This is a leisurely paced 6-day itinerary on how to see the Faroe Islands. It is also possible to do everything even in 5 days. If you are feeling more energetic and with better weather, you could definitely do more hikes, take the ferry to see more islands or add more places to see. We went to Faroe Islands in the last week of June 2022 squeezed between Norway and Iceland.
The Faroe Islands are a tiny archipelago located between Norway and Iceland. Despite the size, there is a lot to do here, from hiking, seeing waterfalls, to visiting ancient churches. And wherever you go in the archipelago, you’ll never escape the clutches of the sheep and geese. If you plan your Itinerary well, you’ll be able to enjoy the Faroe Islands to the fullest. Here’s what we did.
6 Day Itinerary
Here are things you can add to your itinerary:
1- Take the ferry to Mykines to see the puffins. The ferry runs between May 1 until August 31. It’ll be wise to book them early since they sell out fast. Plan this in the beginning of your trip since cancellations in and out of the islands are possible due to the weather. This will add a full day to your itinerary. You can book your tickets here.
One caveat worth mentioning is that the seas going to Mykines can be rough. If you are prone to seasickness, this might not be a trip for you. One of the locals went there on a trip and shared with us how he was throwing up during the ride. Either that or it can be your own sense of fun. Alternatively, you can also take the helicopter to the island. Since this helicopter is used to bring the locals and food supply, it doesn’t cost that much and seats only twelve. For this same reason, however, visitors are not recommended to take this option. You can book them here.
The Mykines Lighthouse is also a worthy visit and there used to be an amazing trail leading to it. Unfortunately, due to landslides, they permanently closed it last June 2022.
In our case, we saw puffins in Iceland. Check it out here!
2 – Another iconic spot in the Faroe Islands is the Mulafossur waterfalls in the town of Gasadalur. It is only 20 minutes from Vagar airport through a tunnel. The waterfall is an easy two minute walk from the village.
General Information
Weather
The weather in the Faroe Islands is highly unpredictable. One second it can be so foggy you can’t see one foot in front of you; on the other, the sun is shining golden rays on you. Sometimes, both combine to create nature’s flashbang!
Always take caution when driving in heavy fog. However, despite its northern latitude location, the weather is mild due to the influences of the North Atlantic current. Generally, the weather was foggy, windy, cloudy, rainy and cool when we went there last week of June. Always check the weather before you set out for the day in the Faroe Islands. For more up-to-date weather, check it here.
Language
The Faroe Islands, despite being a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, have their own language, Faroese, which is a mix of the language of Norway and Iceland.
Driving
The best way to see the islands is with a car. If you’re used to left-hand drive, driving here is a breeze. However, there are two things to be cautious of. The first one is fog. The fog here can be so thick that you can barely see in front of you. During times like these, you should slow down so that you don’t speed off a cliff and into the ocean unknowingly. The second one is sheep. Yes, you read that right – sheep. There are sheep on practically every single road in the Faroe Islands. If you hit a sheep that suddenly decides to cross the road (yes, they do this), you’ll have to call the Faroese Police to report it.
Dining and Others
When we visited, we stayed all 6 days in the capital of Torshavn and used it as a homebase. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from here. Having said this, we found it best to make reservations for dinner if you want to eat in a particular restaurant. However, fewer options become available the farther you move from the capital. If you want to make your own food, you can buy groceries from the supermarket “Bonus.”
Detailed 6 Day Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival, Kirkjubour
We arrived at Vagar Airport (FAE) and picked up our car from the rental company just outside the arrivals area. After checking in the hotel and eating dinner, the sun was still up because of the summer’s midnight sun. We decided to check out some nearby tourist spots, starting with Kirkjubour Village, which was only 17 minutes away from our hotel.
Kirkjubour village is very important to the Faroe Islands because it houses three important structures – the ruins of Magnus Cathedral, St Olav’s church and Kirkjubøargarður. The Magnus Cathedral was built in the 1300s and is the largest medieval building in the Faroe Islands. St Olav’s church, on the other hand, was built before 1200 which makes it the oldest church in the country. Kirkjubøargarður, an ancient home which dates back to the 11th century, is still inhabited until today. It is said that among other important things, the ‘Sheep Letter’ was written here, which dictated the breeding of sheep in the Faroe Islands.
After Kirkjubour village, we then proceeded to drive towards Oyggjarvegur, a scenic road leading to Fossa waterfalls. On the way up, however, the fog started to descend so fast that we had zero visibility in minutes! It also started to rain. We drove as far as we could but realized that things were not getting better, so we decided to turn back to the hotel. Flexibility is key to visiting the Faroe Islands, especially when it comes to the fog. We decided to call it a day and saved our energy for the next day.
