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Bornholm is a small Danish island, located off the south-east coast of Sweden. Probably one of the most hidden gems of Denmark for non-Scandinavian tourists, partially because its pretty far away from the rest of Denmark and is usually reached through Sweden. Its a very common family summer holiday destination for both Swedes and "mainland" Danes, but fairly unknown to the rest of the world except maybe Germans. There is little to no non-Scandinavian or non-German tourists on Bornholm. The island has a population of less than 40,000, and is twice the size of Malta.
So my question is, has anyone else here been to Bornholm?
This summer I spent 1 week in Rønne, the "capital" of Bornholm, and visited most places on the island via local bus. Turned out to be a really nice place, the small villages and towns are very beautiful and there is shops and restaurants everywhere, and prices at the restaurants are surprisingly a whole lot cheaper than in the rest of Denmark. Even though its located off south-east Sweden and the landscape looks quite different compared to the rest of Denmark, the atmosphere on Bornholm is distinctively Danish. The local bus service can take you to pretty much anywhere on the island.
If you are in Copenhagen, the easiest and most common way to visit Bornholm is to take the Bornholm bus that goes to the ferry terminal in Ystad, Sweden where you take the high speed catamaran ferry to Bornholm. The trip (bus + ferry) takes all in all 3 hours.
Bornholm can also be included in your Sweden trip if you are holidaying in southern Sweden, Ystad is not far from Malmö.
Its a pretty common holiday destination for us southern Swedes (in Skåne and Blekinge), either with our own boats or the 80 minutes Ystad-Rønne ferry, its an easy, near and cheap destination. Many people who hasn't been there imagines it as being just a mere extension of eastern Skåne (Österlen) which it geographically is, but the feeling is still distinctively Danish. Historically it was a part of the Danish Skåne province, it was the only part of Eastern Denmark that was not taken by the Swedes. The dialect on Bornholm is considered by many to be the only thing left of the original Scanian dialect.
Two of the highlights is the huge Dueodde beach, and hiking on the rocks of Hammer Odde. And Rønne is a really cosy and nice little town to spend a week in.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 08-24-2014 at 03:13 PM..
My parents often took me there when I was a little child. I don't remember much except a round church building located somewhere in the middle of the Isle, which looked very "Scandinavian" or "Viking-like" to me. Also, I guess there is a lot of forest and the water is VERY clean and clear. We cycled there a lot. Bornholm (and Denmark overall) is a quite popular destination for young, middle-class German families with small children because it's such a green, "boring" (meant positively) and peaceful country and it's easily accessible by car. When the children grow older, many start to travel down South to the Mediterranean.
They say it's the Baleares of the Scandinavians, however the "beach" on the picture above is ...well, there is no beach!
You are correct, that on my picture there is not a beach.
There is many beaches on Bornholm, the most noteable ones is the one at Allinge-Sandvig, and of course Dueodde. Yes, I would say too that Bornholm is the Baleares of Scandinavia.
This is Dueodde, the sand is so fine that they used it for hour-glass production in the past:
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 08-25-2014 at 07:48 AM..
My parents often took me there when I was a little child. I don't remember much except a round church building located somewhere in the middle of the Isle, which looked very "Scandinavian" or "Viking-like" to me. Also, I guess there is a lot of forest and the water is VERY clean and clear. We cycled there a lot. Bornholm (and Denmark overall) is a quite popular destination for young, middle-class German families with small children because it's such a green, "boring" (meant positively) and peaceful country and it's easily accessible by car. When the children grow older, many start to travel down South to the Mediterranean.
Same with (southern) Swedish families actually, Denmark at young age, and Mediterranean and the Canary Islands when they grow older. Typical summer vacation destinations for Swedish families with small children is Denmark, and Gotland and Öland (very nice Swedish Baltic islands).
Despite being a small island, it is easily accessible via ferry from 4 countries, Sweden, Germany, Poland and mainland Denmark. Most Danes who goes there does it via Sweden cause the slow ferry from Köge in mainland Denmark takes 5 hours, while the one from Ystad, Sweden takes just 80 minutes.
Bornholm is famous for its round churches at the middle of the island, like this one in Nyker:
And this one in Nylars:
When it comes to big Baltic islands I would like if the Estonian islands Saaremaa (Ösel) and Hiiumaa (Dagö) were more easily accessibly from Scandinavia.
Last edited by Helsingborgaren; 08-25-2014 at 07:53 AM..
It's not very warm or sunny either, which would merit the 'Baleares' label. But would love to visit, looks like a very interesting place. Gotland first for me, though.
@ MagnusPeterson : I've seen more Swedish families vacationing in Thailand nowadays than anywhere around the Mediterranean, and , I suspect, the Baltic sea.
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