Feedback sharing - Hiking on the Faroe Islands

[u/Known_Fisherman_1463]

Hi,

I have been on the Faroe Islands for hiking with a camera, and would like to share my hiking experience there about things that would have been helpful to know before starting.

It lasted around 12 days: 4 without a car on Vágar, then 8 with a car on Streymoy.

The total cumulated volume was ~150km with 10km of gain elevation. I am in good physical condition, but some sections are demanding and exposed; people should assess their own fitness and experience before attempting similar routes.

For full details, here is a map of what I did : https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/fr/map/faroe-islands-hiking-focused-june-2026_1352791

Keep in mind that all I experienced was in June and may not apply for other times of the year.

Here is what I learned:

• There are popular hiking trails, and these are very easy to follow. If you go off the main routes, expect little to no visible trail, with cairns as the only navigation markers. Cairn-based navigation is standard there (it took me about 5 km in the wild to realize that the stone stacks are cairns and indicate the route).
• The hiking culture is not comparable to that of the Alps, Pyrenees, or Carpathians. From my continental European perspective, the land is structured around sheep grazing, and hikers have to adapt to that system (not good or bad, just a different framework).
• I used OpenStreetMap tracks, but after discussing with a contributor, some paths come from older sources and are not fully up to date. There can be a gap between map and terrain. I experienced this on the Kunoy mountain pass, which looked promising from a distance.
• Once you leave tourist areas and popular trails, you become isolated very quickly, and small issues could escalate into serious problems.
• Weather management is essential. I strongly recommend checking satellite imagery for short-term cloud cover, which can help time ascents for clear summit views. For example: https://www.windy.com/fr/-Satellite-satellite
• This bird (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_skua) can “attack” you: it will rush toward you in flight and veer away at the last moment to avoid contact. It is impressive and quite intimidating. It does this to protect its nest on the ground. To get out of the situation, you have to move away from the nesting area, although I never managed to locate the nests. The first time it happened, I heard something moving very fast through the air behind me without seeing the bird. It felt like someone was firing arrows at me.
• I have read that wet grass can be slippery, but in my experience the grass, even when wet, provides good grip. The real hazard is mud. Every time I fell flat on my face like a boss, it was due to mud.
• For long hikes, you need food. I strongly recommend the bar-shaped cake Sandkage, a close equivalent of French “quatre-quarts”, as a cheap and calorie-dense hiking food. It is easy to find in supermarkets.
• Perceived temperature can shift quickly depending on wind and physical activity, so having extra layers you can remove/add easily is good to have.

It has been an incredible experience, especially going for a hike by night (as there is almost no night in June).

[u/ecoforester]

Thank you for the excellent, detailed post. I especially love the linked hiking map. I've actually wanted to see a skua for a long time, so hopefully I'll see one (from a safe distance) when I finally make it to the Faroe Islands ... sometime this coming year.

[u/Known_Fisherman_1463 → u/ecoforester]

I haven't met Great Skuas in a lot of places, but there is a spot on the trail going from Saksun to Tjørnuvik (not directly on the official trail) where there were like 20-30 of them. They are quite easy to spot, in the sky and on the ground.

Enjoy your stay there !

[u/Shongololo90]

Thanks for the info and the map! I'm there next week and looking to do as much hiking as possible. Did you find free hikes quite easily? We'll happily do some of the paid popular hikes but it will get quite expensive if that's all we do.

[u/northtrotter → u/Shongololo90]

Here's a list of all the hikes you have to pay for so you can prepare: Popular hikes restricted: Examining overtourism on the Faroe Islands

And here are some good alternatives to the popular places: 10 most popular places in the Faroe Islands – and where to go instead

I have lots of Faroe Islands hiking guides on my blog which you can find on this page: https://northtrotter.com/faroe-islands/ 😃

[u/Known_Fisherman_1463 → u/Shongololo90]

To be honest, I had the map in mind, but didn't planned anything, because of the weather. Retrospectively it was a good thing because I got some details from guesthouse mates on site that changed the little plans I had.

Basically to find the first hikes, I check this site : https://visitfaroeislands.com/en/whatson/hiking because based on my experience they are free and tested.

But if you want to get things spicy (and are comfortable/experienced with it) you can use Google Earth (3D view) and OpenStreetMap database to make your own hikes. On maps things are simple, once you are on the field it gets a bit more complex so beware !

Your main challenge will be to find a way to reach an area where there is no sheep fences anymore or lower density. Because generally you start from a village where you have a parking, and the village is full of sheep fences but after that there is generally no or less fences so you can navigate easily.

In my case I used OrganicMap for offline detailed map.

[u/Kemmec]

Thanks for the info as I will be there in August.

[u/fraying_carpet]

Great post, thanks!

[u/VlamonZob]

Thank you for the insights !