There’s a beautiful story describing the fog in the Faroe Islands. It is worth your time to check it here.
Day 2: Explore Torshavn, Tjornuvik, and Saksun
Today, we started by exploring the capital city of the Faroe Islands – Torshavn. Our first stop was the city’s harbor.
A minute’s walk from the harbor is Torshavn Cathedral, established in 1788, one of the city’s biggest attractions.
A short walk from the cathedral is Tinganes, a small region inside Torshavn. This was the historic location of the Faroe Islands’ government, starting in the year 825. It is one of the oldest districts in the city and is still being used by some government officials until now. Tinganese means “parliament point” in Faroese. As early as the Viking period, general assemblies were held here, making it one of the oldest meeting places in the world! As time went on, with Norwegian and eventually Danish rule, not only did Torshavn become central to trading, but also it became the capital of the Faroe Islands.
We would go back here on our last day to spend more time wandering the alleys.
From here, we started to head to the northern part of Streymoy, the island where Torshavn is located.
We started to drive up the Oyggjarvegur Scenic Road again. We had better visibility today and eventually arrived at the beautiful Fossa Waterfall.
There are no designated parking spots to stop and see this waterfalls. Take care in choosing a safe spot along the road, especially when walking to see it from a closer distance.
Our next stop was the town of Tjornuvik, where you could see the sea stacks of the Giant (Risin) and the Witch (Kelling) from the shore. The name comes from a legend wherein the giants of Iceland wanted to take the Faroe Islands. A giant and a witch tried to steal them but got caught by the daylight in doing so and turned into stone.
You can also have a closer, different view of these stones from the coast of Eysturoy.
If the weather permits, you must take a 3-hour hike from Saksun To Tjornuvik. This is a hike that we regret not being able to do since it was raining and windy that day we were there. Apparently, this is one of the most beautiful hikes in the Faroe Islands! You will see lagoons and streams in the mountains, have a bird’s eye view of Tjornuvik coming from Saksun and also see lots of bird species along the trail.
After Tjornuvik, we drove to Saksun, a town located in a small bay accessible to small boats during high tide. During low tide, it is blocked in by a swath of sand. The town has 30 residents as of 2022. There is also a thatched roof church here built in 1858.
After visiting the town of Saksun, we started to drive back to Torshavn for dinner. On the drive back, we had many unplanned stops to say hello to the sheep. You can see the Faroese sheep everywhere, and their wools come in different colors. Our daily encounters with them were the highlights of our trip to the Faroe Islands.
Faroese sheep
Faroe Islands literally means “Sheep Islands” from the Old Norse Færeyja. The sheep outnumber the residents here by 7:5. They are essential to the Faroese people and their way of life.
We took our time in admiring the sheep during our daily encounters with them. Whether it’s the horned sheep or the black and white sheep, we made a lot of stops everywhere and anywhere we saw a variety we haven’t seen before.
Always remember to keep yourself safe by parking in a safe spot before admiring the sheep, especially with the visibility issues brought about by the fog.
When we arrived in Torshavn, we ate at Toscana and loved their tomato soup! We went here twice during our stay in Faroe. After dinner, we walked around Torshavn to admire the city’s murals, sculptures, artsy galleries and thatched roof cafes.
Tip: The restaurant choices here in Torshavn, compared to the rest of the islands, are plenty. However most of them are small and during the summer season, it is best that you make reservations in advance.
Day 3 - Visit Gjogv, Oyndarfjordur, and see the world's first underwater roundabout
We woke up and were pleased to see that the sun was out and shining today. Today is a road trip to see three small, yet charming, towns. But first, we’re going to pass through an impressive tunnel.
Eysturoy tunnel, or Eysturoyartunnilin, connects Streymoy and Eysturoy islands. This 11. 2km/6.9 miles two way tunnel is under the North Atlantic Ocean and is the world’s first underwater roundabout. Apparently, there’s also music composed for the drive going through the tunnel using sounds recorded during construction. The underwater roundabout on the way to Gjogv is also lit up with colors and decorated with an 80m-long sculpture steel ring of people doing the traditional Faroese dance.
Gjogv apparently means “gorge” in Faroese. When we arrived in town, we walked towards the 200m beautiful long gorge with a railroad track that leads out to sea. This track was used to shuttle the goods from the boat back to town when road transport was unreliable.
On either side of the gorge, there are trails that you can follow. The trail at the right side of the gorge leads to a lookout where you can see puffin nests on the left, towards the end of the gorge. Make sure you have a zoom lens to take photos of these awesome birds. Looking to your right of the viewpoint are majestic views of the North Atlantic Ocean.
The longer trail on the left side of the gorge, meanwhile, leads to scenic views from a higher vantage point.
