Could I spend 2 days in über-expensive Copenhagen on a budget of £100? Am I crazy? (Spoiler Alert: yes and YES)
Copenhagen is one of the world’s top ten most expensive city break destinations, but this should come as no surprise. Tales of the high cost of living in Scandinavia are almost folkloric – you’ll have little trouble finding someone who’ll tell you about the time they spent £8 on a pint in Stockholm. Even I can bore you with the time I went to Oslo on a work trip and ended up spending £17 on a quick snack in a 7/11 (it was literally a bottle of water, a pastry and a packet of crisps. I paid with my corporate card and didn’t realise the ugly truth until I came to do my expenses. Should’ve chosen something healthier…)
So when RyanAir had a flash sale on flights to Copenhagen as part of their 30th Anniversary celebrations, I was not only inspired to check out the city , but to see if there was any way I could survive there on a “flash sale” budget.
Flight
When I saw #RyanAir #flashsale trending on twitter a couple of weeks ago, I was beyond cynical. Then, when Luton – Copenhagen came up as £10 return for the dates I inputted*, I half expected to be slapped with insane fees and taxes and checkout. But no. The only extra I was charged was 20p for the privilege of using my credit card. Seriously?
It cost me more to get to and from the Airport. I took the National Express coach from Golders Green, just down the road, and I saved around a tenner on the train fare.
*I’m not a big fan of RyanAir. In fact, I can’t stand them, but I’d like a give a big shout out to customer service agent “Christea” who helped me out via their online chat. I was so excited by the price, I accidentally booked my return for the same day as my outbound (doh!), so she corrected it for me gratis (so unlike RyanAir to miss the opportunity to charge me a stupidity tax).
Accommodation
For a quick overnight trip, I wanted something cheap (obv), clean and central. The Urban House Hostel is brand new and about as central as they come – steps away from the main station that takes you directly to or from the airport in 11 minutes. Super-close to the city centre, its on the doorstep of hipster Vesterbro.
Barely open a month and, I guess because it was both midweek and early in the season, they had lots of available beds. I took a chance and waited until the day before travel to book a spot in the 6-bed ladies dorm and watched the price drop from around £23 to £17.50. Result for me, but I wouldn’t bet on this being possible if you are travelling on a weekend or in high season.
(Hostel Review coming soon)
Food & Drink
Copenhagen is a foodie Mecca. For a tiny city, it boasts 15 Michelin stars awarded to restaurants serving everything from ‘New Nordic’ cuisine to Thai. It’s home to Noma (two stars), the four-time winner of title “Best Restaurant in the World” , where one of the house specialities includes live ants (apparently they taste like lemon…), the waiting list for a table is six months and, once you finally make it in, the cost of the tasting menu is £170pp ( + £110 for wine pairings…).
Oddly, Noma was a little outside my budget, but I did grab a “kanelsnurrer” (cinnamon roll) at Meyers Bageri, a small chain of bakeries and delis owned by Noma co-founder Claus Meyer. So for about £2, I got within touching distance of the brand (kind of. O.K, not really).
As an un-rehabilitated caffeine addict, I’d decided to explore Copenhagen through its buzzing (hee!) independpendent coffee shop scene (dedicated post to follow). I allocated a chunk of budget to fund my habit and, at £2.50 – £3.50 for a small cup, that chunk turned out to be significant.
I avoided restaurants – swanky or otherwise – as I usually prefer to enjoy meals out with friends. Solo, I’m more of a snacker, which worked better for my budget anyway. Danes love their hot-dogs and, if you are watching your Krone, they can fill you up relatively cheaply. My hostel offered huge meat or vegan dogs smothered in everything from teriyaki sauce and peanuts to avocado and hummous (not on the same dog…) for 35DKK. I’m a girl of simple tastes, so I went with plain fries and a beer (55DKK) to line my stomach before a night on the town.
I got a load of recommendations for Granola Café, so I headed there for breakfast. My hangover really wanted one of their scrummy looking cheese and mushroom omelettes (85DKK)with coffee (30DKK) or a sweet breakfast platter with cinnamon toast, pancake, muesli, fruit, chocolate spread and coffee (110DKK), but this trip is bringing out the penny-pincher in me. I sat at the counter (it was super busy, even mid-morning on a weekday) with a coffee and croissant (55DKK) instead.
