Family Guide to Denmark – Skagen and Farup Sommerland 

– If I was you I’d be very excited to go to Skagen! – said our taxi driver as he dropped us at the Europcar car rental office.  

 

Our family holiday in Denmark continued…

After leaving Aalborg, we had great expectations about visiting the northernmost point of Denmark – Grenen along with the seaside “city of light” – Skagen.

Skagen is Denmark’s main fishing port renowned for its beaches, painting courses and bohemian lifestyle. 

It became a popular holiday destination, towards the end of the 19th century when many painters came to spend their summer in this region. They were looking for inspiration on this special retreat surrounded by beautiful seaside landscapes and the perfect sun light. There’s a beautiful legacy of art in Skagen. One of my favourite painters is Peder Severin Krøyer. We could admire some of his paintings in the Skagen Art Museum such as the famous “Summer Evening at Skagen. The Artist’s Wife and Dog by the Shore”.

It took us a 2 h drive to reach Skagen and we enjoyed each minute of this journey. We sang songs, played games and had long conversations while gazing at the landscape. Our first stop was Hotel Farup for one night. It is located in the center of a theme park, Fårup Sommerland (just 35 minutes away from Aalborg). There are many apartments for families in this area.

Fårup Sommerland is one of the oldest and most popular theme parks of Denmark (opened in 1975!).

It was voted the second best amusement park in Europe in 2015/16. You’ll find all sorts of attractions like wild roller coasters, sailing your own boat on the lake, riding on a 30’s style train, going down water slides or surfing waves in a  swimming pool.The Aqua Park is open from 3rd of june to the 27 th of August. It is surrounded by a beautiful forest, next to a lake.

If you’re looking for a true family friendly hotel Farup is a great option.

Prices for 4 people for one night including a 2 day entrance in the Park  start at 1800 DK (240 €) – breakfast included. There are also many apartments nearby, you can find them here.

You’ll find a common theme in the hotel, the forest. There’s a tree in the middle of the reception lobby, squirels and birds sitting by the window, a fireplace, a tree house inside the bedroom and even a moose in the restaurant whose head and eyes move. And if you’re blessed with a child’s attention to details you’ll find many other fun curiosities in this hotel…

We stayed in a standard family room with a private balcony with an amazing view of the lake. Our room for 4, was very cozy fitted with a double bed and an integrated children’s bunk bed simulating a tree house. There was also the possibility for an extra bed or you could also book a larger family bedroom for 6.

The bedroom was fully equipped with free WiFi, TV, coffee/tea facilities and a large bathroom with a shower.

The food at the hotel was excellent, served with great care and attention to details. They had a children’s corner with special treats for kids as well as drawing pens and paper. There was also a playground and children were easily entertained. I recommend that you book your table in advance. Price of the dinner-buffet at Hotel Fårup is DK 200 (26,5 euro) for grown-ups and DK 100 (13,5 euro) for children.

You can also rent a pull wagon to carry bags, food, toys, towels and tired children…:).

A pull wagon rental is 50 DK (6€) per day. A stroller rental costs the same price. You can also borrow a wheelchair at no cost. You can also pick up a free wristband with a space for your phone number, in case anyone gets lost.

There are many restaurants in the Park from steakhouses, Italian, Chinese restaurants, ice cream parlour, a pancake stand,  grill bars, picnic areas and cafés.  There is also a restaurant that offers organic food – Skovens Økologisk Spisested.

There is never a dull moment at Farup Hotel.

The park is right at your doorstep and hotel’s guests can access the park 30 minutes before it opens for other guests. The park is opened everyday till 9pm with music, entertainment and adventure for all the family. Great Fun!

The prices of the entrance to the park (without hotel) are for this season 2017: DK 240 (32 Euro) in the low-season and DK 275 (37 euro) in the high season.

What I liked the most about this Farup Sommerland park was the stylish, vintage atmosphere of a classic family park, where having fun meant riding carousels, sharing family meals on the barbecue area, under the shade of trees or bouncing on the trampolines.

The next day we continued our route to Skagen:

On our way to Skagen we visited the popular seaside village of Blokhus. Locals were laying their blankets on the dunes, sitting and reading books or simply walking on the beach to enjoy the sea brise. The water was a bit cold for us we enjoyed it. The dunes were large and dreamy and the village in itself was very cute.

When we arrived in Skagen we went for a walk in the harbour. The marina was lively with lots of restaurants and sailing boats. It had a party atmosphere with live music and locals celebrating life in their yachts.

We had dinner in one of the old fish warehouses, Restaurant Pakhuset. Its maritime decor with different figureheads is one of a kind. Each figurehead has a story to tell. This is one of the most renowned seafood restaurants in this area, serving oysters, norwegian lobster, caviar, herring, monkfish, plaice etc.

I’ve tasted a typical fish soup with pieces of fish, garlic croutons, flavored with herbs and saffron – simply delicious. Price: 145 DK (19 €) Meals for children were around 65 DK (8 €).

By the time we finished dinner it was time to head to the beach to see the sunset.

Watching the sunset in Skagen was a revelation of peace. Locals and tourists, couples and families gather in the beach. Some even take their own picnic or chairs for extra comfort. The skies turned red and all we could see was the silhouette of human bodies walking along the beach. There were also dogs running in the sand and children playing in the dunes.

Suddenly the sun disappeared and time stood still as if we were watching the last glimpse of sunlight of our lives. The whole world was resting in peace,  begging us to stay and never leave again…

We had an ice cream at the beach bar. An older couple was holding hands right in front of us. Skagen had a great lifestyle and exceeded our expectations.

We checked in for one night at Hotel Skibssmedien. The room/apartment was spacious with a kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a living room with a nice dining area and sofas. The bathroom had also a washer and a drier. Breakfast buffet offered coffee and tea, freshly baked bread, a good selection of cheese, jams, pastry, fresh fruits and cereals. A nice way to start the day.

That day we visited Skagens Museum – one of the most visited Art Museums in Denmark. The Museum exhibits works by the famous Skagen Artists through over 1800 paintings mainly from the period 1870-1930. They offered a fun treasure hunt for kids and a nice play room with props, lego bricks and colours where families could create their own piece of art. The museum had also a nice cafe surrounded by a beautiful garden. Admission fee for Adults is 100 DK (14€) Children under 18 go Free!

We went for a walk through the old part of Skagen whose typical houses of red-tiled roofs with white trimmings and yellow-plastered walls with gardens bordered with a white fence reminded me of the dolls houses I used to play when I was a little girl.

Skagen is so so pretty. 

We also visited  Grenen – Denmark’s northernmost point, where the two seas meet – the Skagerrak sea and Kattegat sea. It was a powerful experience to watch the waves from the two seas beat together. The currents were very strong and swimming is not allowed. But the feeling of being driven by the tractor Sandormen (sand worm) across the deserted dunes to be standing at that tip of grenen was definitely a moment I’ll never forget.

The rain then started pouring down and the scenery became even more dramatic and fascinating.

It was time  to go. Legoland was calling…

A big thank you to visitDenmark for all the support in this trip.