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Denmark DenmarkIsland

Ærø

87.0 km² of land in Denmark.

When to go

Ærø seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
MarstalÆrøskøbing
N 2 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

87.0km²

Area

94km

Coastline

64m

Highest point

6,170

People

18°C

Warmest sea

August

16km

To the mainland

When to go to Ærø

Best to visit from July to August.

The sea is warmest in August (18 °C) and coolest in February (2 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Danish Baltic Sea island

Ærø is an island in Denmark. It covers 87.0 km², with 94 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 64 m. About 6,170 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 16 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Sønderborg Airport (SGD)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 36 km in a straight lineCar hire at BLL airport (Billund)Discover Cars · Affiliate link
  • FerriesSvendborg - Ærøskøbing, Birkholmposten, Søby - Fynshav, Søby - Faaborg
  • 16 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Ærø.

  • 11beachesNevre Strand, Ærøskøbing Strand and 9 more
  • 4viewpointsVoderup Klint and 3 more
  • 3lighthousesVejsnæs Nakke, Skjoldnæs Fyr
  • 4ferry terminalsMarstal Færgehavn, Søby Havn and 2 more
  • 8marinasMarstal Havkajakcenter, Marstal Lystbådehavn, Kleven Havn and 5 more
  • 1castles and fortsSøbygård
  • 17ruins and archaeological sitesGrønnemosehøj, Brynkehøj, Langedyss and 14 more
  • 7waymarked walking routesEuropean long distance path E6 - part Denmark, Øhavsstien 7: Marstal - Ærøskøbing - Søby, Sporet ved Gråsten Nor and 4 more
  • 12campsitesAutocamperpladsen ved Skjoldnæs Fyr, Marstal Havn Autocamperplads, Kleven Havn Teltplads and 9 more
  • 21hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 32restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Ærø in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Ærø, each with its own numbers.

  • 2mountainsPeakyas

2 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Vorbjerg
  2. Synneshøj

Open Peakyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 20 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 97 %0–50 m
  • 3 %50–200 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Ærø87 km²
Santorini76 km²
Malta247 km²

10 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Marstal1,989 people
  • Ærøskøbing935 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)3351015182020171284
Night low (°C)0014913151613952
Sea (°C)323511151818161294
Rain (mm)594842344866727756656061
Wet days13111081012131412141414
Sun h/day0.41.74.77.28.38.67.96.75.52.90.80.1
Wind (km/h)262523202020192022242526

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020+2.9+3.1+2.7+3.2+0.7+1.2±0.0+1.2+1.5+1.2+1.9+2.3
2021+1.7±0.0+0.7+1.2−0.7+1.4+2.5±0.0+0.9+1.1+1.5+2.1
2022+1.8+2.6+2.3+2.6+1.4+0.3−0.4+1.1+0.8+1.1+2.1+1.8
2023+3.0+1.9+1.7+2.1±0.0+1.5−0.4−0.8+2.1+1.6+1.0+1.1
2024+0.9+1.9+1.9+2.5+2.0+0.4+0.2+0.7+1.5+0.8+1.4+2.5
2025+2.2+1.2+1.8+3.8+2.0+0.1+0.7−0.1+1.2+0.9+1.2+2.4

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Gyden, Ærøskøbing
Erik Christensen · CC BY-SA 3.0
Aero 110802 Panorama 1
Aconcagua ( talk ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
MF ÆrøXpressen.1
Erik Christensen · CC BY-SA 4.0
Marstal Ærø
Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q27150) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsPeakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit