The Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands are a group of islands in between Iceland and Scotland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are autonomous, have their own currency and language. The islands look like they’ve been smashed out of the ocean: the cliffs are amazing. It makes a great opportunity for hiking.

Do many people visit the Faroe Islands? It was 60.000 people in 2019, so you decide. The number one cornerstone point of the Faroe Islands tourism mission is “Quality over quantity” and I couldn’t agree more with that. I went there with a friend in August 2018. That means that I was there during high season, however on many occasions we were pretty much by ourselves when hiking. If you go off season and with a bit of luck you’ll be all by yourself on the trail.

Another point the Faroe Islands tourism mission statement makes is to promote tourism in all the islands. It’s justified and certainly worth your while to visit all or at least as many as possible. The Faroese arranged transportation very well. Even though some islands are very inaccessible due their high cliffs, there is still transportation.

One of the reasons being that the helicopter service is subsidised by the government. The helicopter is never overbooked in case of emergency. You have to be a bit lucky because reservations open up only 7 days before the flight and sometimes even only 3 days. I believe Faroe nationals can book earlier, so it could be possible that the flights are already full once they open up. We tried to book 4 different flights, we managed to make reservations for 3. Due to weather conditions we were able to fly twice.

So what’s the best way to see the Faroe Islands? Do all the different ways! I would recommend a rental car to be flexible to get to all the points of interest and hiking starting points. Try to get a flight with the helicopter and book a boat tour.

What to see? See everything! Part of the fun is traveling between the islands, they all offer beautiful spots. I recommend at least 8 days to get a good impression. Below is a map of the places we visited, some of them are points you simply may not miss on your visit.

We came in by air. It’s also possible to come here by boat. A lot of cruise ships headed for Iceland hold a short stay in the Faroe Islands. We had to do a lot of flying, coming from Amsterdam, with a transfer in Kopenhagen, Denmark.

If you have the choice, and I’m not getting paid to say this, pick Atlantic Airways as your carrier and not SAS. During the transfer in Kopenhagen, probably something went wrong with the luggage and when we arrived in the Faroe Islands our luggage wasn’t there. We hurried to fill out the paperwork with SAS, our insurance policies and quickly got our rental car from the pickup point. Then we called the only outdoor shop on the island in Torshavn to beg them to stay open for a bit longer so we could buy hiking shoes. We really needed those because we came here for hiking. Two hours later we got a call from the airport: SAS competitor Atlantic Airways brought our luggage with them for free.

We stayed the night in Sørvágur. From here leaves the boat to Mykines or we would be close to the airport to catch the helicopter. Unfortunately we could not get a reservation for the helicopter this morning. Luckily we managed to get one for the flight back from Mykines to Vágar. That meant that we had some time before taking the boat to view the north of Vágar.

We headed up to Gasadalur. This village is probably one of the most photographed villages in the world. And rightfully so. It did not disappoint at all. You can walk down a trail to get a good view of the waterfall and the village.

Later in the morning we caught the boat to Mykines. We were a little disappointed we couldn’t go by helicopter yet, but the boat made up for it by taking the touristic route. Along the way you get a good chance to see the roughness of the Faroe Islands and beautiful rock formations, like an arch standing in the water.

The island of Mykines was one of the highlights for me personally and one of the reasons to go. You can take a walk to the west peak of the island. When walking towards the west, on the left you see a grassy slope and on the right there’s an almost 90 degrees cliff.

The national bird of the Faroe Islands fares well here. You can get really close to the Puffins. Of course you shouldn’t disturb them but when you lie or sit quietly in the grass they will continue with their hunt for fishes.

After a long and intensive photo shoot of these cute birds it was time to return to Vágar. This time by helicopter. My friend Sven van Roij is a professional aviation photojournalist, that’s why we were allowed to stand closer, of course not inside the ring of blue lights.

I’m not sure it was a part of the regular flight, but the pilots flew around the edge of the island so we could also get an aerial view of Mykines. From here you can truly see how many birds call Mykines their home.