Activities
As well as my own exploring, walking the streets of some of the cool, caffeinated neighbourhoods around the city centre, I joined an afternoon tour with Copenhagen Free Walking Tours. It was supposed to be a 3-hour stroll, starting at the Rådhuspladsen (Town Hall Square) and following a route that hit many of the main tourist sites. However, it was freezing cold and chucking down with rain and, as we were a small group, our guide Rosie was an absolute trooper and knocked out the full tour – with plenty of time for questions – in two hours flat. Strictly speaking, the tour was free and, while you are encouraged to tip what you think the tour was worth, you are under no obligation. Even though I was on a tight budget, Rosie was a bit of a legend, so I tipped 100DKK (about a tenner, pretty much in line with my fellow walkers).
In terms of nightlife, Copenhagen was a little quiet on a Tuesday –nothing going on at the hostel, no bar crawls, little in the way of club nights. BarChick called Ruby the “…best cocktail bar in Copenhagen”. With cocktails at 110 DKK, it was hardly a “budget” joint, but it had a nice, elegant vibe and as a solo traveller, I felt very comfortable nursing my (one) drink for over an hour. Was headed home, when Dan the barman suggested that I drop by their sister bar Lidkoeb, near my hostel in Vesterbro. Since it was on the way home…
90DKK later, I was chilling with another cocktail (quickly followed by another freebie courtesy of the awesome bar staff) before heading back to my dorm bed with a very big smile…and a very slight stagger.
Getting Around
On foot, mainly. According to my pacer app, on day one I walked over 20km around the city. On day 2, I bought a 24 hour travel pass for 80DKK which allowed me to hop on and off buses, metros and trains all day (and covered me for my ride back to the airport), so I walked significantly less (still covered about 12km, though. Burning off some of those cinnamon bun carbs ). Also, on the way out, I purchased a 3-zone single-trip train ticket (36 DKK) from the airport to central station.
The Damage
(I have converted all DKK to GBP using the approximate rate 10DKK = 1GBP. Its close enough…)
Flight: £10.20
UK Transfers: £15.60
DK Transport: £11.60
Dorm Bed: £17.50
Day 1 coffees & snacks £7.30
Walking Tour £10
Day 1 Dinner £5.50
Cocktails: £20
Luggage locker: £3.00
Day 2 Breakfast: £5.50
Day 2 Coffees & snacks: £13.50
Grand Total: £119.70
Excluding flights and UK Transfers (which can hardly be counted as “spending money” and in any case, the insane price of my flight significantly skews the experiment )
Spending Money Total: £93.90
RESULT!
I was able to spend 2 days the city of Copenhagen – to sleep, eat and be entertained – and still bring home change from £100. Who does that?
My interests were kind of particular, but you can easily use my budget as a guide and adapt it to your own needs.
You could slash my excessive coffee fund and enjoy a sit-down pizza dinner or authentic smørrebrød (Danish rye bread open sandwich) lunch.
Because I’m so fancy, I was drinking cocktails that cost more than my flight. Drinking beer or seeking out happy hours (yes- they do exist) would stretch the budget at least twice as far. On weekends, Pub Crawl Copenhagen takes you on a tour around “popular haunts of local Copenhageners”, ending with VIP club entry. 140DKK buys you free shots, drink tickets as well as discounts along the route. And lots of new friends, of course.
If you don’t fancy the city walk, do the Carlsberg ‘ExBEERience’ (80DKK) or break out your woolly jumper and explore the locations used in Borgen, The Killing and The Bridge on a Nordic Noir Tour (100DKK in advance, Saturdays only). Or just find your own way. Its a small city and pretty easy to navigate.
Copenhagen ranks #7 of the World’s top ten most expensive city break destinations…but hey, London was #1 and I live there. With careful planning and a little bit of research, you can still enjoy an ‘expensive’ city without necessarily breaking the bank.