Drone video of the gorge in Gjogv:
00:26 To the left ~ puffins and seagulls bird nests
00:31 To the left ~ a puffin entering the frame
00:40 Views that rival the beauty of the Waimea canyon in Hawaii
00:53 Town of Gjogv
From Ggjov, we drove to Elduvik, a town of 12 people. Elduvik is a small village in Eysturoy with a population of 12 split by the river Stora. There’s a legend here about Mermannil, a little merman who liked to tease fishermen. He would play with their hooks while they fish but one day, he got caught in one of them. The fisherman made a sign of the cross and this allowed him to bring Mermannil back to town. The fishermen would take him out to sea, make a sign of the cross, and they would return with a good catch. One day, they forgot to make this sign and he was able to escape. Ever since, they never saw him again.
From Elduvik, Oyndarfjordur was a quick drive.
After walking around for a bit, we went back to Torshavn for dinner and ate at the pizza-shawarma shop right across the harbor. We highly recommend it – good food and price!
Day 4: Drive to Vidoy, Bordoy, and Explore the Towns Within
When we woke up, the fog was terrible! Even at sea level, you couldn’t see far in front of you. We decided to not let the mist scare us, and we set out to explore the islands of Vidoy and Bordoy.
Our first stop was the town of Klaksvik, the second largest town in the Faroe Islands next to Torshavn known for its fishing and brewery. It was so rainy and foggy that we couldn’t see anything. We decided to refuel our car here instead and head out to Mula to see if the weather was better.
The drive to Mula was the most exciting of all our drives. First, we passed by a narrow one way tunnel, where we had to wait half an hour to enter. At one point, we actually wondered if the stoplight was broken! Inside, it felt like an eternity to drive through. We’ve driven through a lot of tunnels and this one was the scariest. Inside, the tunnel was narrow, low, and claustrophobia-inducing. It seemed endless and we were anxiously waiting to get out. At the end of it was thick, anxiety provoking fog, and we didn’t know where the road would lead. Thankfully, we saw valleys instead of a cliff after clearing the tunnel. Seeing sheep again also somehow comforted us.
As always, our sheep encounters turned our day into a memorable one.
In the rain and fog, the unpaved and narrow road to Mula remained thrilling, being a two-way road that could only fit one car. However, the main thing to watch out for is the sheep. With the place being abandoned since 2002, the sheep here are very brave and curious! One walked straight up to our car and blocked our way!
Historically, Faroe Islands’ most powerful “wizard” also lived here, and people from all over the archipelago came to him to ask for help.
We met a brave sheep on the way to Mula!
We drove back to Torshavn and spent the time walking the alleys of Tinganese.
Day 5: Hike Traelnippa Neaby Vagae and Drive to the Witch's Finger Viewpoint
As usual, we woke up to poor visibility with the morning fog. However, as is the case with Faroe Islands, the weather is different geographically despite its small size. We headed to hike Traelnippa and the Slave Cliff. To our surprise and elation, it was sunny in this region. This was the only hike we did in Faroe Islands and we were so glad we did it. We had the perfect weather and the trail was paved and well marked. We highly recommend this hike for its awesome views in various lookout points! There’s a tourist center right after the parking lot and you will have to pay a fee to enter. They will give you an orientation as to the various look out points to take. We were able to go to all three of them.
From the trail to Lake Sørvágsvatn, it was an easy drive to get to the Witch’s Finger. However, we got caught in the most entertaining traffic jam.
We would meet more characters on our way there…
When we drove to the viewpoint, we used a very narrow road that seemed to be on privately owned land so we drove slowly and were very cautious where we parked and didn’t stay long. On the drive back, we noticed that there was a spot at the beginning of the road where you can park and from there walk towards the view point. Unfortunately, there were no signs whatsoever. This would be a better option so you can stay in the viewpoint longer.
Similar to the sea stack in Tjornuvik, this “Witch’s Finger” also has a legend. One day, while a witch was trying to drag the Faroe Islands back to Iceland, the sun rose and caught it, turning it to stone and eventually sinking it to the bottom of the sea. She was so big, however, that her head and one of her fingers remained on the surface. The head is the island of Koltur and the finger is Trøllkonufingur.
We drove home to prepare for tomorrow’s flight. We thought we would miss all the sheep, but to our surprise, they were also in the following country we’d visit – Iceland! Check out how we went around the gorgeous country in 7 days here.
Day 6: Flight out home or your next destination
In our case, we flew to Iceland next.
Where we stayed in Faroe Islands:
We chose to stay at the Hilton in Torshavn for our whole trip in the Faroe Islands. Its location was very convenient not just with regards to the tourist spots but also to the grocery stores and the restaurants in Torshavn. The daily buffet breakfast, comfortable beds and nice bathrooms were also a plus for us.