When the opportunity arose to present a paper at a Tourism conference on the island of Bornholm in Denmark in September 2025, it was one not to be missed. Wearing all the different work hats that I do, it would not only give an opportunity to share the findings of a survey from the Cairngorm National Park (Scotland) on rural visitor tourism and Mobility as a Service, but also the chance to experience first-hand island transport in Denmark, particularly ferries. This is the first blog which will provide some insights from myself on the trip to and from Bornholm.
I’ve previously visited central Denmark and explored the rural transport in Denmark through a European Union knowledge exchange programme,. The country has some great initiatives, some of which would be great to see in the UK, however the experience getting to Bornholm shed a less positive light on island transportation. In 2018, the Express 5, the world’s largest catamaran fast ferry service was introduced. Given that Scottish Rural and Island Transport Community (SRITC) (CIC) was undertaking a project on water transport for the Foundation of Integrated Transport (FIT) it seemed fitting to use this service on at least one of the legs.
The Outward Journey
Planning a trip like this you would think would be a ‘walk in the park’ for someone so passionate about transport and connectivity. However, in keeping with concerns over flight connections and delays, I had not prebooked the ferry in case I missed it. For context, it requires a bus/train/taxi to Ystad from Copenhagen which means going across the Oresund bridge to Sweden before getting to Ystad. Plan A was to take the train down to Ystad, but the night before I was to travel, all but two sailings were cancelled due to wind. The sailing still scheduled to run were 6:30pm and another around 10-11pm and neither were on the Express 5 as it can’t operate in wind.
I found it very difficult to find information on services as both were showing as ‘sold out’. Even with the help of a cousin living in Copenhagen, it wasn’t until I was sitting at Edinburgh airport early in the morning to leave, that I got a golden nugget of information from the conference organiser: if you book a bus from Copenhagen airport to Bornholm you are guaranteed a foot passenger ticket. I got the last bus ticket. Even my relatives in Copenhagen weren’t aware of this fact! Worst case scenario was to get to Copenhagen and stay with family. All flights (20-30 passengers max) were booked or not operating due to the weather. So, I boarded my flight from Edinburgh, meeting some new colleagues on the plane, but they were taking the connecting flight from Copenhagen rather than the ferry.
On arrival at Copenhagen airport, I made my way out to find the bus stop (thank you google maps). I wasn’t sure I was at the right stand, but passengers with luggage were a reassuring sign. In natural Jenny fashion, I heard a couple (Poul and Susanne) speak English, so I started a conversation, and they reassured me that I was getting on the right bus as they live on the Island. They then suggested I tag along with them for the rest of the journey. We shared lots of stories and it was great to have the company particularly when on arrival at the ferry terminal, as the ticket barrier wasn’t working correctly which caused wide confusion.
Once on the other side of the barrier we boarded another bus which took us onto the ferry where we disembarked and headed up the lift to find a seat. The three of us sat and had some dinner as this was not a 1hr 20minute crossing as originally planned but rather a nearly 3hrs trip. I soon discovered that the ferry offerings were different from my experience with NorthLink Ferries in Scotland who provide and support local food suppliers and community products. This was most definitely disappointing and felt like a missed opportunity.
During the ferry trip my new friends advised me to book a taxi as we would arrive about 8:45pm and wiith the hotel being a few kilometres away, not the best for walking to with luggage. I duly downloaded the ‘app’, Dantaxi, and placed my booking for 9pm. On arrival at the terminal, I stood with my new friends waiting for the taxi to appear. It didn’t, and after 15minutes they said they had to go with friends to collect their car.
By this time, there were a good number of conference delegates also looking for transport. No bus, no taxis, no cargo bikes, no hire cars and no answer from the taxi company on the phone. We did try the hotel but they couldn’t send someone for over 1hr, so we made the decision to walk to the hotel. However, just as we started, my new friends came by to check that the taxi had appeared, which it had not, and offered us a lift, which I gladly accepted.
