Faring well in the Faroe Islands

March 20, 2018 5:17 PM

Metafilter! Have you been to the Faroe Islands? Do you live in the Faroe Islands? Help me plan my trip for this July!

I’m planning to spend some time in the Faroe Islands this mid-July (in conjunction with a trip to Iceland). What shouldn’t I miss while I’m in the Faroe Islands? I am trying to decide whether to stay a brief time, maybe three days, or longer — a week?

I’m considering taking the ferry Norröna to the Faroes either to or from Iceland. (No car.) I love ships and would bring anti-nausea meds. Anything else I need to consider? I have to admit, the North Atlantic is a bit intimidating. Are my safety concerns unfounded?

What should I do while in the Faroe Islands? I’m considering a helicopter trip, bird-cliff tour, a musical cave boating trip, and some hiking in as-yet-undecided locations. Is it worth renting a car or am I okay sticking to public transit, ferries, and helicopters like I’d prefer to?

Interests: nature, natural history, human history, architecture, bird-cliffs, kayaking (I’m an adventurous beginner and I worry the Faroese kayaking situation might be too advanced?), knitting and fiber arts generally, maritime, art, folk music.

Challenges: I have a serious, no-cross-contamination gluten/dairy intolerance and will be (hopefully) accompanied by my awesome friend who is vegan. I assume we’ll be self-catering out of the grocery store / our private granola bar stash most of the time, but I would like to try some local delicacies if possible. I’m also recuperating from a serious tib-fib compound fracture last Thanksgiving, but expecting to be recovered enough by that point to not have serious limitations on my hiking.

Thank you!

posted by cnidaria to Travel & Transportation around Faroe Islands (10 answers total)

Best answer: Possibly of interest—Bizarre Foods Faroe Islands episode

The thing that piqued my curiosity was the host's claim: In the windswept village of Gásadalur, the turnips come out of the ground tasting like pears. I kid you not! which he said was a consequence of some sort of terroir effect. So if you're able to try a turnip, come back to this thread and let us know if they really taste like pears!
posted by XMLicious at 5:29 PM on March 20, 2018 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Traditional Faroese food is not one of the world's great cuisines, consisting as it does of air dried mutton, dried fish and boiled potatoes. The few towns I visited had nice cafés which might accommodate vegans but if you are in the remote areas (which I do recommend) you should stock up on groceries in advance as the nearest shop might be a long drive away.

I recommend renting a car. Buses etc may come only once a day to many places and taxis are rare and expensive as one might expect. It can also be very cold and wet (I was there in July) and standing for hours at a bus stop is no fun. I didn't get a car when I visited and regretted it.

All that said, it's absolutely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to and the hiking is beautiful. Beware the giant skua which nest at this time and you may not realise you're close to one until an immense bird dive bombs you.

I would stay more than three days. The capital is very nice and worth a day or two but the further you go the more magical it will feel.
posted by tavegyl at 5:59 PM on March 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Oh and an unspoken recommendation underlying what I've written above is not to feel you need to rely only on tours. We stayed in Gjógv for a few nights, for instance and there was no one else there at the time but it made a beautiful base for hiking and travelling around the area by ourselves, while the guesthouse management were very helpful about local hikes etc.
posted by tavegyl at 6:08 PM on March 20, 2018

Best answer: If you're up for a bit of fine dining there is KOKS restaurant there....I've not been to the Faroe Islands but my friends went and also dined here at my suggestion (I read about it on a blog) and said it was one of the best meals they ever had. I don't know about dietary accommodation (you might have to contact and ask) but they use locally sourced ingredients ( including the grass and moss on the island!)
posted by sprezzy at 6:08 PM on March 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Oh, and I should say — I like music generally, not just folk music.
posted by cnidaria at 6:09 PM on March 20, 2018

Best answer: Oh yes, Koks was very good and actually managed to make the fermented air dried mutton tasty (which it certainly wasn't in the more traditional way of eating it in little chunks). Sushi in Torshavn was also fantastic. I strongly recommend taking some bento boxes on any hikes you do from the city (there is a lovely walk to Kirkjubøur, for example)
posted by tavegyl at 6:19 PM on March 20, 2018

Best answer: A heads up that on the faroes you can only rent manual cars, but cars are def the way to go... Buses rarely stop more than once a day... Otherwise the hiking is great, but definitely on the cool/ rainy side. I have never seen that many waterfalls in my life and it was truly soul calming. i self catered since there aren't that many food options, and stayed in an Airbnb.

