Bornholm, a small Danish island in the Baltic Sea. Sometimes called the ‘Majorca of the North’ or “Pearl of the Baltic”. We have heard many stories about Bornholm. Among them were stories saying it’s the best place for cyclists ever. We decided to check it out!
At the end of July 2016 we went on our first bicycle tour. We drove in three: Philip (dad), Chris (9 y.o) and Agatha (6 y.o). We had only bikes with panniers and a bicycle trailer.
On Bornholm a bike is the main way of travel. Distances here are so small that it is best to get around that way. Bornholm has great road infrastructure, well prepared for cyclists’ needs.
How to get to Bornholm from Poland? There are several options:- The Jantar catamaran, which operates on the Kołobrzeg-Nexø route. This is a small ship that we had the opportunity to see when it arrived at the port of Nexø (on 4th day of our trip). Unfortunately, it’s poorly maintained and unreliable. The crew can cancel the crossing due to bad weather without informing the passengers. When there is a strong wind in the sea, it rocks a lot. It’s for those who don’t get seasick and enjoy thrills. We did not use its services because we didn’t want to put the children off sea travel.
- Rønne-Ystad ferry. But how, through Sweden? You can. In this case, it is a little expensive, but you use two ferry connections: Świnoujście-Ystad and Ystad-Rønne. This is an option for people who like to sleep on board. Travel time by boat: 6h + 1.5h. And unfortunately it’s quite expensive option.
- Rønne-Sassnitz ferry. This connection from Germany lasts 3.5 hours. And the price? Cheaper than from Kołobrzeg. That’s because kids travel for free (there is only a fee for their bicycles). However, we needed to get to the island of Rügen, preferably by car. You don’t need to ask us twice — we chose this option! By the way, it was a great opportunity to explore some parts of Rügen island.
Route
Within 6 days we traveled 160 km of beautiful cycling routes. We cycled around the island clockwise from Rønne. We managed to see many attractions and spend great time at the campsites. During the day most of the time we rode our bikes, but we weren’t tired.
We divided the route into 6 episodes. One for each day. The daily route was ‘from campsite to campsite’ with visiting interesting places on the way. The detailed route plan is given below.
We visited the following cities: Rønne – Nyker – Hasle – Sandvig – Allinge – Sandkås – Tejn – Gudhjem – Østerlars – Østermarie – Svaneke – Aarsdale – Nexø – Snogebæk – Dueodde – Aakirkeby – Nylars – Rønne
Equipment
- Bicycles: Author Basic 26” (Philip), B’Twin Racing Boy 20” 320 (Chris), B’Twin Mistigirl 320 20” (Agatha)
- Bicycle trailer: Qeridoo QX
- Panniers: 2x Crosso Dry Big (Philip) + 2x Crosso Dry Small (Chris)
Food
We had dinners prepared by their mother. Thanks a lot for your help in the preparation! For each day we had a ready-to-cook dish. So we didn’t have to worry about dinner. The only thing that was quite cumbersome was the weight we were hauling in the trailer. However, we found a solution – we ate them in order from heaviest to lightest 🙂
We had a tourist gas cooker and a burner. At the campgrounds there was access to gas, but on the route it was very useful. Besides dinner, we also had a stash of ‘helpers’ — i.e., energy bars and other snacks. For breakfast, we brought tortillas (as a substitute for bread) and some toppings. We even tempted for a tuna salad, which was enough for the first 2 days.
During the tour the only thing we bought on a regular basis was water and fruits (mainly bananas). Sometimes also some local delicacies.
Vlog
During our trip we recorded about 1,5h of vlogs. We encourage you to watch our videos. In the movie we show the course of our expedition. You can see what traffic and bike roads look like. There are also clips of shopping and sightseeing.
Videos you can find on our Youtube channel. If you like it, we invite you to subscribe to the channel – this way you will receive notifications of our next adventures.
Direct link to all Bornholm videos: here.
If you don’t have time to watch all episodes, we’ve prepared short summary version of our trip – 7 days in 7 minutes.
Detailed plan
DAY 1
– morning bath in the sea in Sassnitz
– ferry to Rønne (by Povl Anker ferry)
– bike ride to Nyker
– bike ride to Hasle
– Accommodation in Hasle Familiecamping
DAY 2
– road planning in Hasle
– drive to Jons Kapel
– Visit the ruins of Hammershus Castle
– admire the descent to the water line in Opalsøen
– accommodation in Sandkaas Familiecamping
DAY 3
– Playground at the Sandkaas Familiecamping campsite,
– bronze era tombs,
– Helligdomsklipperne cave,
– round church in Østerlars,
– canons in Svaneke
– lighthouse in Svaneke
– Camping Hulehavn in Svaneke
DAY 4
– drive from Svaneke to Nexø
– Nexø harbor
– Netto shop in Nexø
– Sommerfuglepark butterfly
– bicycle ride to Dueodde
– long-range gun emplacements from World War II
– camping Dueodde Familiecamping, arrival, swimming pool
– walk to the beach in Dueodde
DAY 5
– visit the Dueodde Lighthouse
– beach in Dueodde
– visit the Nexo Golf Club
– geographic point 55N 15E
– visit the Motor Museum in Aakirkeby
– arrive at Aakirkeby Camping
– play chess and have fun on the playground
DAY 6 i 7
– Camping in Aakirkeby
– Bastemose
– Bornholms Travselskab horse race track
– the ruins of Gamleborg Castle
– Ekkodalen Valley of echoes
– ruins of Lilleborg Castle
– Rytterknægten lookout tower
– Nylars rotund church
– Slau stones – Slaus Stene
– Bornholms Golf Club – Rønne Golf Course
– Galløkken Strand Camping Bornholm
– fast shopping at Superbrugsen Rønne Syd
next day:
– Have fun at Galløkken Strand Camping Bornholm
– Rønne ferry – Sassnitz