The Faroe Islands are 18 volcanic islands in the North Atlantic, halfway between Norway and Iceland, governed by Denmark and surrounded by water that has shaped everything about them. There are 54,000 people, 70,000 sheep, and roughly 350 kilometres of subsea tunnels connecting most of the inhabited islands. The travel infrastructure assumes you have a car (most days) and a helicopter ticket (one day). This guide covers a 5-day trip, what to actually do, what each day costs, and the puffin window on Mykines that drives most timing decisions.
Quick stats (2026)
- When to come: May – August (puffin season + best weather + longest days)
- Best month: June (peak puffins, longest days, lowest rain probability)
- How long: 5 days minimum, 7 days ideal
- Daily budget: USD 200–300 mid-range; everything is expensive here
- Helicopter routes: Atlantic Airways inter-island helicopter: ~DKK 145 per leg
- Mykines window: May 1 – August 31 (puffin nesting season)
Why the helicopter network matters more than the rental car
Atlantic Airways runs a government-subsidised inter-island helicopter service that few visitors know about and most should use. Flights connect Tórshavn to Klaksvík, Stra Dimun, Skuvoy, and other small islands. A single leg costs roughly DKK 145 (about USD 20) — cheaper than the equivalent ferry, dramatically faster, and one of the most scenic flights you’ll ever take.
The catch: each helicopter route runs only a few days per week, and seats sell out. Book at atlantic.fo the moment your dates are confirmed. The most useful route for visitors is Tórshavn → Mykines — the puffin island — which lets you skip the cancellation-prone ferry.
You still need a rental car for most days. The subsea tunnel network (Eysturoyartunnilin, Vágatunnilin, Sandoyartunnilin) connects Tórshavn to most populated islands. Tunnels have automatic tolls billed to your rental car’s licence plate — you’ll see the charge on your credit card weeks later.
When to come (and why May–August is the only real answer)
The Faroes work for visitors only during the summer window, and “summer” here means May through August. Outside that range, daylight collapses, ferries run reduced schedules, and many guesthouses close.
May: puffins arrive at Mykines around May 1. Days are getting long (16+ hours of light). Weather is unpredictable but accommodation prices are still pre-peak.
June: peak. Longest days (sun up at 3am, down at midnight). Best weather odds. Puffins at full population. Book accommodation 3–4 months ahead.
July–August: still excellent. Slightly more rain probability. The G! Festival (Faroese music festival, mid-July) brings a brief tourism spike.
September onwards: puffin season ends. Days shorten rapidly. The famous slanted-sideways rain of Faroese myth becomes the default. Winter visits are possible — northern lights are real — but for most travellers, summer is the trip.
Tórshavn as a base vs island-hopping
Tórshavn is the capital, has the only proper restaurant scene, sits on the largest island (Streymoy), and connects via tunnels and roads to most of what you’ll want to see. For a 5-day trip, base in Tórshavn the entire time and day-trip out. For 7+ days, split: 3 nights Tórshavn, 2 nights northern islands (Klaksvík on Borðoy), 2 nights somewhere quieter (Saksun, Gjogv, or Mykines).
Tórshavn’s old town — Tinganes — is a peninsula of red wooden houses with grass roofs. It’s small (you can walk it in 20 minutes), genuine (people live in those houses), and free. The harbour-front food scene includes Koks (Michelin-starred, requires booking months ahead), Ráest (modern Faroese, easier to book), and Barbara Fish House (casual, locally caught seafood).
Mykines: puffins and the day-trip logistics
Mykines is the westernmost inhabited island of the Faroes, home to roughly 14 permanent residents and tens of thousands of nesting Atlantic puffins between May and August. It is the trip’s signature day.
Getting there
Two options:
- Ferry from Sørvágur: Roughly 45 minutes. Cancels regularly if seas are rough. Round-trip ticket ~DKK 130.
- Helicopter from Vágar airport: 12 minutes. Same ~DKK 145 fare as other helicopter routes. Runs Mon, Wed, Fri (verify weekly schedule).
The helicopter is the contrarian move: cheaper than tour-operator transfers, scenic, and unaffected by sea state.
What you actually do
Once on Mykines, you walk. The main trail runs from the village out to the lighthouse at the western tip — about 4 km each way, 200 m elevation gain, mostly along clifftops with puffin colonies on either side. You need a hiking guide pass (DKK 100, pay at the village kiosk) to walk past the village edge. The walk takes 4–5 hours round-trip with photo stops.
The puffins are within metres of the path. They are not afraid of humans. Resist the urge to feed or chase them. The local rules forbid leaving the marked path during nesting season.
