A week in the remote, rugged, and stunning Faroe Islands gives you enough time to see the highlights and explore the unique archipelago. Could you spend more time there? Absolutely. But it’s not a particularly affordable destination, and you can see and do a lot with a one-week itinerary in the Faroe Islands. There are 18 islands to explore, and you can reach most points of interest by car in an hour or two.
If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a detailed one-week itinerary in the Faroe Islands to help you plan your adventure!
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Follow this 1-week itinerary in the Faroe Islands
Here’s my recommended 1-week itinerary in the Faroe Islands. Beyond Day 2 you can pretty much choose to order the days how you wish. It’s such a small region that most things are day-trip-able from the capital city of Torshavn! Because it’s sitting in the middle of the Atlantic, the weather can be pretty volatile. You should try to stay flexible so you can adapt your plans to whatever the Norse gods have in store for you.
Day 1 - Arriving in the Faroe Islands
You’ll land at Vágar Airport — probably after a long journey with a layover in Reykjavik or Copenhagen. Make sure you rent a car, as this is really the only way to get around the Faroe Islands if you want to see the good stuff! I use DiscoverCars to find good deals.
If you arrive in time for lunch (especially if it’s before you can check-in), drive over to Fiskastykkið, about 15 minutes from the airport. It serves up traditional Faroese food (very fish-focused) in a cozy wooden boat shed. On the way there, you will drive past the Bónus, my favourite grocery store in the world because of its wonky mascot.
Sørvágur is about a 10-minute drive from the airport and is the best place to stay when you arrive in the Faroe Islands. It’s a very very tiny little town, but it doesn’t feel like it’s next to the airport at all and offers a good opportunity to relax and settle in. We stayed in these charming little cottages that overlook the inlet/fjord.
Note: If you don’t make it to the Bónus, there’s also a smaller grocery store in Sørvágur where you can stock up on hiking snacks and essentials.
After lunch, head out to see Múlafossur. This is an incredible way to kick off your journey in the Faroe Islands because it’s one of the most iconic waterfalls in the region. Gásadalur is a teeny tiny village that sits just above the falls. Can you imagine living here? There are a couple cute and very Faroese cabins if you’d prefer to sleep here rather than Sørvágur, but it’s more rural and there’s nothing else to do except see the falls and admire the landscape.
If your flight arrives in the evening, you can safely cut out Múlafossur and do that first thing in the morning. It’s only a 15-minute drive from Sørvágur!
Day 2 - Trælanípa & Tórshavn (A must for any itinerary in the Faroe Islands!)
If you didn’t have time to go to Múlafossur yesterday, start your morning with a drive out there. Seriously, this is not to be missed!
Then put on your hiking boots and get ready for what must be the most famous hike in all of the Faroes. It has a bunch of names, but if you look up Trælanípa, Slave Cliff, Lake Above the Ocean, or Bosadalafossur, you’ll find it. This trail leads to the lake above the sea where you’ll get epic views of the rugged coastline this area is famous for. Here’s my Insta post to get you hyped.
It takes about 2 hours, but you could easily spend an hour just taking it all in once you get to the edge of the cliffs. It’s also an unreasonably expensive activity at 200 DKK (about $30 USD) per person. The hike has a low 3.9-star rating on Google because so many people complain about the price! But trust me, it’s worth it.
Drive 40 minutes to Torshavn (pronounced tor-soun), the capital city and the best place to base yourself for the rest of the week. Wander around the waterfront and stop for a coffee in Kaffihúsið to enjoy the patio if the weather is nice. Book a table at Katrina Christiansen on a Sunday for a traditional Faroese feast!
Where to stay in Torshavn
If you can find/afford a hotel that’s walkable to the main part of town, definitely do that. We stayed pretty far up the hill at Hotel Føroyar which was architecturally beautiful and had some amazing views, but we had to drive every time we wanted to visit the town. However, the spa, included breakfast, and free 5 pm gin and tonic every night in the lobby bar were definitely highlights.
- The Hilton Gardens: Another unique hotel with Faroese architecture and great views, but it’s far from the town. A good option if you’re a hardcore Hilton points collector!
- Havgrim Seaside Hotel: Great location with views that are pretty hard to beat.
- Hotel Hafnia: Central location with boutique-style trendy rooms. Very Instagrammable.
- Airbnbs: Your best bet if you’re on a budget is to find a room in a house.
Day 3 - Saksun & dinner at Ræst
Enjoy the scenic drive up to Saksun, a picture-perfect Faroese town with a handful of stone, thatch-roofed homes. It’s poised beautifully on a lake fed by a waterfall cascading down from the surrounding mountains. There’s a small graveyard behind the church, and you have to look for the gravestone marks the resting place of this one couple. They lived into their 90s and died one day apart. Carved into the stone is “Takk fyri alt,” or “Thanks for everything.”
