Hop-On Hop-Off in Copenhagen: Bus, Boat or Copenhagen Card?
4 min read
If you mostly want to see the city and hop off now and then, the RED Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus is the simplest ticket. It costs €30 per person and has 4.0 out of 5 from 5,068 reviews. If your plan is full of museums and palaces, the Copenhagen Card is the better question to ask, and it is explained below.
RED Sightseeing: 24, 48 or 72 hours
The page describes an open-air double-decker with 22 stops, audio commentary in 10 languages and free Wi-Fi. You choose a 24, 48 or 72-hour ticket, and a boat tour is an option. According to the page, the buses run every day from 9:00, with departures every 30 to 60 minutes, and the last departure from Central Station and Tivoli is at 4:00 pm. The boat tour leaves from Nyhavn, near bus stop 8, and you have to have the ticket printed by a RED Sightseeing host before boarding. Children aged 0 to 2 travel free with a paying adult (maximum two children per adult). The page carries a “wheelchair accessible” label without any conditions; ask the operator before you book whether it also applies to the boat. The ticket is valid only on RED Sightseeing buses, which use regular public bus stops marked with a “Sightseeing” sign. One reviewer describes a rainy day on a bus with fogged-up windows and no ventilation.
City Sightseeing: three routes
The City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus with an optional boat add-on costs €38 and has 4.3 out of 5 from 943 reviews. It is valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours and has three routes: Classic (90 minutes, every 35 minutes, from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm), Colourful (55 minutes, departures at 12, 2 and 4 pm) and Home of Carlsberg (45 minutes, departures at 11:15 am, 1:15 pm and 3:15 pm). The boat add-on lasts one hour from Ved Stranden 26 or Nyhavn 3, and its hours change from month to month. The page marks some stops as currently out of use, among them Amalienborg Palace/Ofelia Plads and Gammel Torv. The page states plainly that the buses are not wheelchair accessible, because there are steps to the top deck.
Bus and boat in one ticket
The 48-hour bus and boat ticket costs €53.38, with 4.4 out of 5 from 1,841 reviews. It combines the bus with a one-hour Classic Canal Tour and lists more than 20 stops. The bus part names the same three lines as the City Sightseeing ticket (Classic, Colorful and Home of Carlsberg), and the boat leaves from the same two piers, so compare both prices for 48 hours with the boat before you book. Wheelchair users are listed as not suitable. Visit the ticket office to redeem the boat ticket and reserve a departure.
The Copenhagen Card as the alternative
The Copenhagen Card (€78.79, 4.6 out of 5 from 5,894 reviews) is not a bus ticket. It is a digital pass for 24 to 120 hours with entry to 80+ attractions and public transport in the Capital Region, including the airport. The attractions listed include Rosenborg Castle, Amalienborg, the National Museum and a canal tour. Tivoli is garden access only, without rides. Each attraction can be visited once, and you must redeem the code in the Copenhagen Card app, because the voucher alone does not open any door. Many museums are closed on Mondays. Each adult card can take up to two children aged 0 to 11; children aged 3 to 11 need their own kids’ card, ordered together with the adult card.
To decide, add up the sights you actually plan to visit using their own prices, for example Rosenborg Castle at €20.07 or the National Museum at €18.06, and set that against the pass.
Our recommendation
For a first look at the city without a plan, take the RED Sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus. Take the Copenhagen Card only if the entry prices of the sights on your list add up to more than the card. More tickets are in the tickets and city cards overview.