Driving the subsea tunnels
The Faroes built three subsea tunnels in the past 20 years that radically changed inter-island travel. The newest, Eysturoyartunnilin (opened 2020), is the world’s first undersea roundabout — three tunnels meet at a glass-lit junction 187 metres below the seabed.
Tunnel tolls are charged automatically to your rental car’s licence plate via the LeiSland system. Rates in 2026:
- Vágatunnilin (Streymoy ↔ Vágar): DKK 100 / car
- Eysturoyartunnilin (Streymoy ↔ Eysturoy): DKK 175 / car
- Sandoyartunnilin (Streymoy ↔ Sandoy): DKK 100 / car
The bill arrives via your rental car company 2–6 weeks after you return home. Budget DKK 600–800 in tolls for a 5-day visit if you cover most islands.
Food: not cheap, not bad
Faroese food is expensive (mid-range dinner runs DKK 350–500 per person) and divides cleanly into traditional (fermented lamb, dried fish) and modern Nordic (foraged, locally sourced, internationally trained chefs).
The two restaurants worth the splurge: Koks (Michelin-starred, fixed-tasting menu, books 3+ months ahead, DKK 2500+) and Ráest (more accessible, focuses on traditional fermented dishes done well). For lunch, Brell Café in Tórshavn does excellent open-faced sandwiches. For groceries, Føroyar Bonus is the cheap chain.
The fermented-lamb question: ræst kjøt is air-dried, slightly fermented lamb. It is an acquired taste. Try it once at Ráest rather than buying a vacuum-pack at the airport.
What 5 days actually costs
A 5-day Faroe Islands trip for two people, mid-range, in 2026:
- Flights: Atlantic Airways from Copenhagen or Edinburgh: USD 250–500 round trip each.
- Accommodation: USD 180–280/night for a double room. Hotel Hafnia and Hotel Føroyar are the main Tórshavn options. Airbnbs run cheaper.
- Rental car: USD 80–120/day for a small car.
- Tunnel tolls: USD 80–120 total (billed later).
- Mykines day: Helicopter + hiking permit: USD 50/person.
- Food: USD 70–120/day per person.
- Activities (boat tours, museums): USD 50–100/day if you stack them.
Total for two people, 5 days: USD 2,800–4,200, excluding international flights.
Faroe Islands vs Iceland: when to choose this instead
Iceland and the Faroes get compared constantly. They are not the same trip.
- Iceland: bigger (40x more area), more tourists, more developed (Ring Road, dozens of restaurants, mass-market tourism), more iconic landmarks (Geysir, Gullfoss, glaciers, ice caves).
- Faroes: smaller, fewer people (you’ll be alone on most hikes), no glaciers, no geysers, but more dramatic coastline per square kilometre and a far more intact local culture.
Choose Iceland if you want a 7–10 day road trip with diverse landscapes and full tourism infrastructure. Choose the Faroes if you want 5–7 days in a place that still feels undiscovered and where the landscape is more concentrated.
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Frequently asked
Is the Faroe Islands worth visiting?
Yes, if you want dramatic Atlantic landscapes without Iceland’s crowds. The Faroes deliver more scenic intensity per kilometre than nearly anywhere else in Europe and remain culturally intact. The catch is cost (everything is expensive) and weather (rain is the default).
How many days do you need in the Faroe Islands?
5 days is the practical minimum to see the main highlights: Tórshavn, Mykines puffins, Vagar’s Sørvágsvatn lake, and either the northern islands or a south Sandoy day. 7 days lets you add Klaksvík as a second base.
How do you get to the Faroe Islands cheaply?
Atlantic Airways is the only airline serving Vágar Airport (FAE). Flights from Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Bergen, and Reykjavik. Book 3+ months ahead for fares under USD 300 round trip from Copenhagen. There is also a Smyril Line ferry from Denmark that’s cheaper but takes 2 days each way.
Can you do the Faroe Islands without a rental car?
Technically yes — there are buses (the Bygdaleidir public bus system) and ferries between major islands. Practically no — the schedules are sparse and the photogenic locations are off bus routes. Most visitors rent a car. Budget for tunnel tolls (charged automatically).
When can you see puffins on Mykines?
Puffin nesting season runs roughly May 1 to August 31. June is peak. Outside this window the puffins are at sea and the Mykines path past the village is closed. A guide pass (DKK 100) is required to walk past the village even during the season.
How expensive is the Faroe Islands in 2026?
Expect USD 200–300 per person per day for a mid-range trip including accommodation, car, food, and one activity. Dinner at a mid-range restaurant runs DKK 350–500 per person. Groceries (Føroyar Bonus is the budget chain) are roughly 30% more expensive than Denmark.
Written by
Founder of Packzup. Independent travel writer covering offbeat destinations across six continents since 2018. Every guide is first-hand and self-funded — no press trips, never sponsored.