Tag Archives: train

Getting around Sonderborg with public transport

Small town but two stations

Sønderborg is mainly located on the island of Als, but the train only goes to the Jutland side. So if you are arriving by train you are not getting dropped off in the center of town but by Alsion, the main campus area.

The train station is called typically called “Sønderborg St.” and the bus station “Sønderborg Bus Station”. They are 1,1km apart or a 20min walk.

Finding your connection

In order to plan your route from A to B I would suggest you use the website Rejseplanen if you know the address or names of your origin and destination.

Use Google Maps if you are more map oriented and want to see your options.

If you have a smartphone both Rejseplanen and Google Maps have good apps.

Town buses

There are five bus lines that loop within the city limit of Sonderborg. They all depart from the bus station in Sønderborg and make loops.

Local and Regional buses

There are about 30 bus routes that cover the municipality of Sonderborg. Most of them are local routes but there are also regional buses in the direction of Aabenraa-Toftlund-Ribe-Esbjerg and Aabenraa-Haderslev-Kolding-Vejle.

For the list of lines check Sydtrafik’s website. In order to find which route will take you to your destination check Rejseplanen or Google maps.

Night Buses

Fridays and Saturdays there are three night bus lines departing from Sonderborg in the direction of East (Nordborg-Kegnæs), West (Broager-Gråsten) and Aabenraa.

Trains

Trains arrive and departs on an hourly basis towards Copenhagen. The train stops in Gråsten-Kliplev-Tinglev-Rødekro-Vojens-etc. In order to go south you need to change train in either Tinglev or Rødekro.

Train tickets must be bought before you enter the train. There is no ticket office but a machine at the train station that takes cash and credit cards.

Bus tickets and prices

Prices are based on the number of zones you are travelling. To see what a trip will cost from A to B you can click on the Zones i Sydtrafik in the example below a trip from Sonderborg to Flensburg shows the that there are 7 zones and the price for adults (Voksen) is 70DKK. As of writing each zone costs 10DKK.

On the buses you can pay cash when you enter.

Another cheaper option for paying is Rejsekort which is a credit card size card you top up with credits and then use on most public transports in all of Denmark.

If you are staying long-term it makes good sense to get a personal Rejsekort once you have CPR number. If you are here on vacation it might not be worth it.

The card tourists can buy costs 80DKK and you need to top it up at least 170DKK. Read more here.

Stroll along Sonderborg Havn

Sonderborg Castle

Sonderborg castle is the dominating feature of the south end of Sonderborg Harbour. It has been around since the 12th, protecting Jutland from attacks from the south. A visit to the castle is a good way of learning a bit more about the history of the area (though not all displays are translated into English). (#2/99 of Things to do in Sonderborg)

Fru Jensen

Every afternoon you can buy fish straight off the Fru Jensen fishing boat moored besides Sonderborg slot. (#5/99 of Things to do in Sonderborg).

The Legend of King Christian’s Table

The legend goes that while Christian the 2nd was imprisoned in the castle, he continuously walked round a table dragging a finger around its edge. Over time, a groove to form in the table top as a result of the constant rubbing along the edge. Although the story is simply a legend, you can see a statue called “The Myth” representing this along the harbour.

Ringrider Track

The ringrider tradition is a popular tradition in southern Jutland. You can see an old ringrider track at the side of Sonderborg castle.

Ringrider Monument

With Sonderborg having the biggest ringrider festival in Denmark, it is apt that a monument to this tradition is placed in such a central location.

Old Castle Wall

If you looked at the models of the castle in the first display cases in Sonderborg Castle you may have noticed that the castle was originally on an island, surrounded by thick walls with towers at the corners. You can still see remnants of a tower here, as well as bits and pieces of the wall on the other side.

Der Butt im Griff

The “Flounder in control” is a sculpture by 1999 Nobel Prize recipient in Literature, Gunter Grass. This 2.3m high bronze sculpture was opened in 2004. The same sculpture can also be seen in Lubeck and Dusseldorf.

Restaurants

There are 5 restaurants just across from the harbour where you can savour a wide variety of food, from Argentinian and Asian to Danish, fish and beef.

Ice-Cream Kiosk

Having walked this far around the harbour you deserve a treat. And what better place to get it than at the ice-cream kiosk just on the water front. If ice-cream is not your thing you can also get a beer and relax on the benches and tables right next to the kiosk.

Train Tracks

Nowadays, the train stops at Alsion, on the Jutland side of Sonderborg. However, the train used to cross the King Christian bridge from Jutland onto Als. Evidence can still be seen close to the harbour, where there are still remnants of the train tracks left embedded in the road.

