Rostock ⇄ Gedser · 2 hours · 52 km
Rostock Gedser, Puttgarden, Trelleborg or the bridge: which route suits your trip?
In short: from Berlin, Saxony and anywhere east of there, Rostock Gedser is usually the better fit for Copenhagen, because you drive about 170 km less than via Puttgarden and get the crossing as a break. From Hamburg, Puttgarden is usually the better choice. The bridges mainly pay off for Jutland and Funen. Below is the sum in kilometres, hours and fares from four starting points, and also when you should not book Rostock Gedser.
Book ahead and save up to 50% compared with harbour prices.*View online tickets *For Standard tickets booked online at least 3 days before departure, compared with buying at the harbour on the day of travel. Limited availability at the Early Booker price.
Your route to Copenhagen on the map
Pick your city. The map draws the three ways to Copenhagen, next to it are the road kilometres and the total time for each route.
Where do you start?
Distances and driving times: route calculation on OpenStreetMap data (OSRM), 21 September 2026, centre to centre, without traffic or stops. Total time is driving plus the crossing (2 hours or 45 minutes) plus 30 minutes for check-in. Overland runs via Flensburg, Kolding and the Storebælt Bridge.
At a glance: by starting point and destination
- Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Poland, Czechia to Copenhagen: Rostock Gedser. About as fast as via Puttgarden, but 160 to 170 km less behind the wheel, and the two hours at sea are a real break.
- Hamburg, Bremen, the Netherlands to Copenhagen: Puttgarden Rødby. Closer port, cheaper ticket, a ferry about every 40 minutes by day. From there Rostock Gedser costs you an hour and a half extra.
- Malmö and southern Sweden: Rostock Gedser with a combination ticket if you want to drive and see Copenhagen on the way. Rostock Trelleborg if you would rather spend six hours on board than three at the wheel.
- Gothenburg and the west coast: Rostock Gedser plus the Helsingør Helsingborg ferry.
- Jutland, Funen, Legoland: usually no ferry, drive via Flensburg.
The sums to Copenhagen from four starting points
Road kilometres and total time from city centre to city centre. Total time is driving without traffic or stops, the crossing and 30 minutes for check-in and boarding. The overland route runs via Flensburg and the Storebælt Bridge.
| From | Via Rostock Gedser | Via Puttgarden Rødby | Overland via Storebælt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | about 390 km by road, just under 7 hours | about 560 km by road, just over 7 hours | about 790 km, over 8.5 hours without a stop |
| Leipzig | about 535 km by road, just over 8 hours | about 700 km by road, about 8.5 hours | about 905 km, about 9.5 hours without a stop |
| Dresden | about 600 km by road, about 9 hours | about 770 km by road, just over 9 hours | about 1,010 km, about 10.5 hours without a stop |
| Hamburg | about 350 km by road, about 6.5 hours | about 315 km by road, about 5 hours | about 515 km, just under 6 hours without a stop |
| Cost, one way, car | Rostock Gedser | Puttgarden Rødby | Storebælt Bridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest fare | Low Price from 65.30 euros | Low Price from 48 euros | 205 DKK with automatic payment, about 27.50 euros |
| Fare with some slack | Standard from 82.70 euros | Standard from 61.10 euros | 235 DKK normal price, about 31.50 euros |
| Bought at the harbour | Standard from 147 euros | Standard from 111 euros | as above |
Kilometres and driving times: route calculation on OpenStreetMap data, rounded, run on 18 September 2026. Ferry fares: “from” prices on scandlines.com, Rostock Gedser checked on 28 September 2026, Puttgarden Rødby on 28 September 2026. Bridge toll: 2026 tariff, conversion rounded. The fare in the booking depends on day and departure.
Rostock Gedser or Puttgarden Rødby
Scandlines runs both routes, with the same ticket types and in the same booking. Puttgarden Rødby is the short one: 45 minutes, sailing day and night with a ferry about every 40 minutes by day, and a ticket that is about 17 to 22 euros cheaper. Rostock Gedser is the long one: about 2 hours, 8 to 9 departures each way.
From Berlin and the east the detour eats the price advantage. Puttgarden is about 400 km from Berlin, Rostock about 235 km. The extra 170 km or so cost roughly as much fuel in an ordinary car as the Puttgarden ticket is cheaper. On money it is about a draw, and on time too. The difference is what you do with that time: via Puttgarden you drive an hour and a half more motorway, via Rostock you spend it having lunch on board. With children, or after a long drive up from Saxony, that is what decides it.
From Hamburg it is the other way round. Puttgarden is about 150 km away, you are in Copenhagen in about 5 hours, and if you miss a ferry on a Standard ticket you take the next departure with space, usually within the hour. Rostock Gedser would usually be a detour with little in return.
One more thing for planning: the Fehmarnbelt tunnel is being built between Puttgarden and Rødby. Femern A/S plans to open it for road traffic in 2031 at the earliest, rail later, and Scandlines plans to keep sailing alongside it. Rostock Gedser is not affected either way, more in the FAQ.
