I Spent 3 Days in the Faroe Islands: Here’s Exactly What I’d Do Again!
So you only have 3 days in the Faroe Islands? You might be surprised by just how much you can experience in a long weekend!
I recently returned to the Faroe Islands for a second visit and decided to see just how much I could experience during a three-day trip.
With dramatic cliffs, tiny villages, grass-roofed houses, waterfalls, winding roads, and 18 islands to explore, the Faroe Islands can seem like a destination that requires a lot of time.
And while this definitely wasn’t a slow, leisurely vacation, we were able to pack a lot into our long weekend including exploring remote islands, hiking, getting out on the water, and finding some pretty unforgettable tours along the way.
Here’s exactly how I’d spend 3 days in the Faroe Islands.
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3 Days in the Faroe Islands (VIDEO)
There’s really no better way to understand the Faroe Islands than to see them for yourself. Here’s a little glimpse of our time exploring the Faroe Islands.
How to Get to the Faroe Islands
Despite being tucked away in the North Atlantic, the Faroe Islands are actually much easier to get to than you might think!
The easiest way to reach the islands is by plane, with direct flights from several European cities and convenient connections through Iceland, Denmark and Norway.
For our trip, we flew Icelandair, connecting through Keflavík International Airport in Iceland before continuing on to Vágar Airport (FAE) in the Faroe Islands.
The other major option is Atlantic Airways, the national airline of the Faroe Islands. They fly directly to the Faroes from several European destinations, including Copenhagen, Iceland, Norway, Scotland, and other seasonal destinations.
How to Get Around the Faroe Islands
If you’re planning 3 days in the Faroe Islands, my biggest piece of advice is simple: rent a car.
Could you get around without one?
Absolutely. The Faroe Islands have a network of buses and ferries that connects many of the islands, and public transportation can be a great option if you’re traveling slowly or staying primarily around Tórshavn.
But if you’re trying to see as much as possible in a short amount of time, having your own car makes a huge difference.
The Faroe Islands have an excellent network of roads, bridges, and subsea tunnels connecting the islands, which makes road-tripping around the archipelago surprisingly easy.
Our 3 Days in the Faroe Islands
With the logistics out of the way, let’s get to the fun part: what we actually did with our 3 days in the Faroe Islands.
Since this was my second time visiting the Faroes, I wasn’t trying to recreate my first trip or check every famous attraction off a list. Instead, I wanted to experience some places I hadn’t visited before and squeeze in a few unique tours along the way.
Here’s exactly how our long weekend unfolded…
Day 1: Faroe Islands Arrival + Exploring Kalsoy
Our first day started with landing at Vágar Airport and picking up our rental car. We were SO excited to be back in the Faroe Islands and couldn’t wait to kick off our 3 days on the Faroe Islands!
We made our way toward Klaksvík to catch the ferry to Kalsoy, one of the northern islands of the Faroe Islands.
And honestly? Starting the trip here was a pretty incredible introduction to the Faroes.
Taking the Ferry to Kalsoy
If you’re planning to visit Kalsoy during a short trip, pay close attention to the ferry schedule. With only three days, we didn’t have much room for a missed sailing or an unexpected change of plans.
Once we arrived on the island, the landscape immediately started looking exactly like the Faroe Islands I had imagined: steep green mountains, tiny villages, narrow roads, and the ocean seemingly everywhere you looked.
Hiking to Kallur Lighthouse
This is one of the most recognizable views in the Faroe Islands, and one you don’t want to miss during your 3 days on the Faroe Islands! The trail takes you along the narrow ridge toward the lighthouse, with enormous cliffs dropping away on either side.
And while this is definitely a hike, I found it much more manageable than I expected.
I’m not exactly someone who wakes up excited to spend six hours hiking, so I appreciated that we were able to get an incredible view without committing an entire day to the trail.
The hike is considered moderately easy, although there is a steeper section near the beginning and the trail can get muddy or slippery depending on the weather.
I’d plan for close to two hours if you want plenty of time to stop for photos and take in the views.
