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Here’s what to expect from Denmark’s Easter holiday traffic

Are you travelling by car around Denmark over the Easter holiday period, or leaving the country and coming back? Here’s how to keep updated on traffic.

Published: 13 April 2019 17:39 CEST
Here’s what to expect from Denmark’s Easter holiday traffic
File photo: Dennis Lehmann/Ritzau Scanpix

The Saturday prior to Easter is often a busy one on Danish roads, with many who have the coming week off school and work heading away on trips.

Authorities were relaxed at the beginning of this year's Easter period.

“Our expectations are quite calm and relaxed,” Danish Road Directorate (Vejdirektoratet) spokesperson Stine Lydeking Hansen told Ritzau in relation to Saturday's traffic, prior to the beginning of this weekend.

On its website, the traffic agency writes that the busiest travel days next week on Danish roads are expected to be Wednesday April 17th and Maundy Thursday (skærtorsdag in Danish), April 18th.

Wednesday could see queues between 2pm-6pm, especially on motorways close to the larger cities, as those working during the first half of the week head home for the Easter break, Vejdirektoratet writes on its website.

On Thursday, heavy traffic is most likely between 10am and 2pm in a westbound direction on the E20 motorway on Zealand and Funen, as well as on the E45 between Aarhus and Kolding.

Holiday traffic is generally expected to be heavier in an east-to-west direction from the Copenhagen area towards Jutland; and on the E45 motorway between Aarhus and the border with Germany at Padborg.

Regions with holiday accommodation and summer houses are also expected to see localised busy traffic. These include the west coast of Jutland; the town of Skagen at the northern tip of the country; and northern Zealand.

The following roads are most likely to experience heavy traffic:

  • E20 Funen Motorway, particularly between Odense and Middelfart
  • E45 motorway Padborg-Aarhus, particularly around Kolding
  • E20 Køge Bay Motorway, southern Zealand
  • E20 motorway, Zealand
  • Route 16, Hillerød motorway extension
  • Route 21 Copenhagen-Roskilde-Sjællands Odde

At the end of the Easter holidays, on Easter Sunday, April 22nd, and Easter Monday, April 21st, roads could be busy heading east from Jutland towards Copenhagen, via both Funen and Sjællands Odde.

You can check the traffic situation on your route before departure on the trafikinfo.dk website, or using the Trafikinfo app. These resources show areas where road works, delays or other reduced speed zones are in place.

Meanwhile, border control in the form of spot checks remains in place on the Denmark-Germany border, which can result in some queuing for motorists heading into Denmark, Vejdirektoratet writes on its website.

The Road Directorate generally advises driving outside peak times where possible when extra traffic is expected to be on the road.

“And it’s always a good idea to leave in plenty of time,” Hansen said.

READ ALSO: Danish municipality uses drivers' Bluetooth to solve traffic issues

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TRAVEL NEWS

Traffic jams and sold-out trains: the latest on Easter travel in Sweden

Easter is probably the busiest time of the year for travel within Sweden. Here's the latest on how to travel safely and where you might face delayed trains or ugly traffic jams.

Published: 7 April 2022 16:30 CEST
Updated: 14 April 2022 13:54 CEST
Traffic jams and sold-out trains: the latest on Easter travel in Sweden

Travelling by rail

If you haven’t already booked your ticket, you may find it difficult to get a seat on some popular routes. 

“Some routes are already fully booked. This is particularly the case between the major cities,” Anders Edgren, a press officer for the national train company SJ, told state broadcaster SVT.

A screenshot of SJ’s booking site for Good Friday shows most morning trains between Malmö and Stockholm are already sold out.
 
Edgren said on Thursday morning that there were still a few seats left between Stockholm and Gothenburg and Stockholm and Sundsvall but that they were selling out fast. 
 
 
“What we’re trying to do is to double-up trains, which is to stick together two trains, and if we manage to do that we might be able to release some more tickets.” 

Sweden’s national rail company SJ often schedules engineering work for national holidays, as fewer people are travelling to work, and this easter there will be engineering work at around 20 sites across the country, meaning more than 1,000 trains will be partly or totally replaced with buses during the Easter break. 

The worst areas are on the routes between Gothenburg and Malmö, between Västerås and Stockholm, and between Karlstad and Växjö. Work on the new Västkustbanan will mean replacement buses between Helsingborg and Gothenburg throughout the Easter holidays. 

SJ has made a map showing all the routes where you can expect interruptions: 

Traffic interruptions over Easter: 

Karlstad C to Kristinehamn: 10pm April 14th to 5am April 19th 

Gothenburg going north and south: 10.35pm April 14th to 2pm April 18th

Varberg to Heberg: 2pm April 14th to 2pm April 19th 14

Ängelholm Helsingborg: 12am April 4th to April 25th 4.15am 

Frövi to Kumla: 10pm April 14th to 5am April 19th 

Skymossen to Motala: 12am April 14th to 5am April 19th

Stockholm Central platforms 3 to 7: 10pm April 14th to 10pm April 21st 

Huvudsta – Barkarby: 1.10am April 14th to 4.30am April 19th 

Travelling by car 

In its guide to travelling by car over Easter, the Swedish Transport Agency warns that weather conditions at this time of year can vary enormously as you drive north.  You may find, for instance, that you need winter snow tyres by the time you reach your destination, even seemed almost summery when you set out. You should also make sure you have clothing for all seasons. 

Here is the agency’s maps of roads which it expects to see heavy Easter traffic. 

A map showing which roads are expected to be busy over the Easter period. Photo: Swedish Transport Agency
These include: 

The E22 between Kalmar and Norrköping, the E4 between Norrköping and Stockholm, and then from Stockholm all the way up to Sundsvall.  The roads leading towards the ski areas around Sälen and Östersund also tend to get crowded. None of the roads in Skåne are expected to see heavy traffic. 

The Swedish Transport Agency has imposed a ban on overtaking on the E4 between Gävle och Tönnebro, on the 14th and 14th of April for travel in a northerly direction, and on the 17th and 18th of April travelling south. 

The agency also recommends choosing roads with central reservations and speed cameras, as these are safer, even if this might mean a slower journey. Here is the agency’s map of roads with central reservations.

Flights

If you’re coming to Sweden by air, you should be aware that companies have been cancelling a high number of flights in recent days, because many of their staff have Covid.

EasyJet and British Airways cancelled more than 80 scheduled flights on Thursday, blaming staff sickness. 

Airports

If your flight is running as scheduled, be aware of issues at several UK airports.

Airports including Heathrow, Manchester and Birmingham have been hit by disruption because of staff shortages caused by Covid, affecting everything from airport security to luggage handlers. Passengers risked missing their flights because of lengthy delays, according to reports in the UK press. 

Passport queues at Heathrow Terminal 2, from where SAS flies to Stockholm, were ‘stretching to 90 minutes’ on Maundy Thursday, The Independent reported. 

Passengers have been advised to make sure they are at the airport as early as possible to allow for delays, and unions have warned that the disruption could last for some time.

In the case of Manchester, the advice last week was to arrive three hours early.

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