Summer holidays on Denmark’s largest island, Zealand

Holidaymakers who tick similarly to me, in that they want to spend their holidays in the same place not only for relaxation, will find an ideal holiday area on the Danish island of Zealand. The approximately 7,000 km² island, which could also be called the “Baltic Sea country”, offers its visitors the advantage of being able to arrange their holiday stay according to individual preferences and needs. I would be happy to share with you some suggestions derived from my previous stays in a holiday home on Zealand to make your holiday more varied.

It is up to you whether you want to reach Zealand by car ferry from Rostock or the island of Fehmarn or choose to get there by land via Flensburg and the bridge over the Great Belt. Since the island has a large number of holiday homes, you also have the option of choosing the holiday accommodation according to your budget and requirements.

South Zealand has proven to be an ideal holiday destination for me, which offers ideal conditions for a family with children. For example, the small island of Enö, which can be reached via a bascule bridge, offers wide sandy beaches that flow into shallow water, especially off Karrebaeksminde, where they form a particularly child-friendly surface. In the evenings, the sunsets offer an additional romantic experience. My family felt quite comfortable on the beaches of Faxe Bay in the eastern area of Zealand.

White sandy beaches run flat into the clear water in a child-friendly way, a bathing bridge inspires the older semesters and amber and smaller fossils trigger unimagined collecting passions. If your holiday takes you to the north coast of Zealand, some beaches on the Danish Riviera, such as the beach off Ebbelökke, which is equipped with children’s waterholes, or the neighbouring, never crowded beach of Sonnerup, are ideal for a few relaxing hours with the family.

It is not without reason that Zealand is called the island of castles and manor houses. While Copenhagen or Roskilde are widely known as attractive cities, places such as the medieval port city of Köge on the east coast of Zealand, Lejre near Roskilde or Hilleröd in the northeast of the island are among the insider tips of the excursion destinations. Köge convinces with a historic town centre, which is formed, among other things, by half-timbered houses from the 17th century and the Nicolaikirche from the 14th century. A few kilometres south of the village, the picturesquely situated Vallö Castle invites you to visit. Lejre offers interesting insights into the settlement history of the Vikings and has two worthwhile sights in store with the Land of Legends leisure centre and the Rococo castle of Ledreborg. Hilleröd is best known for its massive Renaissance Frederiksborg Castle, where the Danish National History Museum is an absolute must for museum lovers.

Although the Dyrehavsbakken had not been part of the program of my vacation trip to the island of Zealand, my youngest family member was able to convince me of the opposite. So we went to this oldest amusement park in the world, located north of Copenhagen , and in the end we didn’t regret this decision. Equipped with the necessary change – the individual rides charge individual prices – we passed the bust of the juggler Professor Tribini, who worked successfully here for 30 years, and plunged into the fun. The ride on one of the oldest wooden roller coasters in Europe and a visit to the 5D adventure cinema were among the fun highlights, while we were spoiled with culinary delights in one of the park restaurants.

A holiday on Zealand allows you to get to places that have scenic, cultural or culinary highlights to offer away from the tourist centres in a relatively short distance. For example, I was thrilled by the port city of Kalundborg, which is located in the northern part of the Great Belt and on the northern shore of Jammerland Bay. Here it is worth visiting the brick building of the Frauenkirche, which dates back to the Middle Ages with five towers, and a detour to the tip of the Rösnaes peninsula.

South of Kalundborg and Jammerland Bay, which by the way has a very nice riverside hiking trail, lies the small peninsula of Reersö. With a little luck, you can discover one of the rare tailless cats that live here and take a little journey through time through the historic centre of the town of Reersö. And don’t forget to crown your trip with a visit to the thatched, more than 300-year-old Reersö Kro restaurant, which offers fried eel with white potatoes as a specialty.

It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the cliffs known as Stevns Klint in the southeast of Zealand. The coastal section, which consists of steep chalk cliffs and is up to 40 metres high, rises from the sea for about 15 kilometres. You can hike it on a kind of trail, which, however, requires sure-footed shoes. At the Stevns lighthouse, the highest point of the cliff, you can expect an inspiring view. In addition to Højerup Church, built in the 13th century, you can discover a wide variety of visible and underground buildings from the Cold War era. Next to the church, a path leads down to the beach of the cliff coast. In the visitor centre, which was built in a chalk quarry, you can take an informative break accompanied by a lot of information.