Faroe Islands self drive tour
Description of Faroe Islands self drive tour
Explore the Faroe Islands on this fascinating 8 day fly-drive tour. The tour offers you the chance to explore the beautiful Faroe Islands, home to luscious green mountains, towering cliffs and many a welcoming smile.The emphasis for this tour will be on the islands’ scrumptious cuisine allowing you to sample traditional dishes as well as their more modern counterparts. As an isolated archipelago the Faroese people have historically relied on their natural resources, especially lamb and fish. In more recent years a number of restaurants have emerged that have used the ancient techniques such as drying and smoking to produce some very modern dishes. So along with sampling skerpikjot (wind-dried sheep’s meat) and roestur fiskur (wind-dried fish) be prepared to also experience local ingredients transformed into fine dining.
Day-by-day experiences
| Day 1 | Fly to Vagar. Land, collect your hire car and check in to the Hotel Vagar. This afternoon enjoy an excursion out to the remote village of Gasadalur. With a population of just 17 the village is surrounded by mountains. We recommend enjoying refreshments in the Gasadalsgardurin Guesthouse & Café. (B) |
| Day 2 | Drive towards Eysturoy passing through the under-sea tunnel to Streymoy. Visit the Gardahus which boasts beautiful gardens and enjoy lunch. From here cross the bridge between Streymoy and Eysturoy passing the highest mountain in the Faroes and spend the night in the small village of Gjogv. This evening visit Sydrugota for HOYMAbit, a living room concert of performing local artists, a great way to get involved in Faroese culture and enjoy local homemade food tasters. (B,L) |
| Day 3 | Journey through the sub-sea tunnel - which is festooned with lights by a famous Faroese artist - to Klaksvik on Bordoy island. From here there are opportunities to take a ferry to historic Kalsoy, to Kunoy for its excellent walking trails or explore the churches on the islands. We recommend lunch in Café Frida on Klaksvik before returning to Gjogv. Enjoy a cultural evening in the guesthouse complete with a traditional Faroese buffet accompanied by local musicians and a demonstration of the Faroese chain dance. (B,D) |
| Day 4 | Today return to Streymoy and we recommend visiting the birdcliffs at Vestmanna on a boat ride passing through the picturesque fjord. End the day in Torshavn. This evening enjoy dinner at the Barbara Fish House and tuck in to a tasty 5-course chef's choice menu. (B,D) |
| Day 5 | Enjoy a full free day to explore Torshavn with its narrow streets and turf-roofed houses. Head to the harbour and watch local fishermen bringing in the day's catch. Explore the national museum, a local art gallery and the Nordic house - a cultural centre often home to exhibitions and concerts. This evening head to Michelin-starred KOS restaurant for a set menu dinner for a meal of breathtaking dishes. (B,D) |
| Day 6 | A further free day to discover Torshavn. We recommend maybe visiting Kirkjubour, a very important cultural centre with a farm run by the same family for 17 generations. Or maybe take the ferry to Sandoy, also known as Saga-island. The evening is free to enjoy dinner in one of a number of local eateries, we recommend the new tapas restaurant Katrina Christiansen. (B) |
| Day 7 | Today is your final full day in Torshavn. We suggest taking the 20-min passenger ferry to the island of Nolsoy which boasts an extremely slow pace of life. The island offers a number of walking trails to head out for a yomp. This evening back in Torshavn enjoy a 3-course dinner at Aarstova, one of the best restaurants in the Faroes and famous for its Faroese lamb. (B,D) |
| Day 8 | Return the hire car to the airport and take the flight back to the UK. (B) |
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comDeparture information
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
We are always talking to our local ground agents about the importance of stressing to clients the importance of basic responsible principles such as appropriate waste disposal, not to waste water, turning off lights on leaving the room in hotels, not replacing towels and bedding daily etc.Our local agents are also keen to stress to visitors the importance of not straying from marked trails at historic sites, an important step towards maintaining the sites for future generations.
