As the Faroes become increasingly popular with international travelers—a trickle of visitors has turned into more of a cascade in recent years, particularly since 2023—there is a greater need for creatively expanding infrastructure, while prioritizing the needs and lifestyle of locals. Faroese ask themselves, essentially: How can we welcome visitors to the home we cherish without losing its best features?
I wanted to know. In April, my husband and I flew into the airport on Vágar, the third-largest island, with a plan to drive to the Northern Isles before slowly making our way back through Eysturoy and Streymoy. We chose a route which would also allow us to travel through the undersea tubes, but we were also conscious of how much tolls it would cost. We also hoped to tap into the Faroese daily rhythm. What would it mean for us to take our cues from people who have the most intimate knowledge of these wild landscapes.
On our first day, we beelined for the Visit North tourism office in Klaksvík, a small city of brightly colored houses on a spit of land between the open ocean and a sheltered bay of fishing boats. Reni Heimustovu smiled at us when we inquired about hiking on that particular day. “Last time someone wanted to go hiking in weather like this, we told them, ‘Choose life!'” She laughed knowingly. The long grass had been blown to the ground on the mountains.
We learned the first lesson of our travels in the Faroese: you must always be flexible.
We drove back to the car after abandoning the hike and instead took a muddy dirt road towards Klakkur Viewpoint. The sea was awash with a vast expanse of blue. The fact that tourists are not always prepared to see sheep on the road in scenic rural areas of the Faroe Islands, which is pretty much everywhere. It is so crowded with animals that there are no roads. 2016, locals used their ovine population Map areas not yet covered by Google Maps. Faroese sheep are more plentiful than their inhabitants, and their wavy, soft wool is the main source of income. The new signage reminds tourists that grazing land is off limits for hiking and sightseeing. Sheep have the right-of-way.