Sleep the way to your destination

2 Replies

We have already written about travelling to and from Sonderborg, either within Denmark or abroad previously in this blog. However, one way of travelling that we hadn’t mentioned was travelling with sleeper trains.

We ‘discovered’ the night trains by accident while looking for saver tickets on the Deutsche Bahn website. The service, known as City Night Line, connects a number of European cities during the night: you go to sleep in one country, and arrive refreshed the next morning ready to discover your destination.

From Padborg or Flensburg you can get on a train straight to Prague, Basel or Amsterdam (with stops in other places including Berlin, Frankfurt, or Cologne). Having discovered this possibility we couldn’t pass it by, so we hopped on the train to Prague for an Easter break, leaving Padborg at around 22:00, and arriving in Prague the next day at around 9:30.

On the train there are a couple of sleeping options, from 4-6 person couchette compartments, to deluxe 2-person cabins. On this trip we tried the 4-person couchette compartment going there and an economy double cabin coming back. As would be expected, the double cabin was more comfortable than the shared couchette. However, since the other two people in the couchette compartment got off in Berlin, we had the cabin to ourselves for most of the trip.

So how was the experience?

This was my first time in a sleeper train. I wasn’t sure how much sleep I would actually get. However, although there is quite a lot of bumping around at certain stations as the trains are reconfigured (the train leaves Copenhagen with cars meant for Prague, Amsterdam and Basel), having around 11 hours on the train means that you can get ample sleep. Both of us are pretty heavy sleepers and both got decent sleep but people who sleep lighter might have trouble falling asleep. We would consider these trains another time if we are heading in one of the directions of City Night Line. Waking up to the views of the train running along the river Elbe was worth it just on its own!

Fastest and cheapest from Copenhagen to Sonderborg?

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Just a quick post for those you are looking for a quick answer. Prices are updated March 2014.

Train

Duration: 4 hours and 6 minutes
Regular Price: 399DKK (54EUR)
Book with DSB

The train leaves every two hours you need to change at Copenhagen Main Trainstation (København H) where you have about 14 minutes to change. There are escalators and elevators in case you have a lot of luggages.

Discount tickets know as “Orange tickets” are available if you book long time in advance and for a specific train departure. Orange tickets for the Copenhagen Airport – Sønderborg route is typically 149DKK or 257DKK.

Flight

Duration: 40 minutes
Regular Price: 495 – 1450DKK (66 – 195EUR)
Book with Alsie Express

On weekdays there are flights leaving Copenhagen at 8.30, 14.30, 18.30 and 21.45. Saturdays and sundays there are one flight each way. The flight leaves from the domestic airport. The taxi ride from Sønderborg airport to city center takes 8 minutes and cost about 150DKK.

UPDATE March 2014: Now it is Alsie Express that flies the Copenhagen – Sønderborg route. Prices and times are updated.

How to get to Sonderborg

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We are on our way to Sonderborg as we write this. We were looking into how to get there from London and these are some of the ways we considered.

Travelling by Train

Sonderborg is well connected by train within Denmark. It is located at the end of a main line to Copenhagen with trains every 2 hours during the day. From Copenhagen, trains further afield to Sweden and beyond may also be taken. For trains further north in Denmark you need to change in Fredericia or Middelfart. Towards Germany you often need to change twice in Padborg and Flensburg.

To organize a train journey inside Denmark use Journey Planner and for Germany use Bahn.

Travelling by Bus

Bus line 10 goes to Flensburg every two hours during weekdays. Xbus 900 goes to Vejle almost every hour and Xbus 915 goes to Esbjerg four times a day.

Travelling by Air

Sonderborg is graced by its own airport, which is around a 15 minute drive from the centre. The airport is, however, not very well connected: the only commercial flights available are to and from Copenhagen with Cimber Sterling. Therefore it is also convenient to investigate flights to nearby airports.

Airports in Jutland

Billund Airport is the closest international airport in Jutland. It is decently well connected internationally. As it is a Ryanair airport destination, cheap flights are also available. Not being on a train line, it is not well connected domestically. Regular buses are available to a number of destinations on the Jutland peninsula and beyond, though none directly to Sonderborg. One option is to take the bus to Kolding and train from there.

Another airport on Jutland with similar issues is Aarhus airport. In this case a bus connects the airport to Aarhus from where a train to Sonderborg is then possible (with a change in Middelfart).

Airports Further Afield

Of course, the first obvious airport is Copenhagen Airport. Due to the very good connection between Sonderborg and Copenhagen Central trains station and then onwards to Copenhagen airport, this should be quite practical.

Another option is to go south to Germany. Hamburg airport is within reach and the train connections are easy enough. It should be possible to book a German taxi from Sonderborg to the airport for Euro 165 according to this site.

Hej Sønderborg

Culture, food, events and life on Als, Denmark