Over half the electricity produced in the Faroe Islands is from renewable sources - namely hydro-electric and wind power, with a goal of using solely renewable energy by 2030.
The guesthouse Gjaargardur in Gjogv is insulated in the traditional Faroese way with a turf-roof to help reduce heating costs, as well as to fit in with the local surroundings. The management and staff have an over-arching ethos to limit energy consumption and use local produce whenever possible.
As a company we have introduced responsible practices in our UK office including paper, cardboard, aluminium and plastic recycling. We also support local UK charities including the RNIB and various charities around the world. 50% of our office staff use public transport (bus and train) and cycle to work. Management encourages this with their introduction of the cycle to work scheme which offers subsidised cycle ownership.
The Impacts of this Trip
By the very nature of life in the Faroes all services are provided by local people. Our local agents are Faroese owned, managed and run, have been operating in the Faroe Islands for 15 years and have an excellent reputation. Fair salaries are paid to all employees and regular training is provided to support future career development. Only local guides who are aware of local customs and cultures are employed which not only keeps the funds paid to staff within the local community but also helps avoid any potential cultural clashes between visitors and locals. Guides are required to turn off vehicles when idling to minimise unnecessary emissions and where possible, eco-friendly modes of transport are opted for.
We visit family-run guesthouses and restaurants, thereby boosting the local economy, helping to provide jobs and allowing the Faroese people to tell visitors about local traditions and keep them alive. Importing food stuffs into the Faroe Islands can be prohibitively expensive so all of the food for meals included on the itinerary is sourced locally whether it is served in hotels or a local restaurant. All hotels on the itinerary are locally owned, managed and run.Many of the museums are managed by local communities and also demonstrate traditional crafts such as knitting, with most of the iconic Faroese knitwear for sale having been hand knitted by local craftspeople.
We are always talking to our local ground agents about the importance of stressing to clients the importance of basic responsible principles such as appropriate waste disposal, not to waste water, turning off lights on leaving the room in hotels, not replacing towels and bedding daily etc.Our local agents are also keen to stress to visitors the importance of not straying from marked trails at historic sites, an important step towards maintaining the sites for future generations.
Over half the electricity produced in the Faroe Islands is from renewable sources - namely hydro-electric and wind power, with a goal of using solely renewable energy by 2030.
The guesthouse Gjaargardur in Gjogv is insulated in the traditional Faroese way with a turf-roof to help reduce heating costs, as well as to fit in with the local surroundings. The management and staff have an over-arching ethos to limit energy consumption and use local produce whenever possible.
As a company we have introduced responsible practices in our UK office including paper, cardboard, aluminium and plastic recycling. We also support local UK charities including the RNIB and various charities around the world. 50% of our office staff use public transport (bus and train) and cycle to work. Management encourages this with their introduction of the cycle to work scheme which offers subsidised cycle ownership.
The Impacts of this Trip
By the very nature of life in the Faroes all services are provided by local people. Our local agents are Faroese owned, managed and run, have been operating in the Faroe Islands for 15 years and have an excellent reputation. Fair salaries are paid to all employees and regular training is provided to support future career development. Only local guides who are aware of local customs and cultures are employed which not only keeps the funds paid to staff within the local community but also helps avoid any potential cultural clashes between visitors and locals. Guides are required to turn off vehicles when idling to minimise unnecessary emissions and where possible, eco-friendly modes of transport are opted for.
We visit family-run guesthouses and restaurants, thereby boosting the local economy, helping to provide jobs and allowing the Faroese people to tell visitors about local traditions and keep them alive. Importing food stuffs into the Faroe Islands can be prohibitively expensive so all of the food for meals included on the itinerary is sourced locally whether it is served in hotels or a local restaurant. All hotels on the itinerary are locally owned, managed and run.Many of the museums are managed by local communities and also demonstrate traditional crafts such as knitting, with most of the iconic Faroese knitwear for sale having been hand knitted by local craftspeople.
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