Best alternatives to reach Aarhus

First of all, we would like to apologise for the time it took us to publish the third post, but you all definitely know how busy the month of June is, full of studying and exams. But we are back with the third entry and with much more time to dedicate on supporting you with the journey you are about to begin!

So… Assuming you successfully filled out the application form and Aarhus University has already accepted you… What the next step? à YOUR FIRST TRIP TO AARHUS!

From our experience, we can talk about the different and best options coming from Spain. Obviously, there will be variations depending on your home country, but at least you can always check the prices of the options we are going to mention in a moment.

To start planning your trip, the first thing to consider is the period you are staying in Aarhus as an exchange student, either one semester or the whole academic year. If you are bringing two big suitcases and a carry-on bag as we did, then you basically have 4 options:

1. Javier’s option: Use the help of one or more members of your family. My father and brother came with me to Aarhus, so it was not as tough taking the three suitcases.

2. Antonio’s option: the tough one. Checking-in 2 big suitcases with the flight and manage yourself to take them to Aarhus on your own. It is worth mentioning than Antonio and Javier travelled the same day, so Antonio could receive Javier’s family help! Therefore, this option is doable but not especially recommended.

3. Nuria’s option: "as I was bringing almost all my house with me, I decided to start the Erasmus adventure with my family travelling by caravan from my hometown city, Valladolid. It took us just a week to get to Aarhus. But we had the opportunity to discover very different outstanding European cities on the way: Bordeaux, Paris, Brugge, Maastricht, Hamburg, Billund and finally Aarhus. It is one in a kind experience and I strongly recommend it to you if you want to have an unforgettable holiday time with your family" (if you need more information about the caravan, places to stop by with it and so on and so forth, please do not hesitate to contact us!)

4. Make an order to send the suitcase directly from your house to the address youwill be living at Aarhus. Companies such as Eurosender or Ecoparcel might serve. However, as you will not probably know your new place in Aarhus before the arrival, we recommend this option for your trip back home at the end of your adventure. It is sometimes even cheaper than checking it in, around 35-40€, 30 kg. Just pay attention if it is necessary to put your suitcase into a box, as it is quite tough to find a cardboard box of such big dimensions.

So… What are the different means of transport in order to get Aarhus (apart from the caravan)?

Aircraft. It is kind of easy to reach Denmark by plane. The country has three main airports: one in Copenhagen (Kastrup), another one in Billund, and the third one in Aarhus. It’s curious but it takes the same time getting Aarhus city from both Billund and Aarhus airports (around 1h 30 mins). By the way, Billund town might sound familiar to you because it was here where Lego brand was invented. Indeed, Billund airport is right next to Legoland (the theme park of Lego which you must visit during your stay in Denmark).

From people travelling from either the north of Spain (Bilbao) or northeast (Barcelona), the most affordable option seems to be flying to Billund airport. Then, once you get there, there is a bus, the 912X, to travel to Aarhus in around one hour and a half.

In our opinion, Aarhus airport is not really an option if you are travelling from Spain due to the few possible flights you have and the crazily expensive prices you will find. Notwithstanding, if you are planning to fly from or to London, Poznan or Gdansk (these last ones in Poland), you can easily find flights for prices ranging from 1.5 to 15€ (yes, we are not joking, Antonio can confirm that he paid 1.5€ to fly to Poland with Ryanair).

For people travelling from nearby Madrid, the cheapest option is to fly to Copenhagen airport. Booking the flight around one month and a half in advance, you can book a one-way trip for a price ranging from 30-50€. Websites like Skyscanner or Kayak are useful as flight searchers.

Watch out! There is a little trick here: surprisingly, it is more expensive travelling by bus from Billund or Aarhus airport (around 20€) than from Copenhagen (around 15€)! Despite the trip from Copenhagen takes a bit more than 4 hours!

Assuming you have chosen the last alternative, you will then arrive at Copenhagen airport. HOW DO I GET AARHUS FROM COPENHAGEN?

Firstly, one important tip: DO NOT SPEND THE NIGHT IN COPENHAGEN! We made it and one night in a hotel relatively well located is over 100€… It is essential that you keep in mind this: “No matter how early or late in the day you arrive at Copenhagen, there is ALWAYS an option to get Aarhus! We will explain all the different possibilities immediately.

