Ferry to Fanø

The ferry to Fanø sails from Esbjerg and arrives in Nordby with a crossing time of approximately 12 minutes.

There are three ferries: the Fenja and Menja ferries with diesel engines, and the new electric ferry called Grotte. The latter can be recognized by its green lines and dragons on the sides. The ferry’s decoration symbolizes Fanø, which hosts the world’s largest kite festival, and, of course, makes reference to the wind that produces the power for Grotte to sail.

The name Grotte, like the names of the two existing Fanø ferries, is derived from Norse mythology. In that mythology, there were two giant maidens, Fenja and Menja, who possessed enormous strength. They were slaves to King Frode, who forced them to grind gold on their mill called Grotte. When the Sea King Mysingen, who traded in salt, defeated King Frode one day, he took the two giant maidens with him and forced them to grind salt on the mill instead. Legend has it that Grotte is located somewhere on the seabed, continuing to grind salt, which is why the water in the sea is so salty.