Turf-roof homes overlooking the sea (June 2025)
Not to be confused with the “Golden Circle” in Iceland, the Faroe Islands has its equivalent that’s a popular day trip from Tórshavn– this tour allows you to hit the islands of Eysturoy and Streymoy within a few hours, all the while to see picturesque villages like Saksun and stunning waterfalls nearby. This tour was the most-leisurely compared to the previous days’ and honestly, my fiancée and I needed it. We found it to be a great way to sit back and really take in the beauty of the Faroe Islands before we left.
Our tour guide picked us up at 9h00 and, along with a medley of passengers from Australia, Taiwan, Canada, and India, we all set off for the day. I will say that we packed in at least 20 different sites during the tour and, for the life of me, cannot recall them all. That said, I will showcase some of the highlights in this post, and recount to the best my knowledge. Let’s go!
We began by driving to Streymoy Island, passing through several sub-sea tunnels which connect the islands via car. In fact, there are a total of 20 sub-sea tunnels– one of them, Eysturoyartunnil, features the first underwater roundabout, which we whipped through thanks to our tour guide, an energetic (albeit eccentric) older woman who made our tour a fun one.
Soon enough, we reached Streymoy, pausing several times alongside the road for photos before making it to Tjørnuvík, a small village home to under 50 people. The village is incredibly-isolated, with only one road in and out– therefore, it causes traffic during peak tourist season, and as a result, the village had set up a small traffic light for cars (and people) to get in and out. The light is timed for every 5 minutes and after we explored Tjørnuvík’s turf-roof homes and the nearby shoreline, we made sure to head out timely so as not to wait.
Tjørnuvík in the distance
Inside the village of Tjørnuvík
Next was a visit to Fossá, a famous waterfall and one of the highest on the Faroe Islands. It cascades 140 meters (460 feet) in two tiers, and it certainly is a sight to behold. We got views of it up close on Streymoy, and then our guide drove us over to the neighboring Eysturoy to get a vantage point of Fossá zoomed out, to see the rest of the stark scenery around it. The Faroe Islands are definitely not short of beautiful waterfalls to see!
Fossá waterfall
While still on Streymoy, we also visited Saksun village, located at the bottom of an inlet and known for its distinctive church in the background. The church wasn’t open when we went, so we took a short stroll through the village and admired the high, lush mountains surrounding the inlet.
Village of Saksun
Church and inlet of Saksun
Around Saksun, our tour guide also shared with us whale meat and blubber, as it’s a Faroese tradition to hunt and eat pilot whales in the area. It’s a controversial practice, as people outside of the Faroe Islands find it cruel and inhumane. Our guide (a Faroese) explained, however, it’s a deep-seated tradition among the community, as it was born out of survival during the harshest of winters. I have mixed feelings about the idea of killing pilot whales in now-modern times, but it was insightful to learn about the tradition from the Faroese perspective, and to understand just how varied cultures are throughout the world.
PS the whale meat and blubber tasted like a tougher fish jerky. Not bad, but not something I’d try again!
Whale meat and blubber
We got lunch shortly thereafter, at a café housed inside a historic building that cured fish– we even saw relics of massive fish that’d been dried and cured in the past! I opted for a cod salad, which was quite tasty– others in our tour ordered a fish soup, which apparently was extremely salty, so I’m glad I didn’t get it.
Cod salad
Scandinavian waffles afterwards (not featured: rhubarb cream)
The afternoon was spent on Vágar Island, which my fiancée and I had visited on our first day. There was some overlap in the sights we saw, including Múlafossur, but we also got lovely views of some more turf-roof homes overlooking the somber sea. Soon thereafter, we concluded our tour and returned to Tórshavn by 17h00– my fiancée and I were tired, but content with the more-leisurely tour, as it didn’t involve any hiking or any strenuous physical activity, for that matter. It was a solid end to our time on the Faroe Islands, as we would wake up super early the next morning to catch our 8h20 flight back to Copenhagen.
Overall, we had a short time on the Faroe Islands, but a worthwhile one nevertheless. We managed to visit about five of the 18 islands during our brief stay, and I can say that all did not disappoint. As previously mentioned, it’d been my dream to visit, and I can say that it was a dream come true. I’ll be recapping the remaining activities we got up to in Denmark (and a bit of Sweden) in the next few posts, so look out for them soon! 🙂
— Rebecca
Rebecca Goes Rendezvous 