1. BUS

The most famous European bus company, FLIXBUS - represented by huge green and orange buses which are student-friendly and have plugs and Wi-Fi on them -offers around 12 connections per day. Just for trips between two cities WITHIN Denmark, it exists the option passenger type Student instead of Adult, with which you get a 25% discount. Take into account that you might not be able to use the Student option as you need to prove that you are a student in Denmark. But you can try anyway with the Letter of Enrolment or a document you can download from the virtual platform of your university. Student prices will range from 13-20€ and you can take them from three different places: Valby Station, Copenhagen Central Station (train station) and directly from the airport. Finally, we recommend you to download Flixbus app, as vouchers are only accepted here and some special discounts will only appear in the app.

What is the biggest drawback about FLIXBUS? à The schedule. Their first journey in the morning is at 6.30 am, but the last one is at 6.15 pm. This means that if your flight lands any later than 6 pm, you do not have any chance to get Aarhus by Flixbus on the same day.

There is another bus option which similar schedule but with the cheapest option to Aarhus: KOMBARDO EXPRESSEN. The company behind this name it is the same that manages the ferry, which will be commented soon.

From Monday to Friday, you can find a connection from 5.25 am to 6.50 pm. The average price is around 18.50€, BUT IF YOU BOOK THE TRIP FROM 5.25 am, that reaches Aarhus at 8.20 am, the price is just 7€ (49 DKK)!

At the weekends, there are buses from 6.50 am to 6.35 pm (around 15€).

You can visit its website here: Kombardoexpressen/

2. TRAIN

It is definitely the option to choose if you are to travel at night. The company which manages this connection is called DSB. You can buy the ticket in advance online through this website: DSB or at the same airport, at Terminal 3 there are cabins to buy the ticket.

IMPORTANT: If you buy the ticket online, do not forget to click on the tab “Search DSB orange tickets”, as shown with the yellow mark in the following picture:

The orange ticket is not always available, but if so, you can get a regular ticket for 20€ instead of the normal price between 40-50€. In addition, some trains offer the option of seats for 99 DKK (13€). They are not really comfortable for the nearly 4 hours that takes getting Aarhus, but it is absolutely the most economical price you can encounter travelling by train. The regular seats are spacious, and you have free Wi-Fi access in every train.

3. FERRY

It is probably the most original alternative to get Aarhus. However, there is no direct connection between both cities. You need to drive around 1h 15min until Sjællands Odde, the place where you get on the ferry which will transport you until the port of Aarhus in just 1h 15mins. The schedule is from 5.45 am to 7 pm. The company in charge of the journey is Molslinjen and the cost per passenger is 20€.

As a suggestion, and because we have friends that have succeeded more than once in it, there is a possibility to get on the ferry for free: HITCHHIKE! You just lead to the line where cars are waiting for the ferry and sooner or later you will find a kind Dane who let you get in the car. Furthermore, more than 60% of the cars are going to Copenhagen, so make sure you choose the right car!

Visit the website for more information: Molslinjen

4. PLANE

It exists as an option, as there are connecting flights between Kastrup and Aarhus airports, but the prices of them are incredibly high, normally more than 100€. Thus, we will never recommend this way of travelling, and even less for exchange students whose main goal is always “saving as much money as possible travelling”.

5. CAR.

It is probably the least affordable option. You can find rental car companies offering cars for a reasonable price, but you must take into account the mileage allowed, the distance you drive, the fee you have to pay to cross the bridge which connects Copenhagen with Jutland and you might have to give it back to the same place you rented it. Therefore, in our opinion, you should not consider this option for your first time.

As far as we know, these are all the alternatives available and therefore we have come to the end of the third post. As we have previously mentioned, we will be more active with the posts from now on. Hope this information turns out to be helpful for you all and as we are at your disposal for any further questions you might come up with!

Give us a Like if you think the information provided has been beneficial for you. Just with a simple click, you can increase our motivation to move forward with you on this adventure!

Have fun during the summer and get prepared for the incoming amazing year!

Javier, Nuria & Antonio

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