tickets on post-its so they were stressed out ).

Tell me how many adults and how many children (and their ages) are travelling.
Then I'll do the calculation for you - combotickets or separate tickets.
I know the familieduo and I know the discounted tickets for the trains.


The comboticket is valid all day by the way.

I have just come home from Helsingborg. Sun was shining and it was just beautiful there.

helosc

Do you mean that all your cards do not have chip and you don't have a pincode for them? Or am I misunderstanding?
Then you'll have a problem here. Chip and pincodes are used everywhere here - in shops, bank machines, ticket offices etc.
We have a few old machines that you swipe your card through ( very few ) but you still need a pincode.

alanwar

Helosc, thank you for this information and you offer to figure out the tickets. There are 4 of us, 2 adults, a 20 year old and a 16 year old.

I only have US credit cards which are swipe and have no chip. I also have US debit cards which are also swipe but use a pin but I guess those would only work in an ATM. I wonder if it would make sense to buy the combo ticket anyway at the central rail station in Copenhagen since I won't be able to buy a ferry ticket at Helsingor. The difference in fare can't be more than a few DKK anyway. Does this make sense ? Do you think that the Oresundstag would have an attendant on the evening of Dec 23 for me to purchase the combo ticket ?

Chip and Pin cards seem very difficult to get in the US. I can get a chip and signature card but it sounds like that may not help much as you say I'll need a PIN. My plan was to get lots of cash from the ATM and use that as much as possible. I'm going to start trying to get a chip and pin ASAP in any case.

Thank you again, your kindness is much appreciated.
Alan

thijsseh

You need to do some research into paying what you need to pay for in Scandinavia. In some places it is completely cashless. And non_PIN cards are becoming less and less accepted (not only in Scandinavia but in many other European countries too). As an example: most local / regional bus companies in Sweden ONLY accepted payment by PIN card (or by local mobile phone) when I was there this summer. No cash!
That's just an example, hence my advice to do some research.
The operation of credit / debit cards is one of the biggest discrepancies between the USA and the rest of the world, it seems...

helosc

Cards :

Called my bank, Danske bank, one of the biggest here and they told me that their cash machines only takes chip.

In the Main Station there are two 'Forex Bank' ( yellow and black facade ).
They are not banks as such but currency exchange offices.
They told me that they also take cards with magnet stripes.
They have very good opening hours. One of them 8 am to 9 pm, seven days a week.

Went to the ticket office in the main station ( DSB billetsalg ). Had to go there for other reasons anyway.
The man there said that they take all the usual cards and they take both chip and magnet stripe. With pin code normally but he had experienced a few American Express that went through without pin. Not all and not other cards.
He didn't know if the ticket machines use magnet stripe.

Hotel supposedly take any card and they should be able to help you with exchanging cash, I would imagine.

The bakery in the main station take both chip and magnet I saw today.

Denmark is very much a card country. We have had a national debit card with pin code for very many years. We stopped using magnet stripes 2-3 years ago, I think and all the new machines I have seen only use chip.


Tickets :

You are all adults ticketwise in Denmark.

Best option ( easiest and cheapest ) =

2 x 'øresund familie orange' return tickets.

Bought in the ticket office ( DSB billetsalg ) in Copenhagen Main Station.

146 DKK one way, double for a return. And you need two. 4 x 146 = 584 DKK
That will cover you all to Helsingborg, including ferry and back again.


An øresund familie orange ticket covers 2 adults and 0-3 children. but even for only two adults it is 10-15 % cheaper than standard adult tickets.

You can buy the tickets in the ticket office. Be sure to ask for tickets via Helsingør / the ferry.

The office told me that you can buy tickets the same day or beforehand for another date. Be sure to mention specifically if you want another date as the default are same day
tickets.

The very kind and patient man in the office dug out the Christmas opening times for the office for me. I could't find this on the internet and neither could he.

21-22 dec : 8 am - 6 pm
23 dec : 8 am - 8 pm
24,25,26 dec : 9.15 am - 4 pm


Other options :

You cannot buy tickets on the train.

Swedish tickets bought in the red machines in Copenhagen Main Station.
2 x duo familie return.
183 SEK , double up for return and you need two = 732 SEK
More expensive as the exchange rate is right now.
And I could't see if the machines uses magnet stripe.

I think your earlier calculation about separate tickets must have been based on some wrong information as it cost more.

Normal full fare tickets for the train = 108 DKK per person per way = 864 DKK
plus ferry tickets 55 DKK per person = 220 DKK. In all 1084 DKK.
But no one in their right mind buys full fare tickets for such long distance.

We have discounted tickets. They only come as 10 tickets on a card. And you can get them for 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 zones. The 9 zone ticket card covers all zones from 9 and upwards and is called all zone card.
You need all zones to Helsingør.
An all zone card with 10 tickets cost 490 DKK. Plus ferry 220. In all 710 DKK.
And you will have 2 tickets left over.

24 hour ticket all zones = 130 DKK per person = 520 DKK. Plus ferry 220. In all
740 DKK.

We have something called a Rejsekort ( travel card )which is a plastic card you load. I am not a fan and do not use it as it cannot yet do what it was supposed to do. So I don't know much about it. And it will complicate matters for you trying to get one. As it is now a trip cost the same as a discounted ticket.

If I have forgotten anything please ask again and also ask if anything else comes up.

helosc

While I am at it :
The ticket system in Copenhagen is coordinated so one ticket is valid on all transport forms - bus, train, metro.
A ticket for 2 zones ( minimum you can buy ) cost 24 DKK. Can be bought from the bus driver or in ticket machines in case of train or metro.
A 2 zone (blue) discount ticket card with 10 tickets cost 150 DKK. Can not be bought from driver, only machines and offices.
2 zones are all you'll ever need in Copenhagen.
The tickets are valid for one hour and you can drive around as you wish; they are not one-way tickets.

They do not cover the airport.
From the airport to Copenhagen you'll need 3 zones - 36 DKK or a 3 zone discount ticket card with 10 tickets for 200 DDK.
There is also a City Pass for 24 hours (75 DKK) or 72 hours (190 DKK) that covers Copenhagen and the airport. I don't find this to be a particular great deal.

alanwar

Helosc, I very much appreciate you figuring this all out.

helosc

You are welcome and have a nice trip.