Copenhagen has a big international airport. Conveniently, a joint bus-ferry transfer to Rønne, the ferry port town on Bornholm, departs 100 meters away from CPH's exit. Travelling through Copenhagen is the recommended route that fits most cases.

full kombardo package

The website of kombardo.dk sells tickets for busses and ferries. You have two options: bus+ferry (cheaper and a bit faster, but you get to board a bus) or ferry only (slower, but only the rather spacious ferry). Admittedly, their website is not localised even to common english language. To go to bookings, press "book bilet". Select "Retur" (two-way ticket), set "Fra" (from) to Kobenhavn (Copenhagen), "Til" (to) to Ronne and input how many adults (Voksne) and children (børn) are you buying for. Then you will get the date-time options. The ones with the ferry icon are ferry-only. The ones with the bus icon are bus AND ferry; the bus will take you to Ystad (south of Malmo, Sweden) - from there, you board a short ferry to Ronne. That's pretty much it!

Notes for the bus+ferry selection! You will have to show your ticket two times: at the bus *and then* at the ferry terminal. The busses leave from a bus stop near Copenhagen airport; it looks like an ordinary bus stop and has no sign saying 'long distance busses' or whatever. It's located at [55.6293378,12.6506345] (google maps pin), you walk to it like this and it looks like this. Sometimes a bus that arrives on time will be full, and the driver may shout "five minutes ok?!", slam the door and drive away. Don't worry; an additional backup bus is arriving soon.

train + kombardo ferry option

Another way to get from Copenhagen to Rønne is to grab trains right from CPH airport to Malmö to Ystad - two trains with a convenient layover in Hyllie, Malmö. This method is slightly more expensive than a package deal from Kombardo, but it wins in convenience. Firstly, the Kombardo bus stop is away from the airport, while the railroad is right below it, with ticket machines at the enterance. Also if timed right you will have a couple hours to freeroam in Ystad; aside from being a pretty waterfront town, it holds a practical gain of stocking up on food in the local supermarket (coop) and not having to bring any from home in your backpack. This gains additional relevance with the grocery store close to the fest grounds having closed down in 2024.

Situated across the strait from Copenhagen, Malmö is another option for a starting point for a route to Bornholm. It is the same as the "train + kombardo ferry option" route from Copenhagen (see above), except only one train is needed, from Malmö to Ystad.

Sassnitz is a city at the very north of Germany that has a ferry port. Conveniently, a ferry goes to the island of Bornholm from Sassnitz. Inconveniently, the route to the city itself may get complicated. The below guide is generously provided by Kleeder and Tripple-P: many thanks!

If you’re arriving to Sassnitz to catch the ferry by train (read: without a car), you have limited options, but depending on your day of arrival, these options might differ. Careful planning can save you from a lot of headaches. Note that there is only one ferry each day from Sassnitz to Rønne, which leaves at the very inconvenient time of 11:50. Check-In usually happens from 11:20 to 11:30, with 11:30 being the latest possible time.

On some weekdays (in 2024, this was Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) there are Shuttle Trains between Bergen auf Rügen and Sassnitz - these days might be different every year, so take a closer look at the departure times of this specific shuttle service. You can find further information here. If you’re lucky and the trains happen on your days of arrival/departure, you should be all set, since the shuttle train is synced with the ferry times. The station is called Sassnitz Fährhafen.

In case you’re unlucky, your only other option is to take a train to Sassnitz Hbf and continue via bus. In 2024, the bus schedule under the week was not synced to the ferry departure times. It takes around 20 minutes to get from Sassnitz Hbf to the ferry port with the bus. Note that the bus only leaves every hour, and regional trains to Sassnitz Hbf come every two hours. At least the bus is synced with the train, so you don’t have to worry about that. You need to take bus line 22 to Fährhafen, Sassnitz. It is a 5 to 10 minute walk from the bus station to the check-in area. Sadly, the bus arrives every hour at :24, meaning that the 11:24 arriving bus is a pretty tight timeframe to catch the ferry. Something which is doable but risky, especially with a lot of luggage.

You can check this map picture for a better understanding of the place. The long walkway before the check-in area is actually a skywalk, so keep in mind you need to take an elevator or walk the stairs, which will cost time in case you’re in a hurry.

The Train Station of the port is actually not publicly accessible. When you arrive to the port, an employee of the port will collect all passengers of the shuttle train and lead them to the plattform via an elevator. So keep your eyes peeled when you arrive at the port and follow the instructions by the ports employees. As the shuttle train is also tied to the ferry itself there is no need to worry about missing it due to a delayed arrival.

Arriving with a train at Sassnitz around 9am and taking the bus to the ferry port which arrives at 09:24 will give you enough time to comfortably walk to the check-in area. Just prepare for a long wait and probably even locked doors, because the crew opens the area only shortly before check-in actually begins.

Due to the very unlucky departure time of the ferry, you either need to start your travel journey very early, cut short on additional buffer time (not advised due to Deutsche Bahn being Deutsche Bahn) or book a room for a night in Sassnitz, so you only need to take the bus in the morning.

It is likely possible to reach Bornholm from someplace other than the ones noted; planning those out would be fully your responsibility. If you do end up taking an alternative route and find it feasible, we always appreciate a guide on how-to!