Faroe Islands travel guide

The Faroe Islands may be breathtakingly beautiful but they’re still relatively undiscovered. This Faroe Islands travel guide unravels some of the mysteries, giving you a taste of the best hiking, biking and bird watching on these North Atlantic islands and pointing you in the direction of top cultural highlights too, from some of the highest cliffs in Europe to beguiling capital city, Tórshavn.

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Faroe Islands travel guide

If wild landscapes, bracing sea breezes and cosy, turf-roofed villages are your style, then the Faroe Islands should be your next Nordic adventure. Originally settled by Celtic Christian Monks and Norwegian Vikings in the ninth and 10th centuries, this archipelago of 18 rugged islands, halfway between Iceland and Scotland’s Shetland Islands, may officially be part of the Kingdom of Denmark, but it has a character all of its own. Whipped by the fierce winds of the North Atlantic and home to a population of just under 50,000 people – who are far outnumbered by sheep and seabirds – it has its own language, parliament and flag, as well as a fierce sense of national pride.

You’ll see grass-roofed wooden houses everywhere in the islands, from pint-sized seaside villages to the buzzing capital city of Tórshavn.

The Faroe Islands are built for outdoor adventures. Coastal hiking trails offer dizzying sea views, climbers scale mountainous landscapes straight out of Middle Earth and boats take visitors beneath soaring volcanic cliffs to view colonies of nesting seabirds. But these islands have a modern, creative streak, too, and are home to a forward thinking foodie scene, a thriving artistic community and a handful of vibrant summer festivals. For the moment the islands are untouched by mass tourism, but get there quickly – they’re unlikely to remain under the radar for long.

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Faroe Islands are….

a chance to get back to nature, with untamed landscapes and fantastic hiking trails.

Faroe Islands aren’t…

for sunseekers. It’s cloudy and windy with a healthy dose of rainfall.

Things to do in the Faroe Islands…

The Faroe Islands is made for outdoor activities: horse riding, climbing, sea kayaking, sailing, fishing and wild swimming are all on the cards, but even more accessible are walking and cycling. Hikers could choose to trek from Tórshavn to Kirkjubøur to see the oldest church in the Faroe Islands or make the steep, 2km ascent to Slættaratindur, the islands’ tallest peak at 880m. Cyclists, meanwhile, can make use of the archipelago’s excellent roads, whose smooth surfaces and low-volume traffic make for an easy, breezy bicycling experience, allowing you to soak up the landscape and spot wildlife that you might otherwise miss in the car. The Faroe Islands is a brilliant destination for birders. The environment is perfect for migratory birds, who come here to breed and nest during the summer months. The tiny island of Mykines becomes home to millions of birds over the summer, including puffins, sparrows, storm petrels, gannets, guillemots and the national bird of the Faroes, the oyster catcher. Easier to reach are the Vestmanna bird cliffs. A short boat ride from the capital city, they offer the chance to gaze up at thousands of birds from the water below. Driving in the Faroes is about more than just getting around, it’s a highlight in itself, and self drive tours are a great way to explore on a week-long trip. Sweeping roads hug the cliffs and mountains, showing off the fjords and green landscape to their best, and the excellent infrastructure of beautifully paved roads and undersea tunnels means you can cover plenty of ground without the need for a 4WD.

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Things not to do in Faroe Islands…

Art and music are flourishing here so don’t forget to explore the creative side of the islands. Capital city Tórshavn may be small but it has a symphony orchestra and a smattering of excellent design shops, museums and galleries, including the striking modern National Gallery, which shows off local artwork, and Nordic House, where you can take in music, dance and theatre performances and well as and art exhibitions. The Faroese love their festivals and summer sees several foodie and cultural events, including the outdoor G! Festival, which attracts thousands of people from home and abroad to the diminutive village of Gøta to listen to rock music and chill out in hot tubs on the beach. Faroese cuisine has generated plenty of column inches over the past few years and with good reason, so don’t miss out on the local food. Meat and seafood are big news here and traditional dishes include skerpikjot (wind-dried lamb) and roestur fiskur (wind-dried fish). For a memorable dining experience, you can pay to eat in a local home – a practice called heimablídni, or ‘home hospitality’ – but you can also try out one of the capital’s fine dining restaurants or make for the Faroe Islands first Michelin-starred eatery, KOKS, located in the village of Kirkjubøur. The weather in the Faroe Islands is notoriously unpredictable so don’t forget your waterproofs. You don’t know what’s in store for you on any given day, though cloud, rain and wind are probably on the agenda. Pack sunglasses and sun cream, rain gear, layers, hats, gloves and a good pair of hiking boots. And try to be a little flexible when it comes to planning – ferries and helicopters can get postponed in bad weather.

Faroe Islands travel guide