Cycling on Bornholm

Bornholm is an island built for cycling: over 200 kilometres of cycle paths, mostly separated from traffic, packed into an area you can circle in a single long day. Many routes follow the island's former railway lines, so gradients stay gentle throughout. Unlike much larger Funen, with well over 1,000 kilometres of cycle paths, Bornholm's appeal isn't distance but variety packed into a small space – granite cliffs in the north, forest in the middle, white sand beaches in the south, plus a dense network of cafés, farm shops and smokehouses for stopping along the way.

Route 10 – all the way round the island

National Cykelrute 10, known on Bornholm simply as "Bornholm Rundt", is the shortest of Denmark's long-distance cycle routes and runs the full way around the coast. As a complete loop it covers about 103 to 105 kilometres and around 660 metres of climbing – spread across the whole distance, so no single climb is daunting. The route isn't technically demanding; if you're working up a sweat here, it's usually the wind rather than the gradient.

The appeal is that the loop barely misses a highlight. It passes the ruined fortress of Hammershus in the north-west, the cliffs of Helligdomsklipperne on the north-east coast, and strings together the island's well-known coastal towns like beads – from Rønne through Allinge and Gudhjem to Svaneke and Nexø. Because the route is largely traffic-free and mostly surfaced, it also suits less experienced cyclists – provided you break it into sensible stages.

The four stages in detail

Route 10 is officially divided into four stages, which split neatly across two to four days. That turns the round-island loop into a relaxed tour for families and beginners rather than an endurance test.

• Rønne – Allinge through the west and north-west, passing Hasle to the windswept northern tip and the ruins of Hammershus.
• Allinge – Svaneke, the most scenic stage (see below).
• Svaneke – Dueodde along the east coast via Nexø to the famous sandy beach in the south.
• Dueodde – Rønne back through the flatter south to the starting point.

If you're only riding one stretch, choose the second stage, Allinge – Svaneke. It runs about 30 kilometres, with roughly 249 metres of ascent and 274 metres of descent, and is around 90 per cent surfaced with 10 per cent gravel. Along the way are Døndalen, home to Denmark's highest waterfall, the Helligdomsklipperne cliffs, and Gudhjem, Denmark's only hill town. Above the cliffs, the Bornholm Art Museum is worth a stop – open daily 10:00 to 17:00 in summer (June to August), and daily except Mondays out of season.

Regional routes 21 to 26

If you don't want to circle the whole island, the interior has a network of marked regional routes. Loops 21 to 26 average around 30 kilometres and are either surfaced or laid with fine granite chippings – they link coast, forest and villages and combine well into day trips.

• Route 21 (Rønne – Nexø) connects the island's two largest towns over roughly 30 kilometres. It follows a former railway line, is fully surfaced and easy to ride, passing the round church of Nylars and Aakirkeby along the way. A good route for beginners.
• Route 22 (Robbedale – Aarsdale) runs through the large Almindingen forest, where you might spot deer.
• Route 23 (Rønne – Helligdommen) links city life in Rønne with the natural attractions around the Helligdomsklipperne cliffs and suits experienced and occasional cyclists alike.
• Route 25 (Melsted – Aakirkeby) is the shortest at 18.4 kilometres, but hilly and mixed-surface (8.8km surfaced, 9.6km gravel). It starts at the fishing village of Melsted and passes waterfalls and a round church on its way through Almindingen, the island's largest forest.
• Routes 24 (Pedersker – Munkeleddet) and 26 (Slotslyngen – Almindingen) round out the network in the south and north-west.

Up-to-date maps, elevation profiles and GPS tracks for all routes, including Route 10, are available from the official Danish cycle route portal ruter.dk.

Hiring a bike

If you're arriving without your own bike, hire stations are available in all the larger towns. One widespread operator is Boss Cykler, with its own locations in Nexø (Kannikegårdsvej 10) and Allinge (Birkevænget 2), plus partners in Rønne and Nyker, Hasle, Gudhjem, Svaneke, Tejn and Dueodde. Handy for the round-island route: the bike can be delivered to an address of your choice and collected again afterwards. City bikes, e-bikes, cargo bikes and mountain bikes are all available.

There's also Bornholms Cykeludlejning and the Cykel-Center in Rønne, as well as the Nexø Cykelcenter. Travelling with children or heavy luggage, trailers and cargo bikes can usually be hired too. As a rough guide, a standard bike costs around 60 to 75 DKK per day, with discounts for longer hire periods; e-bikes cost more. Exact daily rates and models are only listed by suppliers in their own booking systems, so it's worth comparing prices before the season starts.

Getting there with a bike and the best time to go

The island is reached by ferry – and bikes travel along as a matter of course. On the fastest crossing, Ystad – Rønne, the Bornholmslinjen fast ferry takes around 80 minutes, with about 32 sailings a week. Bikes can be brought as foot-passenger luggage or inside a vehicle; children up to age 11 travel free when accompanied by an adult. If you're bringing a car and bikes together, 2026 vehicle tickets (up to five people) start from 99 DKK on the Lowprice fare, from 599 DKK with Flex and from 899 DKK on Standard. Full details on all routes and fares are in the ferries guide.

The cycling season runs May to September. May (around 12°C, roughly eight hours of sunshine) and September (around 16°C, far fewer visitors) are considered ideal, while June, with about nine hours of sunshine, is the sunniest month. A useful side effect: spring and early summer tend to be less windy – a real advantage on the exposed round-island route. More on temperatures and rainfall is in the weather guide.

Where to stay and plan along the route

For a multi-day tour, the campsites along Route 10 are a good option, most of them close to the coast. Near Gudhjem is Sannes Familiecamping (5 stars, sea views), open in 2026 across several blocks from 28 March to 19 October (tel. +45 56 48 52 11). Hullehavn Camping lies around a kilometre south of Svaneke between forest and cliff coast, near a lighthouse, and opens roughly from May to mid-September. Lyngholt Familiecamping near Allinge is well placed for a stop near Hammershus, and Gudhjem Camping, about 900 metres from the town centre, is open from mid-March to mid-October.

As standard, Bornholm's campsites offer modern washrooms, shared kitchens, Wi-Fi, a bread delivery service and playgrounds, and often cabins or "villatelte" (furnished tents) with a fridge and cooking facilities. Sites only show day-by-day prices in their own booking systems; a full overview, including wild camping, is in the camping guide. For further planning, the official tourism portal Destination Bornholm (bornholm.info, tel. +45 56 95 95 00) is worth a look.