The Faroe Islands: eighteen rocks in the North Atlantic

It’s 4:47 a.m. on the cliff above Saksun — a tiny village of grass-roofed cottages on the island of Streymoy in the Faroe Islands — and the sky is doing what northern summer skies do: not quite night, not quite morning, the colour of the inside of an oyster shell. A puffin lands on a tuft of grass three metres away. It looks at me. I look at it. It flies off. The village below — twelve people live here permanently — is silent. The fjord beyond it is glassy. This is the Faroe Islands, and at this hour it is one of the strangest, most quietly beautiful places I have ever stood.

Why I keep coming back

The Faroe Islands are an autonomous Danish region of 18 small islands in the North Atlantic, midway between Iceland and Norway. The total population is 54,000; the largest town, Tórshavn, has 22,000 people. The islands are connected by a combination of road tunnels (including spectacular subsea tunnels), bridges, and small ferries.

The geography is dramatic — sheer basalt cliffs rising 700 m from the sea, fjord-cut coastlines, sea stacks, grass-roofed houses on tiny coves. The weather is reliably terrible (or, occasionally, briefly spectacular), and the saying ‘if you don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes’ is more literally true here than anywhere else I have been.

Where to base yourself

Tórshavn — The capital, on Streymoy. Walking distance to the cathedral, the small harbour, and the cluster of small restaurants. A useful central base.

Vágar — The island with the airport; the famous Múlafossur waterfall (which falls directly into the ocean from a cliff at Gásadalur village) is here; Mykines (the puffin island) is a ferry away.

Northern islands (Eysturoy, Borðoy, Kunoy) — Smaller villages, fewer tourists, accessed by tunnel or ferry.

What to actually do

Visit Mykines for the puffins. The westernmost inhabited Faroese island; the puffin breeding ground (May–August), with thousands of birds nesting in the cliff burrows. Day trip by ferry from Sørvágur. The 2-hour hike to the lighthouse at the western tip is the classic.

Walk to Múlafossur waterfall. The famous waterfall that falls directly off a cliff into the Atlantic. The village of Gásadalur, accessed by a road tunnel from Sørvágur, is a 20-minute walk from the falls viewpoint.

Walk the Sørvágsvatn lake. The lake that, in the famous photograph, appears to be suspended high above the ocean (an optical illusion of perspective). 2-hour return hike from the road.

Visit the Saksun fjord. The grass-roofed village at the head of a sandy-bottomed fjord; the iconic Faroe photograph. Walk on the tidal mudflats at low tide.

Drive the island of Eysturoy. The second-largest island; Funningur fjord, Gjógv (a small village with a natural gorge harbour), the climb to Slættaratindur (the islands’ highest peak at 880 m).

Eat at one of the Michelin-starred restaurants. The Faroes have, surprisingly, two Michelin-starred restaurants in Tórshavn — KOKS (now operating in Greenland with a Faroese identity) and Ræst for the ræst fermented-lamb tradition.

Where to eat

Faroese food is heavily based on seafood (cod, halibut, mackerel), lamb (the iconic Faroese sheep that range freely on the steep grass slopes), and ræst — the traditional wind-dried, slightly fermented meat. The fermented food can be challenging for visitors.

Ræst (Tórshavn) — Modernised traditional fermented food. Áarstova (Tórshavn) — Refined Faroese in a historic building. Barbara Fish House — Reliable seafood. Heima í Stovuni (the ‘Home in the Sitting Room’) — A genuine family-host meal in a Faroese home; needs booking; an extraordinary experience.

When to come

June through August for the long northern summer days, the puffin season, the most accessible hiking.

May and September are shoulder; potential for clearer weather, fewer crowds.

October through April is the dark, stormy, windswept off-season; some accommodations close; ferries are seasonal.

Practical notes

• Visa: The Faroe Islands use Danish-Schengen rules; 90 days in 180 visa-free for most Western passports.
• Money: Danish krone (or Faroese krona, same value). Card universally.
• Transport: Most travellers rent a car at the Vágar airport. Some inter-island transfer uses helicopter (a particularly Faroese thing — government-subsidised helicopter service between the small islands; book ahead). Ferries are reliable.
• Weather: Layer up. The weather changes in 15 minutes. Wind, rain, fog, sun — all in one day, frequently.
• The whaling: The Faroes have an ongoing tradition of pilot-whale hunts (the grindadráp) that periodically draws international protest. Visitors are unlikely to witness one but the cultural complexity is worth being aware of.
• Cost: Expensive — Nordic prices.

A final thought

The Faroe Islands are one of the strangest and most quietly beautiful places I have travelled. The combination of the geographic drama, the small-village fishing-and-sheep culture, and the genuinely difficult weather produces a destination that is, in 2026, still well below tourism saturation.

A 5–7 day trip lets you see the major islands and walk the iconic landscapes. The light, particularly in the long northern summer evenings, is among the most beautiful on earth — a low-angle gold that lasts for hours. The puffins, in season, are within metres of you on Mykines.

Go in summer. Rent a car. Walk slowly. Wait for the weather. Accept that you will be rained on. The islands are eighteen rocks in the North Atlantic and, for the patient visitor, one of the most distinct travel experiences in Europe.