We sailed both: our test trip in February 2025 went north via Puttgarden Rødby and back via Gedser Rostock. Puttgarden is quick and practical: drive on, a drink on deck, drive off. Gedser Rostock is a proper sea crossing with lunch, a rotor sail above the deck and the run past Warnemünde at the end. From Rostock we still had about seven hours of motorway ahead of us to the Netherlands.
Ferry or bridge: overland via Storebælt
With no ferry at all you take the A7 to Flensburg, cross Jutland and Funen and use the Storebælt Bridge to Zealand. At 205 to 235 DKK the toll is far cheaper than any ferry ticket. The distance cancels that out: from Berlin it is about 790 km instead of 390 km, so about 400 km and roughly four hours more at the wheel; door to door it is still over an hour and a half longer, without counting a single stop. From Dresden and Leipzig the picture is the same.
Overland makes sense in three cases: your destination is in Jutland or on Funen. You start in Hamburg and do not want to depend on a timetable. Or the wind is strong enough to cancel ferries, but then check first whether the bridge is closed to caravans and empty trailers. For wind and waves on the route see weather and sea state.
To Sweden: via Gedser or straight to Trelleborg
From the same port in Rostock, Stena Line and TT-Line sail to Trelleborg in about 6 hours, and from there it is about 30 km to Malmö. Via Gedser it is 2 hours of ferry and then about 190 km through Copenhagen and over the Øresund Bridge, just over 5 hours to Malmö in total.
| Rostock to Malmö | Via Gedser and the Øresund Bridge | Direct to Trelleborg |
|---|---|---|
| On the water | about 2 hours | about 6 hours |
| At the wheel | about 190 km, roughly 2.5 hours | about 30 km, half an hour |
| Departures | 8 to 9 a day per direction | several a day, including overnight |
| Price | combination ticket with bridge from 124.25 euros | depends on departure and cabin, see the fares at rostocktrelleborg.com |
This one is a matter of taste. Trelleborg suits you if you sail overnight, take a cabin and want to arrive rested. Gedser suits you if you want to stay flexible, see Copenhagen on the way or head for the west coast: then you take the Helsingør Helsingborg ferry instead of the bridge. Both come as a combination ticket to Sweden.
When you should not book Rostock Gedser
- You start in Hamburg or west of it. Puttgarden is closer, cheaper and sails more often.
- Your destination is Jutland or Funen. From Gedser you would have to cross Denmark and take the Storebælt Bridge back west.
- You are going to Bornholm. That is what the ferry from Sassnitz is for.
- You arrive late in the evening with no margin. Rostock Gedser has 8 to 9 departures a day per direction, Puttgarden Rødby many more. Miss the last evening ferry and you wait for the night or early morning sailing. On a tight schedule Puttgarden is the safer bet, or book Standard rather than Low Price.
- You get seasick easily. Two hours of open Baltic in a force 7 is not the same as 45 minutes across the Fehmarnbelt.
In every other case, above all starting in the east and heading for Copenhagen, Zealand, Falster or Sweden, Rostock Gedser is usually the better fit. The current fare, waiting times, departure times and your own preferences can still change the picture, so compare for your date. All ticket types and what they cost are on the prices page.
Route comparison FAQ
Is Puttgarden Rødby cheaper than Rostock Gedser?
For the ticket, yes: Low Price from 48 instead of 65.30 euros, Standard from 61.10 instead of 82.70 euros (scandlines.com, 28 September 2026). From Berlin and the east the fuel for about 170 km of detour roughly cancels that out.
From Berlin to Copenhagen, which is faster: Rostock or Puttgarden?
Both come to about 7 hours door to door. Via Rostock you drive about 170 km less yourself and get a two hour break on board.
Is the Storebælt Bridge worth it instead of the ferry?
Not from Berlin, Leipzig or Dresden: the toll is cheap at 205 to 235 DKK, but the route is about 400 km longer. Overland makes sense for Jutland and Funen.
Is there a ferry from Rostock straight to Copenhagen?
No. Rostock Gedser plus about 160 km of driving is the way, see Rostock to Copenhagen.
Rostock Gedser or Rostock Trelleborg to Sweden?
Trelleborg if you want to sleep on board and barely drive. Gedser with a combination ticket if you want many departures, Copenhagen on the way or the west coast as your destination.
What happens to Puttgarden Rødby when the Fehmarnbelt tunnel opens?
Later than planned. The tunnel was due to open in 2029. On 17 May 2026 Femern A/S published a new plan in two stages: road traffic first, at the earliest in 2031, rail later. That is a plan, not a guaranteed date. Scandlines has said it will keep sailing Puttgarden Rødby with three ferries after the opening and is spending more than 31 million euros converting two of them to plug-in hybrids. So for the next few years nothing changes for your planning, and Rostock Gedser is not affected at all. More on that crossing at puttgardenrodby.com.
Decided on Rostock Gedser? Both Scandlines routes are in the same booking, so you can keep comparing there for your date.
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