Good to know: Weather can make a huge difference on Kalsoy. Wind, rain, and fog can roll in quickly, so check the conditions before setting out and don’t feel pressured to hike if conditions aren’t safe.
There’s also a mandatory hiking fee for the Kallur Lighthouse trail; the current fee listed is 200 DKK for adults.
Spending the Night on Kalsoy
Instead of immediately catching the ferry back, we stayed overnight on Kalsoy. We did have 3 days on the Faroe Islands after all, and this stay was totally worth it!
There was something really special about watching the island quiet down after the day-trippers left. The Faroes already feel remote, but spending the night on one of the smaller islands took that feeling to another level.
We found the cutest little cottage in Trøllanes. I affectionately started calling it the “Puffin Cottage” because it is quite literally right next to puffin nesting areas.
If you visit between June and August, you may be able to spot puffins right around the cottage, which made waking up here feel pretty surreal.
Imagine making your morning coffee while looking out the window at the ocean and hearing puffins outside. It doesn’t get much more Faroe Islands than that.
Day 2: Best Tours on the Faroe Islands
After spending the night on Kalsoy, we woke up and had one last morning to soak in the island before catching the ferry back to the mainland. We had to make the most of our 3 days on the Faroe Islands after all!
Before leaving, we made one final stop in Mikladalur to see Kópakonan, the Seal Woman.
If you’ve heard the legend of the Seal Woman of Kalsoy, this is where it comes to life.
According to Faroese folklore, seals would come ashore and shed their skins so they could take human form and dance on the beach. One young man from Mikladalur discovered the seal people and secretly took the skin of one of the women, preventing her from returning to the sea. He eventually married her, but years later she found her hidden seal skin and disappeared back into the ocean.
Today, a striking bronze statue of Kópakonan stands along the waterfront in Mikladalur, looking out toward the sea.
Exploring Hestur Island by RIB Boat
If you’ve been following along with my Faroe Islands trips, you know I’m always looking for experiences that feel a little different from the typical sightseeing itinerary and this one definitely delivered.
We climbed aboard a high-speed RIB boat at Gamlarætt and headed across the water toward Hestur Island, a tiny, sparsely populated island off the coast of Streymoy.
The entire tour lasted about 1.5 hours, and we circled the island, getting incredibly close to its towering sea cliffs, basalt formations, nesting seabirds, and sea caves.
The tour is available from April through October.
Unfortunately, this is one of those experiences where Mother Nature gets the final say. The tour can be canceled because of weather, and entering the caves is dependent on calm enough seas and favorable conditions.
But even if conditions aren’t right for entering the caves, the boat ride around Hestur is an incredible experience on its own and can’t be missed while spending 3 days on the Faroe Islands!
Afternoon Boat Cruise From Tórshavn
After lunch, we headed down to the harbor in Tórshavn for an afternoon sailing excursion along the coast of the Faroe Islands.
We climbed aboard a beautiful old schooner and headed out into the North Atlantic, and I immediately felt like I had somehow wandered onto the set of Pirates of the Caribbean.
There was something about the combination of the historic boat, the rugged coastline, the wind coming off the ocean, and those enormous Faroese mountains that made the whole experience feel completely surreal.
We sailed along the rugged coastline, getting views of dramatic sea stacks, narrow streams cascading down the mountainsides, and cliffs that looked completely different from anything we’d seen from the road.
Home Base in Tórshavn
After our afternoon boat cruise, we headed back to Tórshavn and checked into Hotel Hafnia, and I immediately knew we’d picked the right place to stay.
If you’re wondering where to stay in Tórshavn during a trip to the Faroe Islands, I couldn’t recommend Hotel Hafnia more. Located right in the heart of the city and it made the perfect home base for our 3 days in the Faroe Islands.
And after a full day of exploring Kalsoy and spending the afternoon out on the water, having a cozy hotel waiting for us was very appreciated.
Exploring Tórshavn
After checking in, we headed back out to explore Tórshavn, the colorful capital of the Faroe Islands.
