In the last five years the Faroe Islands has had a 10 percent increase in tourism each year. They are in the beginning stages of navigating how to welcome people on their remote soil where generations are used to having the mountains to themselves, and how to control how many people they want to welcome to this untouched land. Some locals are capitalizing on the burst of income opportunities. On the plane I was greeted by a local newspaper featuring a farmer (who rents his land from the government for free) standing on a popular hiking path charging hikers to cross that point which leads to a black sand beach.
You won’t find navigation signs or menus offered in English. But everyone knows English and we didn’t mind asking for help. Some people were willing to help. Some people made it apparent that welcoming tourists may not be the popular opinion. These observations are part of the fun about visiting a destination that is not yet fully discovered by tourists.
Overall we found our time on Faroe Islands to be magically beautiful, relaxed and just what I was looking for in taking my family to a remote land. We rented a passenger van with big windows to minimize carsickness as we drove around the islands. There are 18 islands and many are connected by sub-sea tunnels. It was a pleasant experience to drive there. There is a spotty public transportation system that would work fine for backpackers. For families with higher needs, we think renting a car was a must. We stayed in a harbor town called Vestmanna. When I booked our trip two weeks in advance the available Airbnb options were limited. It was a great place for us to stay. It was off the beaten path. We had wonderful views of the harbor. The house was three bedrooms and brand new to the Airbnb market. We had an outdoor balcony and it was spacious enough to do yoga! 
As soon as we knew we were going to Faroe Islands I booked a boat tour to Mykines island to see the puffin birds. It departed from the harbor we could see from our kitchen table. There was one restaurant where the boat departed and one cafe in town. We ate at both and also went to the grocery store to make a taco night at home plus pack lunches for our day trips around the islands. The girls mistakenly chose licorice ice-cream at the store when they thought the photo was mint. We laughed about that when everyone got an unexpected taste. There was also a sweet little yarn shop and cafe where we bought handmade wool socks and had cake and coffee served to us in the grandma’s kitchen cafe. The cake was actually thin waffles you layer with whip cream and jam and fold like a sandwich. The girls remembered the treat from our visit to Norway and knew just how to eat them. This local gem was a highlight of our stay in Vestmanna. 
Mykines Island has 80 people living there in the summertime. Now days they get 300 tourists a day to see the puffin birds perched on the cliffs of the island. This season some locals got together and started making hotdogs, cakes and coffee and selling it out of a makeshift cafe. The day we were there the fish soup was sold out but they told us they were making a fresh batch – that would be ready the next day. They are definitely on island time. There are no hotels. They do have one public bathroom where you can also fill up your water bottle. The tap water on the Faroe Islands is amazing! The night before our day long boat trip to the island I got an email saying the boat might no be able to make it to the islands due to rough seas. The “skipper” would decide about the voyage in them morning. The wind outside our Airbnb was howling like a winter storm was brewing in, and the neighbor’s sheep were actively saying baa. All the public ferry tickets to get to the island were sold out when we booked our trip. The only other way to the island is by helicopter but those book up fast as well and are mostly reserved for locals in need of transportation. We showed up at the dock at 11:00 and the news was the boat will go out and test the waters to see how far we can get. I doled out the Dramamine and we got on the boat. It holds 36 people. Six decided to get a refund and replan their day. Not us. We were going to see those puffin birds! And we made it! Then the skipper left us and said he would be back in five hours to pick us up. And he did.
We must have taken 500 photos in five hours. Here’s a select few from that amazing experience.
The next day we hiked to Saksun beach. It was a perfect, flat hike for us where we could take as long as we wanted. The girls enjoyed the wide open spaces to run and climb on rocks. EK collected a pocket full of sea glass and the black sand beach was amazing.
Next we drove a scenic drive to the city of Gjogv, where we had beautiful views of the island Kolsoy. That island is known for hikers hiking to Kullar lighthouse. We decided not to do that because we would have needed to take a car ferry with our car to get there. Space is limited on the ferries and locals have priority, as they should. We would have to get inline 1-2 hours before the ferry departed to ensure we got a spot. The kids were not onboard with this plan of a lot of waiting, and a very long day to hike a narrow ridge to a lighthouse. There is nothing else on the island. I was game. But with EK in tow I was a bit nervous about her unpredictability regarding getting tired and being a safe listener because the narrow ridge is a cliff on both sides. And as you can see from the Where’s Waldo picture above of Lydia scaling the waterfall, my girls need wider open spaces to run. Maybe in a couple years we’ll go back. We settled for views of Kolsoy island from safer ground at Gjogv where we enjoyed a cafe and ice-cream. But first, everywhere we drove had scenes like this. You can’t help but stop and look. 
On our last full day the girls wanted to visit the capital city of Torshavn. We had lunch on the harbor, visited a bookstore/toy store that was like a real life Nova Natural catalog of amazing natural toys. We also shopped a secondhand shop and scored four handmade sweaters for $65.
Next we visited Kirkjubour which is Faroe Island’s oldest village, an old church and a 900 year old house that is still in the same family. One half is open to the public. Someone still lived in the other half and even had their laundry out to dry that day.
Our Florida beach souls made one last stop to put our toes in a sunny (but cold) beach.
We felt like we got a good overall view of Faroe Islands for what our crew was capable of accomplishing. For the extreme hikers the options are unlimited. If you are a planner, I suggest you book ahead and use guides booked through the Faroe Islands tourist website. I personally think it’s the direction the country is steering tourists to go in, in order to control the amount of people coming to their home and preserve it’s pristine, untouched beauty.
Our fly by the seat of our pants plan worked out, this time. But finding a car to rent was tricky. The demand is high and the quantities are low. We spent more on our rental car than we did on our Airbnb. So if you go, be prepared to spend a lot on a car rental. We had heard Faroe Islands is the most expensive place to visit in Europe. But the way we went about it, we did not feel that way. Some people book all private tours and I can see it being expensive that way. But when you go to local cafe’s where the menu and the scrabble game are in Faroese, you pay fair prices. Finding the balance of tourism planning and getting off the beaten path is the key to visiting the Faroe Islands. Grab a sense of adventure and wonder through the secondhand shop for sweaters. Farewell Faroe Islands. We’ll be back!
Here’s a link list to each post from our Scandinavian Trip
2o Countries in 20 Years, Adventures for Six
Here’s a link list to each post from our Scandinavian Trip
2o Countries in 20 Years, Adventures for Six
Absolutely adore following your stories and photos. You would be a suburb travel writer. Never give up. Hang those degrees, honor-certificates and scholarship you earned 20 years ago back on the wall! Inspiration! Time to get back into your first talen now that girls are growing up. From a writing teacher’s perspective and a participant in a summer national writing wotkshop, you have an immense talent not to be wasted. Loved all the photos too. Yes Mam, you are gifted. Love these thoroughly descriptive blogs. ❤️🖊📓😍
Rebecca, your pics are beautiful and I have enjoyed following your adventures. Ever heard of Faroe Islands. Now I want to go there. You need to be on the tourist board!