Sail and Bike Denmark and Sweden 2027

Sail and Bike Denmark and Sweden

During this beautiful Sail & Bike trip on the “tall ship” Atlantis, you’ll discover beautiful cities, small villages and islands around and in the Øresund – the strait between Denmark and Sweden. The narrow Øresund is an ancient trade route, like the Strait of Gibraltar and the Bosphorus, a strait of great strategic and economic importance for centuries. Charming old harbors and fortified towns lie along its shores.

The journey starts and ends in Copenhagen and along the way you’ll visit Malmö as well: two of the most bicycle-friendly cities in Europe. You first sail to Helsingør (Elsinore) and cycle along the coast of the “Danish Riviera” with its long sandy beaches, then further through the slightly hilly landscape of Nordsjælland (North Zealand). Helsingør, at the narrowest part of the Øresund, was founded as early as 1420 and the town is dominated by Kronborg Castle, the setting for Shakespeare’s drama Hamlet.

On the Swedish side of the strait, Helsingborg is a coastal gem. From here, a bike ride along the coast of Skåne County (Scania) leads to the fortified town of Landskrona. The ship will then take you to the idyllic island of Ven, which rises above the sea like a plateau. It’s only 7.5 km2 (2.9 mi2) in size and has fewer than 400 inhabitants. The steep limestone cliffs, beautiful farmhouses and the observatory of the 17th-century astronomer Tycho Brahe are fascinating. Today, many artists and craftsmen live and work on Ven. From Ven, you’ll sail on to Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city. Enjoy the unique combination of modern architecture and the old town, including Malmöhus Castle and the 14th-century St. Peter’s Church.

This is followed by a long sail to the Danish island of Møn, the southernmost point of the journey, which, like Dover and the German island of Rügen, is known for its steep white limestone cliffs with many fossils. Møn is located in a sparsely-populated area, which means that on clear nights, the starry sky can sometimes shine especially brightly. The cycling tour on Møn starts with a long climb along the limestone cliffs and through the beautiful inland. The next morning you’ll sail from Møn to Rødvig. This is where the last cycling stint on the coast starts: along quiet country roads and cycle paths, you’ll reach the medieval town of Køge where the ship will be waiting for you in the harbor. In the afternoon you’ll sail to the Danish capital where the ship will moor again at the old city center.

The ship – your floating hotel
In between cycling routes, you’ll sail along with the ship, which goes to a new destination every day. You’ll dine, sleep and eat breakfast on board. Every day, you’ll receive a packed lunch and you’ll be offered a beautiful pre-planned bike route. If you want, you can take a day off and sail along with the ship. There are touring bikes and e-bikes on board; given the limited space on deck, you can only bring your own bicycle in special cases and with prior agreement.

If you wish, you can also help with navigating and hoisting the sails – with instructions from the experienced crew, of course: no sailing experience needed. Or you might prefer to just relax and enjoy sailing and take in the view from the ship.

What’s special about the Atlantis is that in some places you’ll be taken ashore by the crew using a dinghy (a large rubber boat) and/or picked up again – depending if the ship’s draft is too deep in the water to moor dockside, in which case it drops anchor offshore. The crew will ensure your safety, of course, but it’s also a bit exciting. During this trip, this happens on the islands of Ven and Møn and in Rødvig.

Guided cycling
Accompanied by two experienced tour leaders, you and the group will visit interesting places and sights on the daily cycling tours. During the briefings and along the way you’ll hear everything about the route and the sights. You can also choose to cycle the tours independently and at your own pace using the free Ride with GPS navigation app and our BBT cycle map (available on board). The bike rides during this trip are not long in themselves, but they do have some elevation changes: some short stretches can be tough, and some short distances lead over semi-paved gravel paths. This is why we’ve rated this tour as difficulty level 3.

What’s special about a sail and bike tour on sea
During all sailing tours, weather conditions play an important role. But safety and comfort of passengers and crew are always paramount. The wind direction and strength, but also waves and swell determine how fast and via which course the ship can sail to the next destination. For this reason, it is never possible to say in advance exactly how long a specific sailing leg will take. During a sail and bike tour at sea it is therefore possible that, depending on the weather forecast, the various stages will be sailed in a different order. Also, the captain may have to decide to change or skip one destination and replace it with another. Therefore, during such a vacation, be assured that you are in the hands of a skilled and experienced crew, but also expect a little touch of adventure.