5 Days in the Faroe Islands: The Itinerary We’d Repeat Tomorrow
A Rovaniemi couple shares the exact 5-day Faroe Islands itinerary they built from scratch — the drives that blew their minds, the ferry to Mykines, and the one village they nearly skipped but are so glad they didn’t.
We landed in Tórshavn not entirely sure what to expect. We’d been to Iceland twice, Norway’s fjords, the Norwegian coast — so we thought we knew dramatic North Atlantic landscapes. The Faroe Islands reset all of that within the first hour. Eighteen islands stacked in the middle of the ocean, every bend in the road revealing something that felt impossible.
This is the Faroe Islands 5-day itinerary we actually ran, the version we’d repeat tomorrow without changing much. No PR trips, no sponsored routes — just what worked, what we’d cut, and what we wish we’d added.
Five days is the sweet spot for a first Faroe Islands trip. Base yourself in Tórshavn, rent a car on day one, and build your itinerary around three anchors: the Gjógv – Eidí loop on day 2, the Mykines puffin ferry on day 3, and the Sørvágsvatn lake cliffs on day 4. Book the Mykines ferry the moment you land — it sells out weeks ahead in summer.
Is 5 days enough for the Faroe Islands?
The honest answer
Five days is genuinely enough for a first-time Faroe Islands trip if you have a rental car and are willing to drive. The islands are compact — you can cross the entire archipelago in under two hours — but the landscape is so layered that you rarely feel like you’ve rushed, even on a tight schedule.
What five days won’t cover: the far north island of Enniberg, the remote south of Suðuroy (which requires a ferry), or proper multi-day hiking. For those, plan a week. But for the iconic moments — Mykines puffins, Mulafossur waterfall, Sørvágsvatn, and the village of Gjógv — five days is the right frame.
How to structure it
- Base: Tórshavn for all five nights. Central location, easy parking, best food options on the islands.
- Rental car: non-negotiable. Public buses exist but are too infrequent for an itinerary this packed.
- Pacing: plan two or three stops per day, not five. Roads are slow, views demand time, and you will stop spontaneously every twenty minutes anyway.
Day-by-day: the full 5-day Faroe Islands itinerary
Day 1 — Arrive, Tórshavn, Kirkjubøur
Flights into Vágar airport typically arrive mid-morning. Collect your rental car immediately — queues at the desk move slowly. The drive from Vágar to Tórshavn takes about 45 minutes on clear roads and goes through the island-connecting tunnel under Vestmannasund.
Check into your Tórshavn accommodation, then drive the 10 km south to Kirkjubøur — one of the oldest settlements in the North Atlantic. The 13th-century St. Magnus Cathedral ruins stand on a hillside above the sea, and Roykstovan farmhouse has been continuously inhabited for 900 years. Low-key, deeply atmospheric, worth two hours.
Back in Tórshavn, walk the old town (Tinganes), grab dinner at Ræst or one of the harbourfront spots, and confirm your Mykines ferry booking for Day 3. If you haven’t booked yet, do it now.
Day 2 — The northern loop: Gjógv, Eidí, Tjørnuvík
This is the drive that converts people. Leave Tórshavn early — by 8 am if you can — and loop the northern end of Eysturoy. The road climbs through impossibly green valleys and drops into villages that look like they were placed by hand.
Gjógv: tiny village at the end of a gorge, with a natural harbour carved by the sea. Walk down to the boat ramp and back — 30 minutes, unforgettable.
Eidí: drive or hike to the viewpoint above the village for the two sea stacks (Riví and Kellingin) rising from the water below. On a clear day, this view is among the most dramatic in the Faroe Islands.
Tjørnuvík: a black-sand beach facing the Atlantic, with those same two stacks visible in the distance. Bring a jacket — wind hits hard here.
Return via Sæluvegur or stop at the Leitisvatn viewpoint on Vágar on the way if you have energy. Back in Tórshavn for dinner and an early night — Day 3 starts early.
Day 3 — Mykines
The Mykines ferry leaves from Sørvágur at around 10 am in summer (confirm current schedule at ssl.fo). The crossing takes 45 minutes. On the island you have roughly four hours before the return ferry, which is exactly right.
The main walk goes from the village to Mykinesholm, a smaller island connected by a swing bridge. The path edges sea cliffs that are thick with puffins in June and July — they nest in burrows right at your feet and land within arm’s reach. The walk to the lighthouse and back is about 3.5 km each way, plan 3 hours. Do not rush this.
If the ferry is cancelled due to weather (this happens, especially early or late in the season), your fallback is to drive to Saksun on Streymoy instead — a lagoon village so cinematic it barely feels real.
Day 4 — Vágar: Sørvágsvatn, Mulafossur, Bour
Vágar island holds two of the most photographed scenes in the Faroe Islands, and they are genuinely worth the photos.
Sørvágsvatn (Lake Sørvágsvatn): a lake that appears, from the right viewpoint on the clifftop, to float above the ocean. The hike to the view is about 45 minutes each way from the car park near Bøur. Go in the morning before tour buses arrive.
Mulafossur waterfall, Gásadalur: a waterfall plunging directly into the sea, with the village of Gásadalur above it. Drone footage of this place has gone viral, and the real thing does not disappoint.
Bour: a small village between the two, with views back towards Tindhólmur island that are among the best on Vágar.
Day 5 — Tórshavn, Streymoy hike, departure
Most flights leave Vágar in the afternoon. Use the morning to walk Tórshavn properly — the National Museum of the Faroe Islands is small but very good — or do a short hike on Streymoy if your legs recovered from Day 4. Head to Vágar for early afternoon, allowing for the tunnel transit and a buffer for traffic at the airport.
The non-negotiables: 6 things to book early
The Faroe Islands are small and increasingly popular. Some things disappear weeks before peak season. This is the early-booking checklist we wish we’d had:
1. Mykines ferry (ssl.fo) — sells out in June and July, sometimes 4–6 weeks ahead. Book the moment your flights are confirmed.
2. Rental car — limited fleet, especially small 4WDs. Secure this with flights, not after.
3. Accommodation in Tórshavn — the city has limited hotels and the best ones fill quickly. Mid-range options are Hotel Tórshavn and 62°N Hotel.
4. Restaurant reservations — KOKS (if still operating in its current form) and other upscale spots require advance booking; even mid-range restaurants fill in summer.
5. Guided hike (optional, but worth it for Slættaratiindur) — some operators cap group sizes at 8.
6. Travel insurance with weather-cancel cover — if your Mykines ferry is cancelled, you want the option to extend a night without losing money.
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