Before we came to the Faroe Islands, Sven managed to arrange a tour at the hangar and the possibility to accompany one of the training flights of the pilots. Here we got an extra aerial tour of Vágar island, so I was very lucky I could tag along. Together with an interview he published this in magazine Air International.

In the hangar we could inspect the helicopters, there are two, one is mainly used for passenger flights and the second one is always on standby and  equipped like an ambulance. These helicopters are vital for the safety of the people in the Faroe Islands.

On our “private tour” we fly over the city of Sørvágur and we circle around Sørvágsvatn. From the air we can see the Bøsdalafossur waterfall fall from the lake in the ocean. This lake is also very famous and often pictured, dubbed the “floating lake”. We return here on foot on our last day.

Fairly long drive we had to do today. We went to the island of Kalsoy, particularly to the northern tip of the long stretched island where you can find the Trøllanes mountain. The only way to get here is to take the ferry from Klaksvík. Driving in the Faroe islands is not a punishment at all, plenty of beautiful sights to see. You will be able to practice your parking skills when they put you really tight to other cars on the ferry.

After driving through single lane traffic tunnels you park at the north of the island. First you have to walk through some fields and then you go uphill towards the Kallur lighthouse at the northern tip of Kalsoy. The views here are amazing. Do watch your step here!

Another fun fact about the island of Kalsoy is that it was used in shooting the 2020 James Bond movie “No Time To Die”.

For the end of this day I have to make another compliment to the public transportation services of the Faroe Islands. We wanted to take the second-to-last ferry out of Kalsoy island, the last one would be 2 hours after ours. Because it was busier than expected, the ferry was full. Instead of waiting for two hours, the ferry came back immediately to pick up the last 5 to 10 cars. Kudos!

This evening we stay with Elsebeth and Jon (referral link). In the communal kitchen we strike a conversation with Jon and another guest. When the subject changes to whaling, Jon offers us some. I accept. It takes a while to defrost. We continue while having a beer. Jon tells me it’s a long standing tradition.

You won’t find a lot of whale in the restaurants, most of it is divided by the few participating villages. Your stake and role in the hunt decides what amount of the catch you get. Part of the catch also goes to elderly inhabitants who cannot participate. Jon shows us the knife which is used to kill the pilot whales. As long as the hunt is for food and not trophy, fun or waste I have no objections.

The whale arrives. The Faroe people eat all the parts of the whale, that includes the blubber. Traditionally it is served as whale meat, whale blubber, boiled potatoes and dried whitefish. I try a sample of the dried whale and the blubber. It tastes a bit like jerky. No, I prefer whale steak, but I’m glad for haven gotten the opportunity to try it.

On the island of Eysturoy we’re going to visit Gjogv, in the north of the island. It’s a little village with a beautiful little harbour. When we were there, there was an open air concert which we could enjoy for a little moment. In front of the village you can walk down on the rocks close to the ocean and see the island of Kalsoy in the distance.

On the side of Streymoy facing Eysturoy there’s a nice waterfall called Fossá. It’s a multi storied waterfall. Located right next to the road it’s very easy to find and to get a bit closer too. If you want to get higher up you can hike around to the right side, but this path is a bit dangerous and not many people walk it. The views on the second platform so to say are not really better than from below. When we were there, there was a married couple taking marriage pictures next to the waterfall. It must mean something that the Faroe people also think this spot is beautiful.

Saksun is about as north on the island as Fossá. Unfortunately there’s no direct connection, you first have to drive to the south to take a different road back up to the north to Saksun again. Or should I say fortunately? You drive through a beautiful valley with some nice rivers along the route. For us it was cloudy, but maybe that’s always because they valley is locked in between two mountain ridges.

Very few people seem to live in the village of Saskun. It’s at the end of those two mountain ridges. At the end of the valley there’s a lake which is fed by multiple streams and waterfalls. Saksun seems more like an open air museum, many of the houses here are still of old Scandinavian building style. Complete with grass roofs.

For us there was no rush to Tórshavn. It’s the capital and once you’re in the Faroe Islands you should pay a visit, but there’s not that much to see. We took our time to get there because there are two major roads into Tórshavn, one coastal and one through a valley. We took them both to enjoy the landscape.

