Oyster Safari Tour on Midtjylland’s Limfjord in Denmark

An Oyster Safari in Denmark! I had no idea what that meant until I actually went on one myself. We visited the beautiful Limjord in Midtjylland to have a truly unique experience with Danish food. At least, my husband did since he is the one who loves oysters, and dare I say that Denmark is the best country for oyster!?! I felt it seemed like a typical Danish thing to do, so I was excited to give it a try. Come along and see what oyster picking in Denmark is all about on this very fun, day out in Denmark!

During the first weekend of April, we decided to try something that we have never done before: an oyster safari in Denmark. This was something that my husband had wanted to do for quite some time, but since he was the only one who liked oysters, it was a bit of a hard sell for the rest of us. I have to say that I really am glad that we decided to do this tour. It really turned out to be a fantastic day with great, Danish weather and fun memories.

This is a sponsored post. We want to thank the Jyllandsakvariet for hosting us during the Oyster Safari in the Limfjord in Denmark. This post may also use affiliate links. Please see the Disclaimer and Disclosure page for details.

When are there oyster tours in Denmark?

I have been told that oyster tours happen during months that have an R in them. This means that from September to April, you can normally book a tour on either Denmark’s west coast (Vestkysten) or the beautiful Limjord area of Denmark. The Limfjord is a very popular destination for Danes and even Germans during all times of the year, and it is a perfect place in Jutland, Denmark to find an oyster beach on any of your weekend trips in Denmark.

Are you looking for a great place to camp on the Limfjord in Denmark? Check out Hjarbæk Fjord Camping!

Where to find oysters in the wild in Denmark?

I have heard that there are other oyster tours in the southwestern part of Denmark, but we choose to go to an area that is one of our favorite places in Denmark, the Limfjord. Also, since we live in Midtjylland, or Central Demark, the thought of staying closer to home was very appealing. We were glad to have found the Jyllandsakariet (Jutland’s aquarium) that was just a few hours drive to the west. They had a fantastic program for their three-hour tour that we thought would be perfect for us.

Booking this tour is quite easy to do online. Head over to Jyllandsakvariet to see when they have tours available. However, the actual meeting spot for this tour is not on the west coast, but in Oddersund, Denmark. The waters in the Limfjord are much calmer than what you will find on the west coast, which can also be a bonus for those who are a bit unsure how they feel about water!

Staying in Thyborøn and Driving to Oddersund

Since we decided to stay in Thyborøn to see the fun Jyllandsakvariet and Iskunsten, we had to drive 45 minutes along the Limfjord to reach Oddersund, Denmark and meet with the safari group. In all fairness, we didn’t need to go to the Jyllandsakvariet first, but since we had heard it was such an amazing aquarium, we really wanted to make a weekend out it. We spent the entire weekend in Thyborøn at the Thyborøn Camping, Hotel and Cabins (Hytteby) and saw the sights of Thyborøn. It was a great little getaway!

Picturesque Danish, Fishing Town: Thyborøn

Thyborøn is a nice little, fishing town with some great food, beautiful beaches and fun, family activities. Though just attending the safari would have been much closer to our house, we really enjoyed the little getaway we experienced during our oyster safari weekend. The entire tour lasted three hours.

If you would like to learn more about what we did during our time in Thyborøn, check out this POST!

Drive to Oddersund from Thyborøn

Murphy’s Law is always a part of life with kids, so we, of course, planned to arrive a few minutes late because one of our kids left his coat in the cabin. We realized this about 15 minutes after leaving Thyborøn, so we had to turn around and drive back to get it.

Luckily for us, there wasn’t much traffic along the route to Oddersund Harbor, so we weren’t that late. In fact, we arrived just as a long line of other cars was arriving. This was perfect, since we were so worried that our unexpected situation would really offset the rest of the day. We were all glad that that wasn’t the case.

What to Expect on an Oyster Safari in Denmark

We approached the group of people who were also getting out of their cars at the same time. Two workers from the Jyllandsakvariet, Christian and Polle, were there to greet us. Christian told us about the two types of oysters that we would be looking for and what the process would be like. It was a relief to have experts tell us exactly how to find oysters at the beach. I had no clue otherwise.

Getting our Oyster Harvesting Tools and Starting the Oyster Tour

The Jyllandsakvariet was the group, that hosted the oyster safari, and they had a really great program. They had rubber waders for all of those going on the tour, and some oyster harvesting tools. These tools included metal net scoopers on long sticks and plastic buckets for the oysters we would find. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, we started to make the short walk to the perfect spot at the harbor to start our search for oysters.

I have to admit that I had never worn waders before. Therefore, it took the 10-minute walk to get used to them. It was also a weird, yet fun experience going into the water and NOT getting wet. It was quite unbelievable. We decided to take a metal net on a pole for each of us, but we only took two buckets for our group of four. Since my husband was the only person who actually like to eat oysters, there was no reason for us to find too many.