You can walk past the lake and down to the beach, which takes a couple hours for the return trip. Unfortunately, there’s a charge for access to this path. You enter through a strangely modern metal gateway complete with a turnstile that unlocks once you’ve paid 75 DKK ($10 USD)… via the tap-enabled debit machine. I didn’t even have cell service out here, yet somehow had to make a virtual payment to access the beach. It was a nice walk, but you could comfortably skip this without any regrets.
Head back to Tórshavn and get ready for one of the most unique and beautiful meals of your life. Be sure to book your table at Michelin-starred Ræst well in advance. If you’re a picky eater this style of dining won’t be for you, but if you go in with an open mind, I guarantee you’ll love it. Nearly everything served on this multi-course tasting menu is fermented, and they even have a choice between a wine or kombucha pairing. This was one of my top favourite experiences throughout our itinerary in the Faroe Islands.
Day 4 - Hvannasund Boat
Drive one hour out to Hvannasund and hop on the passenger/cargo ferry out to the more remote islands. You have a few options here.
Hvannasund will connect you to the villages of Svinoy, Kirkja, and Hattarvik. Many of the Faroe Islands are connected by bridge or tunnel, but these towns are only accessible by boat or helicopter. The boat is incredibly affordable, and cost us just 40 DKK ($6 USD) per person! You can either stay on the boat for the full round trip and call it a nice scenic journey, or explore one of the towns.
If you choose to hop out, you need to make sure you either have a helicopter booked back or can catch the return ferry. It does not always come around automatically, you sometimes need to call to make sure they’ll come back for you. Check the schedule to determine whether you need to call.
We organized to get out at Svinoy and catch a public transport helicopter back later that day. It was a whole thing (a very cool thing), and I cover how you can do this in the article linked above.
Shaggy sheep seem to roam free and some even followed us along our rocky coastal walk. There are also some hiking trails, primarily the route to Skoragjógv, but otherwise there isn’t a lot to do in Svinoy. Visiting any of these three island villages is just a great way to experience more local life.
Day 5 - Klaksvik
Drive 45 minutes from Torshavn to the second-largest city of Klaksvik. I hope you’re ready for another hike! Klakkur is a short but pretty challenging steep, muddy hike up to an epic viewpoint. From the peak, you can see several neighbouring islands and the strangely aesthetic salmon farms. On your way back, you’ll look down over Klaksvik.
Reward yourself with a drink at Friða Kaffihús, or pick up some öl (beer) from Föroya Bjar, the region’s main brewery. It’s attached to Einar’s Distillery, which you can take a tour of if you book in advance. Trying a Faroese beer should definitely be on your itinerary in the Faroe Islands whether you have time to get one here or somewhere else!
Day 6 - Kalsoy
Kalsoy is another island that isn’t connected by bridge or tunnel. The only way there is to catch the car ferry — they don’t even have a helicopter! I’ll be honest, if you have to skip one day of activities, you could drop this one. It’s beautiful, but it’s a bit of a mission to get out there. It requires organization, good timing, and a fair amount of waiting around.
The reward? Another charming village, Mikladalur. It sits atop a cliff with a waterfall running through it, and is home to some interesting folklore about a seal woman. The boat ride and drive out there is, of course, absolutely stunning.
Day 7 - Fossá & Vestmanna
Start your morning at the Vestmanna Cliffs. There are several boat tours per day and the total trip only takes about 90 minutes. You’ll sail up close to cliffs where tens of thousands of seabirds are nesting, including puffins! The boat feels pretty big, but the skilled captain took us right into these narrow caverns to get a good look. We also had to wear helmets to avoid falling rocks in some portions lol.
Next, head to Fossá. It’s the tallest waterfall in the Faroe Islands and the second-most epic, in my humble opinion. (Only behind Múlsafossur!) It’s on the opposite side of the island from Vestmanna and you have to backtrack a bit to get there, but all-in-all it’s a very short drive.
Things to do in Torshavn for your itinerary in the Faroe Islands
If you haven’t been yet, make sure you visit the National Museum in Tórshavn before you wrap up your itinerary in the Faroe Islands. There’s also this cute outdoor escape game that didn’t exist when I was there, but it looks fun and it’s super cheap! If you don’t care about money, there’s a cool sailing excursion on an old boat that leaves from the Torshavn harbour.
BONUS: Mykines
This is a bonus because you can only fit it into your one-week itinerary in the Faroe Islands if you visit between May and August. Well, sort of. I’ll briefly take you through your two options.
- Visiting between May and August: There are several ferry departures every day of the week, making it possible to do a day trip. Alternatively, you can go as part of a tour.
- Visiting between September and April: You’ll have to book a helicopter one-way (you cannot book a return) and a boat the other direction. And you have to hope the volatile weather is good enough for those modes of transport to run. The helicopter only runs on certain days of the week, and you can only book it one week in advance, so it requires a lot of planning and a bit of luck. It’s not uncommon for the weather to turn, which could strand you on the island and affect the rest of your planned itinerary in the Faroe Islands. To be honest, I don’t recommend this.