When in the capital take a stroll through the city center. In the harbour there’s a small open air museum with traditional Scandinavian houses. Close to these is also the parliament building. All the shops sell Puffin related souvenirs.

In the afternoon we were going to visit our last island: Suðuroy. We managed to make a booking on the helicopter for this day. Unfortunately the weather conditions were too harsh for it to fly. Last minute we had to rush to the ferry to arrange passage to Suðuroy. The pro of this was that we could take our car to Suðuroy.

First we explore the north of the island. We drive all the way up to Sandvík. At the beach we make a stop, to see Litla Dimun. It’s the smallest of the Faroe Islands. Nobody lives there but sometimes festivities are held there.

Right next to the beach on a parking spot we see a man with reflective gear and ear protection guarding some crates. At first we think nothing of it. Once we’re planning on continuing our route, Sven says “listen”. I listen but I have no clue what’s going on. We spot the helicopter coming our way. It’s coming from Stora Dimun.

Stora Dimun is one of the smallest of the islands, only one family lives there. There’s cliffs all around so the only way to get there is by helicopter. The crates turn out to be supply and fuel for Stora Dimun. This is a real treat for Sven. We’re lucky that we’re at the right time at the right moment. We grab our camera’s and ask the ground officer how close we may get for pictures.

Three pick ups and a whole lot of pictures later we continue our trip. We’re going to do a small hike towards a viewing point called Ásmundarstakkur. The first part up the hill is quite steep. With rain this would be a very slippery track. On some points there is rope to hold on to. On the last part there’s a tiny bridge which you can cross to reach the last part of the hike. For this bridge there’s a warning sign: “100 kg max, use at your own risk.” The views we see make it worth our while once again.

We drive around the island. Now to the south. The most southern tip of the island, Akraberg, has some beautiful cliffs. There’s an old lighthouse and some remains of bunkers used by the British during WWII. When you look even more to the south you can see the treacherous rocks in the sea, creating dangerous conditions for ships. According to legends, Akraberg used to be a Frisian (what is now The Netherlands) colony.

Of course we wanted to try the helicopter again. But our car was on this island, we had to fix that problem. After a single phone call to the ferry company that problem was fixed. They could ship the car for us, no problem. We just had to leave the car and the keys there and we could pick it up on the other side. Once again I have to give my compliments to the Faroe Islands public transportation services.

Even more amazing for us was that other passengers had to go to Stora Dimun and to Skúvoy. This meant that we made two stops in between and we could see another two islands from the air!

We have returned to the island of Streymoy. From the city of Vestmanna various boat sightseeing tours operate. It can be called a bird cliffs tour or a Puffin tour. You are able to see some Puffins here, but not from up close or when they’re fishing or in flight. The best Puffin spotting is done on Mykines.

Still, you do need to take one of these tours because you will see beautiful rock formations and the cliffs of the Faroe Islands. If the sea’s not too rough and you’re lucky you will go through some sort of sea cave.

As you can see we made sure we were the first ones on the boat to grab the best spots for taking pictures with nobody in front. Because the boat goes on the north side of the islands, there can be a chilly wind, so be sure to dress warm.

Along the route you will also see some very steep patches of grass. They look really inaccessible but there’s still sheep on them, which are also owned by a farmer. Most sheep have very steady feet, but some of them get lost to the sea. There also was a rock formation dubbed the “Elephant Rock”, sort of similar to one we have seen in Saudi Arabia.

We return to Vágar, where the airport is. There’s still time for one more hike before we have to catch our plane in the afternoon. From our helicopter tour we saw Sørvágsvatn from the sky. Now we walk to the viewpoint on the southern tip of Vágar. This is yet another of the famous pictures from the Faroe Islands.

From the southernmost viewing point you can see the ocean in front and right behind it a lake. Because of this the lake has gotten the nickname of the floating lake.

Afterwards we return to the airport to fly back home. The plane that was supposed to provide our connection to Amsterdam had technical issues. Our luck with getting in and out of the Faroe Islands was incredibly bad. However, our time in the Faroe Islands is one to never forget.

This trip was made in 2018.

If you have any thoughts or questions feel free to leave a comment!

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