Whitsunday and Whitmonday, known as ‘pinsedag’ and ‘2. pinsedag’ in Denmark, are official bank holidays. Here’s when holiday traffic could peak.
Pinse, which can be referred to in English as Whitsun or Pentecost, is one of the last of Denmark’s spring public holidays.
Pinsedag is always on a Sunday, although anden pinsedag is a Monday, so most workers have the day off. Because of this, many take the Friday off work for a long weekend.
READ ALSO: What’s open and what’s closed on Pentecost Monday in Denmark?
Last year, the pinse holiday fell at the same time as Constitution Day (June 5th), which meant holiday traffic was spread out over more days. Unfortunately, that is not the case this year.
Denmark’s Road Directorate warns that Friday, May 22nd is likely to be the busiest day, with a ‘red’ light for traffic on its advisory graphic. Things will, it says, be especially busy between 2pm-6pm as Danes leave work for the long weekend.
A ‘red light’ means there is a large risk of queues and extended travel times, it says.
Saturday has a ‘yellow’ traffic light, with queues expected to be especially bad between 10am and 2pm, while things will be quiet on Sunday, pinsedag.
Finally, Monday, 2. pinsedag, will also be ‘yellow’ with traffic expected to be busy between 2pm and 6pm.
Photo: Danish Road Directorate
Congestion is more likely heading away from Copenhagen at the start of the holiday, and towards Copenhagen at the end of it.
Motorists in Ringkøbing, Randers, Middelfart, Helsingør and Copenhagen should all be prepared for additional diversions and traffic in central areas on Monday, May 25th during Royal Run events in those cities.
The popular running events will see parts of city centres in participating towns closed to traffic. Specific information about the event in each city can be found on the Royal Run website.
Live traffic information can be found on the website trafikinfo.dk.