Bring rain gear and waterproof hiking boots or galoshes. The weather can be very... Variable.
posted by larthegreat at 7:16 PM on March 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I went to the Faroes a few years back. It's beautiful and amazing and also very small with very little to do. We spent 2 full days with a car and that was plenty of time. If you're in to hiking and chilling you could spend a week exploring a lot more, it is amazingly beautiful, but so so small. FWIW we took a plane.

Koks was indeed great. Write ahead and explain your dietary restrictions, it's possible they can accomodate you. My experience was there were a few restaurants in Torshavn and pretty much little or nothing else anywhere in the islands. There are a few small inns that will serve a simple meal. I imagine your diet requirements will make dining out difficult and would plan to have backup supplies with you anywhere outside Torshavn.

There's a nice small Faroes subreddit where the most frequently asked question is "what should we do when we visit?" Spend some time searching there and you'll learn a lot.
posted by Nelson at 7:22 PM on March 20, 2018

Best answer: FYI if you're moderately adventuresome, hitchhiking is probably quite easy on the Faroe Islands except when there aren't any cars at all passing. In general, islands and other small, semi-closed communities are often quite easy and lovely to hitchhike on--nothing like bigger places where urbanity and modernism have come hand in hand with a(n often rightful) distrust of strangers. You'll hear interesting, funny stories from charming folks and probably get picked up by someone with their kids in the car, or their grandmother. It's really worth it if you won't be able to rent a car for the whole stretch.
posted by tapir-whorf at 10:09 PM on March 20, 2018

Best answer: Hello! I have been to the Faroes a number of times for work, so mostly in Torshavn, but I did hire a car with a few friends and we explored for a few days which was great. I have just come back from a meeting with four Faroese colleagues too ! I would nth hiring a car if possible. You can get a bus to Torshavn from the airport/ports - you could stay there for a few days (very walkable, and the city buses are FREE) and then hire a car from Torshavn when you need it. The Faroes are a great place to visit and are undergoing a renaissance with more young people staying on the island, an expansion of the university, more places to stay/restaurants/pubs/music etc.

Driving - there are tunnels between the islands which are quite long. The further east you go the smaller the tunnels get - some are not lit and only have passing places but they are pretty quiet and not too bad once you get used to them.

Food/allergies - most places in the Faroes were quite accommodating a few years ago for a big group of us with various food requirements. KOK is wonderful, as mentioned, but pretty pricey. Most places to eat are pretty expensive along similar lines to Denmark/Norway (but cheaper than Iceland!). You cannot buy alcohol except in the official shop which has restricted opening hours. Most Faroese friends of mine buy beer and wine (or whatever your choice if if you drink) at the duty free when arriving in case you have that in mind. There are not a huge number of places to buy food, especially out of Torshavn, but again, there should be a decent selection of gluten free at the supermarket in Torshavn.

Accomodation - there has been a big increase in the number of hotels/airbnb available. When we explored, we stayed in Torshavn but seems like there are lots of other options available now. Bear in mind that if you airbnb in a small village there may not be a shop.

Attractions - Vestmanna bird cliffs were AMAZING. it was foggy, but the boat tour was great, and so atmospheric. I think this is the tour we too - link. Also, if the weather is bad, the wax musem was quite fun! We went as a group as part of our conference to an old farmhouse and church which was really cool too. Hiking, we kind of winged - i.e. drove out east, found some paths, wandered around, but I understand the tourist info place in Torshavn can advise now and there are a few trails. Tourist info generally very helpful from past experience.

Make sure to bring full waterproofs and warm clothes - although when I was last there (September?) i got sunburned - so you never know! I hope you have a great time - the scenery is amazing, and the culture and friendliness of the locals really stood out.
posted by sedimentary_deer at 12:46 AM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]