How to get from Malmo to Copenhagen
If you’re visiting Copenhagen in Denmark, or Malmö in Sweden, then I recommend travelling to the other city since they’re super close to each other and easy to travel between. When we were travelling in Scandinavia, we spent a week in Copenhagen and then travelled across the Øresund bridge into Malmö for 10 days.
Travelling from Malmö to Copenhagen and Copenhagen to Malmo is incredibly easy to do and there are many ways to go about it. You can take guided tours to Malmö from Copenhagen, drive yourself or take public transport using the train or the bus.
Both cities are great places to explore with beautiful architecture, history, nature and places to eat and see. Though Copenhagen is better for a longer stay than Malmö, I personally preferred the smallness of Malmö and the beaches and parks.
If you’re looking at how best to travel from Malmö to Copenhagen then here’s everything you need to know.
Malmo Copenhagen Train
- Average price: €12 per person
- Average travel time: 40 minutes
- Where to book train tickets: Online through Omio to check schedules and prices
There are multiple trains from Malmo to Copenhagen and it’s definitely the easiest and most efficient way of travelling between the two cities.
We took the Copenhagen to Malmo train from København H (Copenhagen’s central train station) to Malmö central train station and it was super easy even though there was a train cancellation.
We’d originally booked through the Swedish train company (SJ), but due to cancellation, ended up using the same ticket on the Øresundståg regional train from Malmö to Copenhagen Central Station.
Staff at the train station told us these trains weren’t as nice, but they were far nicer than any British train and ran on time.
The train journey between Malmo Central and Copenhagen takes about 40 minutes and they leave pretty much every 20 minutes from Copenhagen.
Along the way, you’ll cross the Øresund Bridge from Denmark to Sweden and run pretty much 24 hours a day and there are night trains too. The first at 0.06 am and the last at 11.47 pm.
I recommend booking online as that’ll help with planning your trip, but you can just turn up at the station and jump on the next train too.
Though it’s unlikely you’ll be asked (we weren’t), you should take your passport with you just in case but there is no formal border control.
One of the best things about getting the train is that you go straight from central Malmo to central Copenhagen.
Omio is a great platform for booking European and UK travel on. You can check train and bus prices and schedules and book super easily!
Copenhagen to Malmö guided tour
- Average duration: 8 hours
- Average price: €120
- Where to book: GetYourGuide
If you’re travelling from Copenhagen to Malmo and don’t want to deal with public transport or renting a car or want to learn more about Malmö during your visit, you can also book a guided tour where you’ll get transport as well as a guide who’ll show you the best places to visit in Malmö. Some tours also take you up to the pretty town of Lund, Sweden.
If you’re travelling from Copenhagen to Malmö then take a look at these tours.
- Copenhagen to Lund & Malmö: On this tour, you’ll not only go to Malmö but you’ll get to check out the super cute historical town of Lund which is one of my top recommendations for day trips from Malmö. You’ll take a ferry across the Øresund and then explore the two Swedish cities.
- Private tour to Malmö with lunch: On this tour, you’ll meet your guide and then head over to Malmö for a city tour with lunch, coffee and a delicious Swedish pastry.
Malmo Copenhagen Bus
Taking the bus from Malmo to Copenhagen is often the cheapest way to travel between the two cities and countries.
You can book through Flixbus or Omio both of which allow you to see the schedules and book in advance online which I’d recommend so you can maximise your time in either city.
The buses are direct with no changes needed and take between 45 minutes and 1 hour and 5 minutes depending on what time of day you leave.
Most buses have wifi and charging points and are generally pretty comfortable.
Omio is a great platform for booking European and UK travel on. You can check train and bus prices and schedules and book super easily!
Driving Malmo to Copenhagen
- Average price: from €132 for return toll
- Average duration: 50 minutes
- Where to book: If renting a car I use DiscoverCars or RentalCars to find the best deal.
Alternatively, if you’re travelling around Scandinavia in a campervan or by car on a road trip, you can drive from Malmö to Copenhagen.
Another option is to rent a car though personally I think this is unnecessary unless you’re then travelling onwards from Copenhagen or Malmo. Public transport is so easy and reliable (and cheap) that it’s much easier and cheaper to use use the train or a bus.
If you do want to rent a car, I recommend using RentalCars or DiscoverCars to book. I typically look up both to see where I can get the best deals.
Driving between these two cities takes about 50 minutes and there is a toll fee to drive over the Øresund Bridge.
A return trip to drive over the bridge for a standard-size car is 980 DKK (~€132). This is clearly a lot more expensive than either the bus or the train and when you add petrol and parking costs, you can see why I don’t necessarily recommend this.
If you’re renting a car because you want to drive over Oresund Bridge, then you’ll also go over it when on the train or the bus,
It’s pretty cool going over the bridge, which opened in 2000. The bridge is 8 km long and there’s also a 4 km tunnel! It’s impressive when you think about how this was built.
Cars and buses go along the upper level of the bridge while trains go on the lower level. You can get a great view of the bridge in Malmo!
I use comparison sites like DiscoverCars and RentalCars to book my car rentals as it’s easy to check prices and compare the best deals!
FAQs on how to travel from Malmö to Copenhagen
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Final thoughts on Copenhagen to Malmo Sweden
My preferred way to travel from Malmo to Copenhagen is by train. Train travel in Scandinavia is easy and relatively inexpensive when compared to the costs of driving.
Both Copenhagen trains and Malmo trains leave from the centre of town and take under an hour to get between the two cities.
Travelling by rail is one of the most popular routes since it’s so easy and has a short journey time of about 40 minutes. It’s a good idea to book the train in advance if you’re trying to fit in as much as possible. Though, if you miss one train you don’t have long to wait for another.
Another easy way to travel across from Sweden to Denmark and vice versa is to book a tour where you’ll visit both Malmo and Lund with a guide.
If you’re planning on travelling further, check out this guide on how to get from Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway (where you’ll go through 3 countries and can stop in Gothenburg halfway!).
Last Updated on March 11, 2024 by Hannah
Hannah started That Adventurer after graduating back in 2013 and has documented all of her adventures since then. From backpacking South America to city breaks in Europe, a 3 month road trip across the USA in a self-converted van and 6 years living in Canada, you’ll find posts on all of this.
Hannah specialises in active travel and on That Adventurer you’ll find hiking, walking, biking, skiing and all sorts of active travel guides to allow you to see a destination in an adventurous way.
Now back in Europe, you’ll find new guides as Hannah and her husband spend the next year ‘digital nomading’ from Norway to Portugal, Switzerland to Scotland and places in between.