The Conference
The conference was held in a fantastic venue, Hotel GSH, which is well known for its sustainable credentials. I’ll save the detail on the conference for another blog post but the hotel I was staying at was just a short walk away on the beach with fabulous views. I did take the time to wonder into the town of Ronne and naturally took some photos of the postwoman and various different other modes of transport.
On one of the evening's during the trip we had a study visit trip and I was fortunate enough to go to Gourmet Bornholm which is about 30 minutes away by coach on the other side of the island near Gudhjem. A great venue and right beside an agricultural museum so the obligatory photo of a tractor was taken and sent home. That night we were served some island made cider and various other drinks and if I could buy them in the UK, I’d have an addiction! So, I had to ask why these weren’t available, along with all the great produce that the island exports, on the ferries. I then learnt this is to do with the procurement process and the successful win by Bornholmslinjen in 2018. It appears this is not a tender requirement which was sad to hear.
The Return Trip
So how did I get back to Scotland you might be wondering? Well, I asked the conference organisers if they could give me a lift to the airport, a few kilometres away, as a few days before, when I went to book a taxi for 7:45am for the day of departure at the hotel they raised a concern. There are only a handful of taxis on the island, and they do the school runs so the hotel staff didn’t have confidence they could turn up to get me to the airport in time for my 8:45am flight. Now I have to state for those of you that haven’t travelled through an island airport before, you don’t need to be there early. The check in desk opened at 815am for my flight and security is in a very small area. However, what I did learn from the receptionist at the hotel, is that her husband is a chief off the island, and he was training to become a taxi driver because of the shortage. Suffice to say, the kind conference organisers gave me a lift to the airport as there was no one else getting that flight, so no car share available either.
You may be wondering why I’m focusing on the trip out. Well, on the trip home I used the connecting flight to Copenhagen from the island which went well, and you even received a complimentary drink on the short flight. However, the flight back to Edinburgh was delayed which did mean arriving late to a friend’s wedding, but I got there. (I got changed at Edinburgh airport and swore at rush hour traffic on the bypass, but I got there!)
Reflections
So, what can I reflect upon from my travel experience to the island of Bornholm? Firstly, although in the UK we find communication on delays and cancellations difficult, there are more channels used. For my cancellations it was only the ferry website saying ‘cancelled’ or ‘sold out’ that provided any information. Secondly, that integrating a bus service from the airport, through a border and onto a ferry to unload passengers as one ticket, was a great idea. However, you need to be in the ‘know’ to ‘know’, particularly during delays about accessing that all important seat when it says the sailing is ‘sold out’. The cost was only £23.11 for nearly 5hrs of travelling which was good value. The food on board, not so good.
Thirdly, the island requires investment and community support, not only for better food on the ferry but also for visitor and resident transport. There should be more connectivity from the terminal as a person either arrives at the airport or at the terminal. As a side note, there are only 2 hire cars available at the airport, so car hire staff do take people into Ronne due to the lack of services.
Fourthly, this is going to be a car centric island that in turn will rely on the ferry as the lack of infrastructure means a car is nearly a must. Fifthly, I was lucky to find some new friends who tried to help with the transport planning from their own personal resident-lived experiences. I remain grateful and privileged that the informal modes of transport that exist in rural areas in the UK, (lift share amongst friends, communities) exist on this island.
Finally, I was really disappointed with my outward travel experiences given my knowledge of the transport successes in rural central Denmark. It is on my ‘to do’ list to speak to colleagues there to find out if they can reach out to those on Bornholm to offer some help, support and advise. For an island that has 40,000 inhabitants and over 600,000 visitors per year there is definitely room for improvement. The Destination Management Organisation (DMO), Destination Bornholm are doing a great job, but there are some quick wins to be had and some longer improvements required.
Would I do it all again? Most certainly, and now I’m more informed of the challenges on how to get to Ronne and my hotel, it does arm me with knowledge to make the experience better. By sharing this experience, I am hoping to highlight the different challenges that different places have, whilst also providing some lived transport experience so you can go to Bornholm too!
Watch out for my next article on Bornholm… it might just be about buses!