Check out what we recommend to see on Denmark’s northwestern coast in Nordjylland and the Nationalpark Thy!

Hunting for oysters on Denmark’s Limfjord

My younger son and I started to find many larger oysters and place them in our bucket. My husband and older son were so far ahead of us that we decided that it might be best to stay as two separate pairs. They were faster with longer legs. We had no chance at keeping up with them.

The hour that we were separated seemed to fly by. It was during the last half hour of our time out in the waters of the Limfjord that we decided to look through our buckets of oysters to see which we would keep and which we would put back. We even found some smaller oysters that we thought would be best to keep instead of some of the larger ones we first found. Smaller oysters weren’t as heavy, and we had to carry the buckets back. That was a bit of a task!

Finding more than oysters on our oyster tour

Just before we were done with the hunt, the boys noticed that one of them had caught a small fish in his metal net, while the other brother had found a very cool four-legged starfish. After about an hour and a half of looking for oysters in the beautiful sunshine and the cool temperature of 7 degrees Celsius, we were ready to head back to the meeting point.

How to shuck oysters and grill them

Once we arrived back where we started, Christian showed us how to open both types of oysters with a special knife. He demonstrated that the knife needed to be placed at the “butt” of the oyster, which seemed to be the round part instead of the oval part. With a slight back and forth motion with the knife, we were able to open many oysters.

They also had a table set with some things that we could put on the oysters before placing them on the grill.

Oyster tours are great when the weather is nice…and when there is wine!

The experience was a lot of fun. Our boys love to be outside, so this was a perfect activity for us. We were proud that they even tried to taste an oyster, but we were very glad that we hadn’t tried this activity before. We think our children would have been too young if we would have tried it before.

One thing that is great for families on the Limfjord is the Struer (B & O) Museum in Struer, Denmark!

In all honesty, we could have waited to do the oyster safari until they were older. When the glasses of sparkling wine came out and eager Danes started to dress their oysters with onions, cheese, hot sauce, etc., my boys did a mental check out. They did, however, enjoy the soda pop that was offered to them. Thanks for thinking of them too, Jyllandsakvariet!

The safari seemed to cease being something for them. That seemed to be fine with them, and they entertained themselves on the beach for the remaining hour. I have to think that this might not have been so easy for us if they were smaller, though. My husband was happy to eat all the oysters he wanted, and I was happy for a nice glass of wine!

Oyster Safari is great for adults, but not especially the best for kids

It was a bit interesting to see that my children were the only ones on the trip. I was told by the Jyllandsakvariet that this type of tour wasn’t something advertised for children. Perhaps it is because many children don’t like to eat oysters. I can understand this. I don’t like to eat oysters either, but perhaps, I can also see other reasons why this type of tour might be better suited for teenagers and adults.

First, the waters that we were walking in were shallow for the most part, but my boys did find themselves in waters that went well above their belly button. It was a bit worrisome for me thinking that they would get water inside their waders from the top, but it worked out with them staying dry. This could also be that my boys either very close to my height if not taller!

Also, the temperature for oyster picking is always cool/cold since it occurs during the cooler months. A couple of hours of this could become uncomfortable for younger children. The other thing that comes to mind is the eating part. My boys were eager to try to open the oysters at first, but after struggling to accomplish the task, they started to look around the coast for other things to do. Smaller children with shorter attention spans might make this type of trip difficult for the parents.

These reasons are mainly why I wouldn’t recommend this experience for children under the age of 10 or even 12.

If you want family fun in nature on the Limfjord, take a Hiking Trip to the Island of Fur in Denmark!

Overall Thoughts about Doing an Oyster Safari in Denmark

Overall, I really enjoyed the oyster safari that was hosted by the Jyllandsakvariet, and I know that my family would agree! We had never done anything like this before, and even though, I don’t like oysters, I do like my husband who was eager to have this experience. It was nice that we were able to share this special “bucket list” day with him.

If you are an adult, a couple or a group that is eager to try something new and love oysters, this would be the perfect experience for you. Normally, I write about things that would be great for families, and this is no different. It is just not something I would recommend for families with smaller children. Do yourself a favor and wait a few years. Then, you can all enjoy it as a fun tween/teenager activity.

We would definitely try this tour again when the boys are older. Maybe by then, they will like oysters! If not, I’m sure they will still enjoy looking for them. That part was fun!

Getting in Touch with the Jyllandsakvariet

Website: www.jyllandsakvariet.dk

Address: Vesterhavsgade 16, 7680 Thyborøn, Denmark

Telephone: +45 97 83 28 08

Email: info@jyllandsakvariet.dk

Events and Tours: https://jyllandsakvariet.dk/en/events/eventprogram/

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