Family favourites on Orø
Upon entering Orø Harbour, you sailed right past the bathing platform that is used extensively all day long throughout summer. The small harbour is always buzzing with activity. Fun is had on boats and benches, and people are bathing, crab fishing, eating ice cream and kayaking. At the harbour, you can also find the Orø Tourist Office. Volunteer islanders take turns keeping it open and are happy to tell you all about what is going on across the island.
In the clubhouse of Orø Bådelaug (‘Orø Boat Guild’), visiting yachtsmen are welcome for most of the summer. As Orø Harbour is run solely by volunteers, it does not operate with fixed opening hours. However, you will usually be able to find a member with a key at the harbour, and when it is open, visiting yachtsmen can use it free of charge.
At the harbour, the Havnegrillen café offers cooked, fresh fish from the fjord whenever they are available from the fishermen in the area. Until 2023, Orø was one of the last small Danish islands to have an active fishing operation. The last fisherman of Orø has now passed away, but you can still find amazing fjord flounders and other delights from the Ise Fjord - now supplied by fishermen from the village of Udbyvig on the nearby small peninsula of Tuse Næs.
Board the train to Orøstrand
The harbour of Orø is also where the ferry from Holbæk docks, so both day-trippers and locals gather here throughout the day. With its departure adapted to the ferry’s arrival times, the idyllic Orø Train picks up visitors at the harbour and runs through the island’s largest town, Brønde, on to the Orø Inn, Orø church and the local museum, Orø Minder, and through beautiful open landscapes to Orøstrand on the north-western side of the island.
Children will have an absolute blast arriving with the Orø Train, taking a swim in the fjord, and visiting the mini zoo, Orøstrand Dyrepark. Orøstrand is a small oasis buzzing with life and summer vibes from the nearby camping area, the local restaurant Mathildas, a very child-friendly beach and, of course, the mini zoo.
Orøstrand Dyrepark has more than 500 animals across about 55 species. A special sense of cosiness and calm envelops the very family-friendly and affordable zoo, where you can experience exotic birds, lemurs, coatis, crocodiles and even Denmark’s largest Indian Python – and pet rabbits, guinea pigs, goats and marmosets. All animals in the park are well taken care of by students and teachers from the local Orøstrand School and Treatment Centre.
Orø Train boarding times: https://www.togklubbenoroe.dk/plan.pdf
Orø’s own webpage: http://www.xn--orbdelaug-72a1s.dk/[AN3]
Orøstrand Mini Zoo: https://oroestrand.dk/dyreparken/
Read more stories from Orø or explore exciting tales from other places.
Learn more about Orø Harbor here.