Since we’d spent most of the day surrounded by dramatic cliffs, it was fun to slow down and wander through the city. We walked through the charming streets and popped into some of the local shops.
Tórshavn is small enough that you can see quite a bit of it on foot, which made it an easy addition to our 3-day Faroe Islands itinerary.
A lot of shops and businesses close on Sundays, so if exploring the city’s shops and boutiques is something you want to do, I’d recommend planning your Tórshavn time for Saturday or a weekday instead.
Day 3: Ziplining and a Concert in a Sea Cave
Sunday started with a little road trip through some of the cutest villages in the Faroe Islands. We made our way to Funningur and Gjógv, both of which were exactly what I wanted to see!
Both villages were such a cute way to start the day and an easy addition to our 3-day Faroe Islands itinerary if you’re looking for more cute places to visit.
These two tiny villages are about 35–45 minutes from Tórshavn by car.
Funningur sits along a dramatic fjord surrounded by steep mountains, while Gjógv is known for its colorful houses and famous natural sea gorge.
Faroe Islands Zipline Tour
I’m shocked more people don’t talk about this tour!
We made our way to Hoyvík for this zipline tour and the whole thing only takes about an hour, but you get to zipline over the ocean THREE times.
It was such a fun way to see the Faroe Islands from a completely different perspective, and it ended up being one of my favorite surprises of the trip.
Hiking to the “Lake Above the Ocean”
After ziplining, we decided to tackle one of the hikes we had actually done on our first trip to the Faroe Islands: Trælanípa, also known as the “lake above the ocean.”
And yes, we absolutely could have skipped it since we’d already been but the views are THAT good.
Pit Stop: Turf Houses
After the hike, we made our way toward Bøur, a tiny village on Vágar known for its traditional turf-roofed houses and incredible views toward the sea and surrounding islands.
We actually stayed in one of these turf houses on our first trip to the Faroe Islands, and if you’re looking for a unique place to stay, I can’t recommend it enough.
It was such a cool experience to wake up in one of these historic-looking cottages with the Faroese landscape right outside your door. Just book well in advance! These stays are incredibly popular and can book up months ahead of time, especially during the summer.
A Concert Inside a Sea Cave?!
One of the COOLEST things we did during our 3 days in the Faroe Islands was something I had never experienced anywhere else: a live concert inside the world’s largest sea cave.
We hopped on a boat and headed out toward the cave, and the whole experience was just SO cool!!!
Once we got inside, the boat stopped and we listened to live music surrounded by these massive cliffs and the natural acoustics of the cave. It was definitely one of the most unique things we did on this trip.
Dinner at Tubbak
We headed to Tubbak in Tórshavn for dinner, and wow… this meal did not disappoint!
I ordered the sushi and I’m not exaggerating when I say it was some of the best sushi I’ve ever had. Everything was so fresh and flavorful, and it was honestly the perfect way to end such a crazy day.
If you’re looking for somewhere to eat in Tórshavn, definitely add Tubbak to your list!
Day 4: One Last Stop Before Flying Home
Okay, technically this was our departure day, but obviously we weren’t going to leave the Faroe Islands without squeezing in a few more stops.
Before our flight, we drove up to Saksun, a place I’d seen all over social media because of its ridiculously cute turf-roofed houses.
I’ll be honest, though: this one didn’t quite live up to the hype for me.
When we arrived, we found that the houses were fenced off and only open for tours between 10 AM and 4 PM. After exploring so many quiet villages where you could wander around freely, Saksun felt much more touristy in comparison.
One Last Stop: Gásadalur
Before heading to the airport, we made one last stop in Gásadalur to see the famous waterfall cascading straight into the ocean.
Yes, we’d already been here on our first trip to the Faroe Islands, but honestly… I didn’t care. Some places are iconic for a reason, and Gásadalur was one of those spots I was more than happy to see again.
It was the perfect final stop before heading to the airport and saying goodbye to the Faroe Islands… again.
If you’re really short on time, check out my 2 Days in the Faroe Islands guide! It’s more beginner-friendly and perfect for a quick side trip when you’re trying to see the best of the Faroes with even less time.
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