Bornholm - tips for a lovely holiday island in Denmark

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Guest writer: Magdalena

The Danish island of Bornholm is located southeast of Skåne. Bornholm has long been an attractive destination for mainly Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Germans. In 2022, a record number of people chose to travel to Bornholm and interest in the island seems to be growing. It's easy to understand why. Bornholm, which is 4 kilometres long and 3 kilometres wide, has a lot to offer its visitors.

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Travelling here

From Sweden, you can reach Bornholm by ferry from Ystad. The crossing takes 80 minutes and there are several departures every day. The ferry docks in Rönne, which is Bornholm's largest town. On previous trips to Bornholm we have cycled. This time we took our car with us to get around the island more easily and quickly.

Accommodation

There is a plethora of accommodation options on the island. Everything from hotels, hostels, cottages, apartments and B&Bs. We didn't choose any of these because we wanted to camp. It is a fairly cheap and cosy option that we appreciate. At least for a couple of nights... 😊.

Places worth visiting on Bornholm

Rönne

Our first stop on the island was naturally Rönne. Here lives 1/3 of Bornholm's population. In Rönne there are many shops, restaurants, cosy old houses and narrow alleys. We strolled around in both the new and the old part of the city before we got in the car to go to Svaneke.

Svaneke

Svaneke is a town on the east coast of Bornholm. Here we ate, among other things, super good smörrebröd at Svaneke brygghus. I absolutely love eating smörrebröd when I'm in Denmark, it somehow belongs to every Danish holiday. We didn't just eat buttered bread, we also bought floating balls (cream buns) and ice cream.

If you are on holiday, you are 😊 In Svaneke there are many nice shops as well as, for example, a pottery, a caramel factory and a glass factory. We quickly conclude that we like Svaneke, not only because of all the good things we ate there but because it is a really cosy little town.

Dueodde

Dueodde is located on the southernmost tip of Bornholm. The place is best known for its several kilometres of chalk-white beach, which is considered one of the finest beaches in Europe. The fine-grained sand was used in hourglasses until the 19th century and it is said that Napoleon was one of those who used the sand in Dueodde in his hourglass.

Bornholm is said to be one of the sunniest places in Denmark. This means that we were a bit unlucky during our visit. We almost completely escaped the rain, but there was no blazing heat that invited us to swim in the clear water.

We went camping when we were on Bornholm. We chose to camp on Dueodde to be able to set up our tent right next to the beach. It was incredibly cosy to start and end the day on the beach. Here we spent the evenings with BBQ, games and lovely snacks.

Hammershus

On the other side of the island, at the northernmost point, is the ruined castle of Hammershus. It dates back to the 12th century and is the best preserved castle ruin in northern Europe. Hammershus is beautifully situated on a 74 metre high cliff overlooking the sea. With 500,000 visitors per year, Hammershus is Bornholm's main tourist attraction.

The castle ruins have been partially restored but most of what remains is original. I find it fascinating to walk around historical sites and imagine what life was like when the castle was used. What was it like to be a soldier here? What was it like to be a prisoner here?

Gudjhem

Gudhjem is another cosy town on Bornholm that is well worth a visit. The town is known, among other things, for the smokehouses in the town. I have to say that I regret and am a bit ashamed that we didn't try the dish Sol over Gudhjem, (smoked herring on coarse bread, red onion and on top of it an egg yolk symbolising the sun) which is the local national dish. I always make it a point to try local dishes, but when we were here, smoked herring seemed too much of a challenge. In retrospect, it feels a bit strange considering all the strange things I've eaten in my life. 😊

Instead of Sol over Gudjem, we ate very boring and super expensive food at one of the city's restaurants. That restaurant visit was a flop that we quickly tried to forget with a huge and fantastically good ice cream.

Cliffs of Helgidom       

On the north coast of Bornholm, just outside Gudhjem, there are many cliffs. The most impressive are the 20 metre high, barren and steep Helgidomsklipporna.

Just before the edge of the cliff, you can park your car and walk along a path that leads to a staircase that leads to ravines and caves. It's well signposted, so it's easy to find. One cave is called the Black Cauldron, which is 60 metres deep. It is important not to be afraid of spiders if you enter the narrow cave. Bornholm spiders are said to live here.

Round churches

Characteristic of Bornholm are the four round churches on the island. We visited the largest, Österlars Church, which was built in the 12th century. Nobody really knows why round churches were built. One hypothesis is that they are fortress churches and another hypothesis is that they are astronomical observatories.

We spent three days on Bornholm, which felt just right (it is at least just right to live in a tent for two nights 😊) We had time to see and do what we had planned at a relatively calm pace. All six of us who travelled together agree that Bornholm is a nice and cosy island that is a great holiday destination.

/Magdalena Hjortzberg

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Magdalena and Pernilla

Magdalena Hjortzberg and Pernilla Ekholm run Travelsis.se and live in southern Skåne. Both are social workers whose main leisure interest is travelling with their family, but they also enjoy making things and travelling with friends and parents. They want to share the things they do that enrich their lives to inspire others.

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