I've heard mixed reports on the Norrona. I've heard it's quiet pleasant for accomodations and food, and has a nice staff.

I've also heard that both the Denmark/Faroes crossing, and the Faroes/Iceland crossing can be particularly rough and choppy due to high winds.

Unless you are bringing a vehicle on the ferry, the Iceland port is a little inconvenient, since it's a rather small without a huge amount of amenities (by Iceland standards, in the Faroes that town would be yuuuuge).

Nice trip!

Do they mow their roofs or do the sheep keep the grass manageable?

Wow, a great TR, from every angle. Your eccelent pics were most enjoyable. You actually helped me move Faroes from a very low position on the bucket list to one considerably higher. You seem to have been well prepared, large credit for that. Beeing a constant searcher for anything new to eat, when travelling, your lunch/dinner resumes almost made me salivate ;)

Your suggestions on bringing picnic lunches are benefits of following someone who already made the research for you.

A great big thanks for sharing!

I never figured out the answer to this one. I did actually see sheep on a roof, however.

Edit: Some googling solved this one for me: yes, they do mow the roofs.

Thanks. One of the reasons I pick obscure places to go is that I love learning new cuisines and ingredients.

great report and photos !

interesting their langoustines (and some other food) seem famous

good to hear about Hofn!

Fabulous report and fantastic pictures. The Faroes have been on my radar for a while but your report has truly brought it to life.

I'm glad you mentioned Gasadalur as a village you didn't visit, as throughout your report I was wondering what the name was of the iconic village / cliff / waterfall image that seems to be a weekly fixture on my Instagram feed :)

Awesome TR. Thanks!

Loved this trip report.
Add me to the list of going to Iceland in 2017.

Also per wikipedia looks like Atlantic will be flying out of KEF beginning 10-31-16.

Who told you that you have to park outside and go into Gasadalur? We just drove straight through the tunnell and parked along the road, the village was completely abandoned and we were totally alone on the roads. Except for the sheep, of course... ha ha.

But it was indeed a severe storm coming, with hurricane wind and torrential rain just 2 hours later....when we were driving from the airport to Torshavn. A drive I will never ever forget in my life. We had to stay inside the tunnels so that the cars didn't flip over from the hard wind gusts. And I am by no means joking or exaggerating the horrible weather. It was really bad. I am from Norway myself, but such bad weather... I have never ever experienced before. I really feared for my life.

So you were REALLY lucky with the weather! Amazing views of the green, brown, and blue!

But who on earth wants to see the grindadrap? It is a really bad tradition that I hope the faroese stop immideately. It is a pointless torture - not only murder - of other living beings. Cause you cannot put a whale to sleep in an ethical way. And for what? "Tradition"? It is the worst excuse. I love the faroe islands, really, and sometimes I tell people "I think I really am faroese instead of norwegian". But then I remember the grindadrap... And I realise I am neither a faroese nor a proud norwegian - cause we seem to be stuck in the viking age of pointless torture of animals. It makes me ashamed.

Totally support the praise about Atlantic Airways though - we got sushi served on our way from Copenhagen! :D

PS: Love the comment about the grave stones. They are 100% traditional norwegian / faroese / (scandinavian?) - go to any cemetary in Norway and you'll see the exact same thing. Very elaborate pieces, that cost ~5000EUR / ~6000USD

What a wonderful review! We spent a day in the Faroes this summer - our cruise ship docked in Klaksvik. You have made me curious to return!

Great trip report..wouldnt have known about this place if not for your review and great photos.
Any recommendation on the budget for a 4-7 day trip (without the air fare)?

They've pretty much always shifted to KEF during the winter, but supposedly the plan is to remain at KEF next spring instead of shifting back to RKV.

I'm of mixed thoughts on that. Good if one is traveling via KEF and trying to get there. But I rather liked that I could, with near zero drama, walk from my hotel near Hallgrimskirkja to RKV in ~20 minutes carrying luggage. It was barely more effort than just getting to the bus terminal.

I can tell you approximately what we paid for stuff for our 7 day/6 night stay

1. Lodging: Averaged 1200 DKK a night, both for the hostel in Torshavn and the airbnb in Svinair. You can spend a lot more at the two nice hotels in town (Foroyar and Hafnia)

2. Rental car: 5600 DKK for 6 days.

3. Fuel: Spent 700 DKK on fuel for the rental, around 75 liters of gas. Driving was our primary way of getting around, but there's not a lot of real distance driving.

4. Tunnels: 600 DKK for tunnel tolls.

5. Food: Aside from the almost 2000 DKK for dinner at KOKS, food was expensive but not alarmingly so. Removing the KOKS dinner from the equation, we spent a total of 2400 DKK on a mix of self-catered food from the airports and restaurant food.

6. Mykines Ferry: 400 DKK (two RT tickets)

7. Vestmanna tour: 590 DKK (two tickets)

8. Kalsoy Ferry: 220 DKK (Car w/ driver plus extra passenger)

9. Flights: 3,272 DKK (in from RKV, out to EDI)

10. SIM cards: 128 DKK (for two)

11. Misc. Expenditures (souvenir glasses, Museum entries): 800 DKK.

Total: 21,910 DKK. Around $1565/pp (although this neglects the cost of getting to Iceland, and getting back from London, since this was part of a larger trip)

I'm told that yes, indeed, we were somewhat lucky compared to typical July weather.

And particularly during non-summer visits, the Faroes have some legendarily bad weather, especially with heavy winds (and don't let the pictures fool you, two of those "nice" days also had gusting winds over 70 mph!).

Those wanting to see what the Faroes can be like at bad times, google "Smyril" or "Norrona" to see either of those ferries in rough seas.