The North Sea wind buffets the body and face, shaking awake travelers after a six-hour journey from Copenhagen to this rugged stretch of the Danish coast. From high vantage points on grassy dunes overlooking an endless sea, hardly another soul is visible save for specks of surfers trying their luck on crashing waves.
Cold Hawaii: A Surfer's Paradise
Surfers, windsurfers, and paddleboarders flock to this stretch of north-west Jutland, playfully known as "Cold Hawaii." The phrase was coined in the 1990s by the international surfing community and popularized by world champion windsurfer Josh Stone. It describes this laid-back shoreline with 31 official surf spots running for around 30 miles (50 km) from north of the industrial harbor of Hanstholm down to the sandy beaches of Agger.
Unlike tropical Hawaii, the European version is lined with heathlands, dunes, and forest of Thy National Park. The weather is brisker—wetsuits are essential for spending long in the water.
Wild Beauty and Local Secrets
The wild beauty of the coastline feels markedly different from the largely agricultural landscape familiar to many who live in Denmark. Cold Hawaii has been recommended countless times as somewhere under the radar compared to popular resorts on the north coast of Zealand or Skagen on the northern tip of Jutland. It is not easy to reach Thy by public transport, and once there, the patchy local bus service makes exploration easier by car. For that reason, Cold Hawaii has remained something of a local secret, with a strong sense of community even in winter when summer houses sit empty.
On a sun-drenched afternoon in early spring, with the tourist season yet to begin, surf schools and ice-cream shops are still quiet. Driving into Klitmøller—the unofficial centre of Cold Hawaii, which hosts an annual international surfing competition—reveals hints of transformation into a surfers' paradise over recent decades. Along with surf shops and schools, there is a wine bar, a spa, and a co-working space on the main street. Several artists are based in the area, including internationally renowned Jeppe Hein.
Vorupør: From Fishing Village to Tourist Hotspot
A similar story unfolds in the nearby seaside town of Vorupør, where the Vorupør Badehotel is located. It is an expansion of the original Vø Surfshop, opened by Peter Joseph Jensen and Sigrid Bruun Jakobsen in 2011; another couple joined them to open the hotel in 2023. A bubblegum-pink room nestled in the eaves features huge windows looking out to sea and a freestanding tub—a luxury for a Copenhagener. In cosy Danish fashion, there is a shoes-off-at-the-door policy.
Standing on Vorupør beach between anchored fishing boats, families enjoy strolls in the blustery wind and dappled sunshine—the time of year when Denmark emerges from winter gloom and everyone rushes outdoors. Not so long ago, Vorupør was a quiet fishing village, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular with Danish, German, and Belgian tourists, giving rise to new places to stay, restaurants, and boutiques.
Culinary Excellence: Restaurant Tri
One notable addition not far down the coast is the restaurant Tri. Founder and head chef Nicolas Min Jørgensen earned a Michelin star just a year after opening in 2022, winning acclaim for a hyperlocal approach to produce and menu-planning. Flavours of the sea, Thy National Park, and the nearby Limfjord are evident in mussel broth, seaweed, smoked roe butter, and magnolia flowers on the menu. During dinner, Jørgensen waves to fisher René, who harvested the first shrimps of the season from the Limfjord that morning, and points out farmer Niels enjoying his own berries.
Art Galleries: SMK Thy and Kunsthal Thy
The next day, a venture to SMK Thy, the new outpost of the National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst), which opened in the village of Doverodde last year, awaits. From Vorupør, it is a 30-minute drive inland to the banks of the Limfjord, passing dune plantations of Thy National Park. A 42-metre former grain silo from the 1960s towers over a collection of warehouses now hosting exhibitions such as "Living Landscapes" (until 18 October), featuring artists from Claude Lorrain to Edvard Munch and rising Danish stars like Rasmus Myrup. Inside, a winding steel staircase traverses three floors, rewarding visitors with remarkable views over the Limfjord. There is also a "Nature Village" with pavilions serving as bases for outdoor education, exploring nature, and kayaking.
It is hard to figure how the National Gallery ended up in this sleepy part of Jutland, but it is already proving popular with people who might otherwise feel disconnected from the collection in the Danish capital on the other side of the country.
Across the Limfjord is another notable destination for culture lovers—Kunsthal Thy gallery, set up in 2023 by artist Rasmus Søndergaard Johannsen in a barn on the medieval manor house estate of Boddum Bisgaard. Its programme features a roster of international and Danish avant-garde artists working in sculpture, video, and installations that feel unexpected in this quiet corner of Denmark, quite different from SMK Thy's efforts over the water to share its collection with a regional audience.
Growing Appeal of Cold Hawaii
It is that sense of the unexpected that lies at the heart of the region's growing appeal. Outdoor adventurers may be willing to swap classic Atlantic surf hubs like Biarritz in France or Ericeira in Portugal for a northern outpost dubbed Cold Hawaii—that and a certain understated Scandinavian style.
The trip was supported by Visit Denmark and Visit Nordvestkysten. Doubles at the Vorupør Badehotel start at £178 B&B. Several trains depart in the morning from Copenhagen central station to Sjørring in the Thy district, which connects to local buses run by Nordjyllands Trafikselskab. A ticket from the train company DSB covers transport from Copenhagen to Vorupør, including two trains and a bus, from 516 krone (around £60).
