Is it possible to visit Copenhagen on a budget? Planning your travel expenses before going to Denmark is essential to avoid bad surprises and enjoy your trip serenely. Here is exactly what I spent and how, and a few tricks on how to save some money!

Going to Copenhagen is an incredible opportunity to experience the Nordic Europeans countries and a bit of their atmosphere. Even if you have heard of the taste for design and riding bicycles of the Danes, it is something to see it for real. But such a trip doesn’t come cheap. You can get great deals thanks to low-cost flying companies like Wizzair (the one I used), either directly to Copenhagen or the nearby Swedish city of Malmö. However, you still need to budget your spending once you reach Denmark’s capital city. 

A four-and-a-half-day stay cost me a total of 195€ not including flights and housing but including the shuttle from and to Malmö’s airport and a day spent in Malmö. How? See below. I even made a chart for you!

How to budget for a trip?

It can be tricky to budget precisely before a trip. Copenhagen is known to be expensive for a lot of travellers but is it for you and by how much? “How expensive is Copenhagen” is not a question precise enough to enable anyone to plan and predict how much money they will need.

How much would a nice cup of coffee cost me, how much should I expect to pay for a normal meal (main dish and one drink), how much costs a ticket to use the public transportation, are questions that I always ask myself before leaving.

I track all my spendings through an app while I travel. It’s especially useful to use one if you are travelling as a group and you share costs or borrow from someone. Apps like Travel Spend, Mint or Fudget, Trip Splitter or Tricount will keep everyone happy by taking care of all the numbers. No more scratching heads over a piece of paper trying to add, subtract and divide! It works if you travel solo, but also with a group of friends or family.

Find the right place to stay

In addition to the flight, paying for your hotel/hostel/Airbnb will be major spending. But don’t try to find the cheapest place just for the sake of saving a couple of euros every night. It might force you to spend on other items. For instance, you will want a place with space where you can store food and prepare it for breakfast and lunch or dinner. If you have to eat outside three times a day, it will amount to a lot more money than what you’ll be saving on the room. Think about the location as well: will you have to use a lot of transportation to get there? Can you take night public transports if you are coming back late or will you have to order a taxi? 

Getting a place that you can afford but that also offers a decent amount of comfort is very important when you travel. Denmark can be cold and rainy: you need a place where you are sure to be able to get a hot shower and dry your clothes and shoes. If you cannot rest properly it will be harder to enjoy your trip, especially if you are staying for more than a couple of days. What is your minimum acceptable when it comes to bed, bathroom, personal space and so on is entirely up to you, but do not neglect your needs.

Decide how much you want to spend…

… knowing you will probably spend some more. I always tell myself a limit below what I can realistically expect to spend. For instance, I set myself a limit of 150€ for almost four days in Copenhagen and Malmö. In the end, even with buying gifts for my family and drinking alcohol, I managed to spend only 45€ more than my planned budget.

This mind trick might not work for everyone, but it forces me to always ask myself if I really want to buy this gift, or if this place is really worth the entrance fee. There is a lot to do in every city in the world without having to go inside the gallery of a museum. It is up to you to decide what are the most important things for you to see and experience and make choices accordingly with your bank account. Check out the entrance fees of all the museums. Read reviews online or ask on travellers’ groups whether the place is worth the visit. Check if some museums have free entrance on specific days. Make lists. 

In my case, I knew that I was not interested the most in the museums, although I am sure some are absolutely wonderful. I had decided to simply wander through the streets, get nice coffee once a day and keep the museum money for nice food. But everyone is different so you need to figure out what you want from this trip!

Extra-tip: get a Donkey Republic bicycle membership

Another big item in your travel expenses is always using city or intercity transportation. While in Copenhagen, enjoy as much as possible the city’s liking for bicycles! Everyone rides a bicycle here and the city is completely arranged to make proper space for the riders. There are lanes and traffic lights so make sure you respect the rules and drive safely.

The easiest for a visitor would be to download the Donkey Republic app and get a monthly membership. It will cost you 15€ and let you ride one hour per bike for free as many time as you want during the day. Meaning you can take a bike, ride 50min, park it and walk to the next station to get another one, and so on. The app also offers the possibility of paying by the minute, so it depends on the weather and how much you like driving bicycles. Once you’re done, just go in the app and cancel your subscription so you only pay for one month, or 15€.

Donkey Republic is not only in Copenhagen! If you visit another city you can use their bikes there. They work in different countries so you’ll be able to use the app even in Malmö, for instance, for no extra fee!

The only thing is that you need internet to take a leave the bicycle because you need to be able to connect to the app and to the station. There is a lot of wifi freely available in the city but it’s worth looking into your phone’s plan, see if you can use your data for a small price (lucky you if you have a phone plan in the EU!). If you are going to rely on free internet, keep that in mind time-wise so you don’t go over the free hour simply because you are looking for a connection.

My detailed budget for Copenhagen and Malmö

Now down to the details: check out how exactly I spent my money.

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Food and drinks	123,31 €	62,98%
travel	52,74 €	26,94%
visits	3,35 €	1,71%
gifts	16,39 €	8,37%
total	195,79 €	100

As you can see, I did not spend a lot on entrance fees to visit places. That doesn’t mean that I did not see anything! But there are free things to do, including for instance getting a 360° view of the city at the Castle’s tower. The only place I decided to pay the entrance for was the round tower, another amazing point of view over the city, in which you can add an art gallery, a cute little café and a gift shop. Locals have lots of tips and tricks on how to spend your time.

I spend a bit of money on a couple of gifts for myself and my family, but you can also decide to save on this part and use the money for more food, or more visits.

If you don’t visit museums (they are very expensive in Denmark!), your biggest spending will be on food and drinks. I saved a lot by going to the supermarket and buying milk, eggs, cereals, bananas and ingredients to prepare sandwiches. I enjoyed Copenhagen’s food immensely, just not for breakfast and not for every lunch. I used the money saved to get nice coffee or splurge a little bit more on brunch at Kalaset.

Copenhagen is a very generous city and is wonderful to visit as a foreigner. Once you have your budget straight, you’ll be able to enjoy it to the maximum! Do you have other tips on budgeting before a trip? Let me know!

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