While exploring the beautiful Faroe Islands, we met a lot of people who were only visiting the archipelago for a couple of days on their way to Iceland. Combining the two destinations surely makes for a nice trip, but you’ll really only be able to scratch the very surface of the Faroe Islands in such a short amount of time.
Stefanie and I spent almost three weeks there, thoroughly exploring 11 of the 18 islands. I’m aware that most people’s time is likely more limited, so I decided to combine our favourite spots into a well-rounded One-Week Itinerary, introducing you to all the top sights as well as some more remote locations on the islands.
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Guided Tours of the Faroe Islands
If you prefer to explore the Faroe Islands without the hassle of sorting out your own transport, accommodation and schedules, taking an organized tour might be the way to got for you. There are plenty of companies offering one-week tours of the Islands. Have a look below for some options.
The Perfect One-Week Itinerary for the Faroe Islands
Day 1: Tórshavn
Tórshavn proudly presents itself as one of the smallest capital cities in the world, but in my opinion, there’s enough to see to hold your interest for at least a day. Our favourite part of the city was Tinganes, the historical government quarter, consisting of beautiful red-painted wooden houses with traditional grass roofs.
Other cool things to check out are the National Museum, which includes an open-air section with traditional Farm Buildings, the amazing National Gallery sitting in the cute Skansen Park and the Nordic House Cultural Centre, which sports a unique organic architecture. Tórshavn is certainly one of the quaintest capitals we’ve ever come across.
See Also: A Great One-Day Itinerary for Tórshavn, the Quaint Capital of the Faroe Islands
- Budget Accommodation Tip: 62N Guesthouse Marknagil
- Midrange Accommodation Tip: Guesthouse at the Boat Harbour
- Luxury Accommodation Tip: Hotel Hafnia
Day 2: Streymoy
Tórshavn sits on Streymoy, the main island of the archipelago, and on the second day, you can use the capital as a base to explore the rest of the island. You could start your day with a hike from Tórshavn to nearby Kirkjubøur or take a car or bus, if the weather is bad for hiking.
The tiny village at the southwestern coast of Streymoy has plenty to offer: The historically important St. Olav’s Church, the atmospheric ruins of St. Magnus Cathedral as well as Kirkjubøargarður, a traditional homestead and the oldest continually inhabited wooden building in the world.
If you have a rental car (or are willing to hitch-hike), you could also make your way to tiny Saksun in the northern part of the island, which seems to spring straight from a fairytale with its scenic surroundings and beautiful grass-roofed houses.
Otherwise, take a bus to Vestmanna, where you can visit the small Saga Museum, detailing the Islands’ (often bloody) Myths and History, before taking a fun boat ride along the dramatic bird-cliffs, which are full of puffins, fulmars, guillemots and cormorants.
Day 3: Gjógv and Northern Eysturoy
On your third day, you should make your way to Eysturoy, the oddly-shaped island lying directly to the East of Streymoy. While the southern part of the island is full of small villages, the northern half is much more scenic, and I suggest you use quaint Gjógv as a base for your explorations.
Apart from the famous gorge, whose walls are populated by tons of cute puffins, we loved walking along the top of the tall sea cliffs as well as hiking into the pretty Ambadalur Valley (although you’ll have to look out for the super territorial Skuas, here – try to avoid their turf or be quick to duck when they come for you).
Gjógv is also a good base to tackle the climb to the top of Slættaratindur, the highest mountain on the islands, although the peak was shrouded in clouds when we were there, so we didn’t attempt the climb. If you’re in town on a Wednesday, you also have the opportunity to experience the unique Faroese Cultural Evening offered by the Gjaargardur Guesthouse.
With a buffet of local food, a musical performance by singer-songwriter Guðrið Hansdóttir and an introduction to traditional Faroese Chaindance, we found it to be the perfect initiation to the Islands’ Culture.
- Accommodation Tip: Gjaargardur Guesthouse
Day 4: Bordoy and Kalsoy
Continue east to the group of northern islands, which are collectively known as Nordoy. This was my favourite area on the archipelago. The islands are smaller and seem to rise out of the Ocean even more dramatically than the rest of the Faroe’s, if that’s even possible.
Kláksvik, the biggest town after Tórshavn, is centrally located on Borðoy and a good base to explore the area. There’s an impressive church, a couple of small museums (with very erratic opening times) and a few nice cafés and bars in town.
From Kláksvik you can take a ferry to nearby Kalsoy Island and then a bus to Trøllanes, from where you can hike to Kallur Lighthouse, which sits at the very northern tip of the island in a super dramatic and picturesque location.
The island is also home to the ‘Kiosk at the End of the World’ in Trøllanes (a good place for waffles and hot chocolate) and the famed statue of the Seal Woman in Mikladalur. Just keep in mind that buses are a little sporadic here, so plan accordingly, or you’ll be stranded on the island for the night.
