Puttgarden Rødby ferry: live departures and checked fares

The Puttgarden Rødby ferry in short

Forty-five minutes. That is all the sea there is between Germany and Denmark if you take the Scandlines ferry from Puttgarden, on the German island of Fehmarn, to Rødby on Lolland. For anyone driving up from the Channel ports through the Netherlands and Hamburg it is the quickest way onto Danish tarmac: motorway to the ramp on one side, motorway off the ramp on the other, and a departure every half hour for most of the day. Four hybrid ferries keep it going all year, around the clock.

Our own photos from the crossing. Click to enlarge.

Our crossing, step by step

Eight pictures, one afternoon. This is the crossing as we did it, from the motorway sign to the Danish ramp, with the details we would have liked to know beforehand.

Today’s sailings from Puttgarden to Rødby

The next eight departures from Germany to Denmark, or pick another date. Sailings in the other direction and more days are on the full Puttgarden Rødby timetable.

What a ticket costs and which one to pick

Scandlines charges per car, not per head: one fare covers a car up to 6 metres and up to 9 people in it, which makes a full car the bargain of the trip. The cheapest way across is a Low Price ticket on a quiet departure, booked online. On 22 September 2026 the one-way car fares started at 48 euros (Low Price, tied to one sailing), 61.10 euros (Standard, any sailing that day) and 118 euros (Flex, free changes). A same-day return costs from 72 euros. At the harbour the same Standard ticket cost 111 euros, so book on your phone before you reach the check-in booths.

Puttgarden Rødby, Rostock Gedser or the bridges?

Scandlines runs both Denmark routes. Puttgarden Rødby is the short one: 45 minutes, a sailing every half hour, and from Hamburg it is the natural way to Copenhagen. Rostock Gedser takes about 2 hours and starts 150 km further east, which makes it the better choice from Berlin, Dresden or Poland. Driving all the way round via Jutland and the Great Belt Bridge avoids the ferry but costs a bridge toll and a few hundred kilometres. Call it an occupational hazard, but we would rather spend 45 minutes on a boat than another hour at the wheel. Compare the alternatives, and in bad weather check our weather and sea state page before you leave.

The two ports

Puttgarden ferry port

The A1 from Hamburg turns into the E47, crosses the Fehmarnsund Bridge and ends at the check-in lanes in Puttgarden. Your booking is read at a self-service booth and a traffic light sends you to a numbered waiting lane. Check-in for cars closes 15 minutes before departure. The Scandlines BorderShop, a multi-storey border shop (German prices, not duty-free), stands right next to the lanes; parking there is limited to one hour with a parking disc. More about Puttgarden ferry port.

Rødby ferry port

Rødbyhavn is the small ferry town at the southern tip of Lolland, and the check-in sits right at the end of the E47 motorway. From the ferry you drive straight onto the E47 towards Copenhagen, about 160 km away. Scandlines gives the address as Færgestationsvej 5, 4970 Rødby, and suggests “Rødby-Puttgarden Scandlines Check-in” as the sat nav destination. More about Rødby ferry port.

45 minutes on board

The four ferries, the Deutschland, Schleswig-Holstein, Prins Richard and Prinsesse Benedikte, were built in 1997 and converted to hybrid drive in 2013 and 2014. They are double-ended, so they never turn round: you drive on at one end and off at the other. Upstairs there is a Food Express cafeteria, a buffet counter, a coffee bar serving Starbucks, a Travel Shop, gaming machines and a sun deck around the funnel. On our crossing the sun set halfway across and a sister ferry passed us going the other way. You cannot go back to your car during the crossing.