Hamburg to Copenhagen reservations possible but not to cross the border.

  • 23 July 2022
  • 4 replies
  • 591 views

So as many have noted, it’s almost impossible to get a reservation crossing the border from Hamburg to Copenhagen.

I’ve done some research, and what’s really strange in my opinion is : the fact that you can board the train from Hamburg to Flensburg (closest station to the border) without reservation, and then you can get a reservation from Padborg (the first station on the other side of the border) to Copenhagen using the travel.b-europe.com (DSB) website. It’s the same train (IC 394), same schedule… But if you try to get a reservation for that same train but on any leg that crosses the border (e.g. Flensburg-Copenhagen), then you’ll get an error (from both Deutsche Bahn or DSB).

It doesn’t really make sense to me, basically the train is supposedly full just for the Flensbug-Padborg leg… It’s really strange.


4 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

The thing is that you can travel without reservation domestically in both Germany and Denmark, but for the direct trains between Hamburg and Copenhagen you need a reservation to cross the border.

Userlevel 7
Badge +5

RES must be done via dsb.dk. van bahn.com will not work.

Very often in these very busy times there IS boarding check/control in HH-so your plan will not work.

There are many more chances to go this way with a change in Flensburg-and/or Fredericia/Kolling

Hi and thanks for the replies! Well via DSB I’m only able to get a booking for the Danish leg of the trip, it won’t work as soon as the train crosses the border.

My solution will be to get a train to Flensburg, then cross the border with my bike and board the train I’ve booked in Padborg.

Userlevel 7
Badge +10

https://travel.b-europe.com/dsb-rail/en/reservation-only#TravelWish

you can reserve the trains crossborder via this website

Most trains are full.

Reply