- Midrange Accommodation Tip: Hotel Kláksvik (+298 455333) or Cozy Cottage
- Luxury Accommodation Tip: Panorama Boathouse
Day 5: Kunoy or Fugloy
If you’re up for a hike, you could make your way to the abandoned village of Skarð on Kunoy Island. The village has been in ruins since the early 20th century and is very atmospheric, but the hike is quite strenuous and requires crossing countless little streams and brooks.
If you do decide to go for it, keep your eyes peeled for Grey Seals in the Ocean – on our hike, we had an encounter with a seal chewing on a fish, who seemed just as interested in us than we were in him. If you’re not in the mood for hiking, you could also take a trip to remote Fugloy.
We found the perfect way to do this was to take the Post Boat from Hvannasund in the morning, disembarking in Hattarvík on Fugloy and then making your way to Kirkja (home to a tiny church and even tinier café), from where you can take a surprisingly cheap helicopter flight back to Kláksvik, allowing you to see the islands from a very different perspective.
Day 6: Vágar
For your final days on the Faroes, make your way to Vágar, the island lying to the West of Streymoy. A good base to explore this area is quaint Miðvágur, from where it’s just a short distance by foot to the serene Lake Sørvágsvatn, which contains a real-life optical illusion.
The island is also home to Bøur, which we found to be one of the cutest villages on the Islands, as well as Múlafossur – definitely the Faroe’s most picturesque waterfall in the tiny isolated hamlet of Gásadalur in the western part of the island.
The latter isn’t served by bus, so to reach it, you’ll either need to rent a car / hitch-hike or follow a very steep hiking path over the mountains. Try Giljanes Hostel in Miðvágur if you want to rent a cheap car for a few days.
- Budget Accommodation Tip: Giljanes Hostel
- Midrange Accommodation Tip: Guesthouse Hugo
- Luxury Accommodation Tip: Gásadalur Apartments
Day 7: Mykines
A visit to the small island of Mykines off Vágar’s western coast should be on every Faroe Islands Itinerary. We knew that Mykines nickname is “Bird Island”, but we were still absolutely blown away by the large number of cute puffins populating the cliffs in the western part of the island.
There are also plenty of other seabirds around, including lots of Fulmars and Guillemots. The island also has great opportunities for hiking and we found the view from the highest peak absolutely breathtaking (although you need to me lucky weather-wise, obviously).
Mykines can be reached by ferry from the village of Sørvágur in the western part of Vágar Island. It’s easy to visit it on a day trip from Miðvágur or even Tórshavn, as buses terminate just at the harbour in Sørvágur.
If the weather is stormy, the ferry service might be suspended, so if you want to make sure that your trip to Mykines will work out, you could also switch Day 6 and 7.
See Also: What to Know About Visting the Puffins on Mykines, Faroe Islands
Longer Stays on the Faroe Islands
If, like us, you want to explore the islands more in-depth, it really pays to stay 2 or even 3 weeks. First of all, that would allow you to also visit the southern islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy.
On our trip, we had to skip the latter, but very much enjoyed exploring the cute villages and wacky sights of Sandoy – including the Knitted Stone near Sandur and the biggest letterbox in the world in Skopun.
You could also visit some of the smaller islands, like Nolsoy, which can easily be reached by boat from Tórshavn. It has a cute main village and the hike to the Lighthouse at the southern tip of the island is pretty easy, but still very scenic.
Finally, you could explore the other islands more thoroughly by spending an extra day or two in the places mentioned in the one-week itinerary. For instance, we found the villages of Haldórsvík and Tjørnuvík on Streymoy worth checking out.
On Eysturoy you could visit cute Fuglafjørður Village, Eiði – from where you can see the famous Risin og Kellingin Rock formation off the coast – as well as the remains of an excavated Viking Longhouse in tiny Leirvík.
A Two-Week Itinerary for the Faroe Islands
If you’ve got 2 weeks, I’d suggest the following itinerary. This is assuming you arrive by plane on Vágar – otherwise you could also switch the days on Vágar and Streymoy:
- Day 1: Vágar (Gásadalur, Sørvágsvatn and Miðvágur)
- Day 2: Mykines (Visit the Puffins and climb Knúkur)
- Day 3: Northern Eysturoy (Visit Gjógv and do the Ambadalur Hike)
- Day 4: Northern Eysturoy (Eiði Village and Slaettaratindur)
- Day 5: Central and Southern Eysturoy (Fuglafjørður, Leirvík)
- Day 6: Bordoy (Kláksvik Town and Klakkur Hike)
- Day 7: Fugloy (Go there by Post Boat and return to Kláksvik by Helicopter)
- Day 8: Kunoy (Kunoy Village and Skarð)
- Day 9: Kalsoy (Trøllanes, Kallur Lighthouse and Mikladalur)
- Day 10: Travel to Sandoy
- Day 11: Sandoy (Skopun, Sandur, Skálavik and Húsavik)
- Day 12: Streymoy (Kirkjubøur, Saksun, Vestmanna)
- Day 13: Nolsoy
- Day 14: Tórshavn
See Also
Backpacking the Faroe Islands on a Budget – The Ultimate Guide
How to Reach the Faroe Islands by Ferry from Denmark and Iceland