Gate-side grab at Terminal 3
Five minutes from most SAS check-in counters in Terminal 3, WHSmith is the standard last-minute stop for magazines, snacks, and basic travel gear. It sits landside, before security, so you can pick things up even if you’re meeting someone or arriving by train at the CPH station under T3.
Expect typical airport pricing: a 0.5L bottle of water runs around 20–25 DKK, and chocolate bars land in the 15–25 DKK range. There’s a solid rack of international newspapers and English-language magazines, plus Scandinavian titles that actually stock today’s date, not yesterday’s.
For food, the shelves lean hard on grab-and-go: packaged sandwiches, crisps, Haribo, and energy bars. Coffee comes from a basic machine rather than a barista setup, so treat it as backup if the nearby espresso spots in Terminal 3 have crazy queues or close early around 21:00.
You’ll also find small travel extras: EU‑spec power adapters, phone cables, and simple headphones under 200 DKK, which can save a flight if something died or got left on the train from København H. Stationery, pens, and basic kids’ activity books are here too, useful on the Kastrup–US long-hauls.
Card and contactless payments work smoothly, and receipts print in seconds, so a 3–5 minute in-and-out stop is realistic even around the 07:00 morning rush. One practical move: grab water and reading material here before security if your long-haul leaves from a bus gate in T3, where options thin out fast.