Our First Full Day in the Faroe Islands
After arriving in the Faroe Islands and settling into our accommodation in Strendur, it was finally time to start exploring. We had our 9-seater van, eight people ready for adventure and a long list of places we wanted to see.
For our first full day, we decided to explore some of the most spectacular scenery around Streymoy and Eysturoy. And what a day it turned out to be. Our route took us through tiny villages, along winding mountain roads and beside dramatic coastlines, with waterfalls, fjords and enormous mountains appearing around almost every corner.
The great thing about travelling by van was that we could stop whenever we saw something worth photographing. And in the Faroe Islands, that happens a lot.
Saksun: Our First Big Stop
Our first proper stop of the day was Saksun, and it was an incredible way to begin our Faroe Islands adventure. Saksun sits in a dramatic natural amphitheatre surrounded by steep mountains, with a lagoon below the village. The setting is one of those places that looks almost unreal when you first see it.
The tiny village is particularly famous for its traditional Faroese houses, many with grass roofs, and its beautiful location beside the lagoon. For us, though, the biggest attraction was simply the scenery.
Standing there surrounded by mountains, with the lagoon below and hardly any signs of modern life around us, really gave us our first feeling of what the Faroe Islands were going to be like. It was peaceful, dramatic and completely different from anywhere we had travelled before.
A useful tip about Saksun
If you are driving, there is parking near the church, making it straightforward to visit by car. There is also the famous hike between Saksun and Tjørnuvík, but we did not do this hike. We were exploring by van and had a full itinerary planned for the day.
Fossá Waterfall
From Saksun, we continued towards Fossá, one of the most impressive waterfalls in the Faroe Islands. Fossá is famous for cascading down the mountainside in several sections, making it particularly impressive when viewed from the surrounding landscape. It is also commonly described as the highest waterfall in the Faroe Islands.
What I particularly liked about this part of the journey was that the waterfall wasn’t isolated from everything around it. You are driving through a landscape of enormous mountains and open countryside, and suddenly Fossá appears on the mountainside.
It is another reminder that in the Faroe Islands, sometimes the journey between attractions is just as spectacular as the attractions themselves.
Tjørnuvík: One of Our Favourite Villages
Next came Tjørnuvík, one of the places that immediately stood out to us. Tjørnuvík is one of the oldest villages in the Faroe Islands, with Viking graves discovered in the area. It sits at the end of a dramatic valley facing the open sea.
The first thing you notice is the black-sand beach. Behind it are steep green mountains, while the sea stretches out in front of the village. It is a spectacular setting.
We spent some time exploring the village and taking in the views. This is one of those places where you don’t really need a long list of things to do. Just being there is the experience. And then there are the two famous rock formations offshore.
Risin og Kellingin: The Giant and the Witch
From the area around Tjørnuvík and later from the viewpoint near Eiði, we had views towards Risin og Kellingin, known in English as the Giant and the Witch. The two enormous sea stacks are one of the most famous natural landmarks in the Faroe Islands. According to Faroese legend, a giant and his wife, the witch, came from Iceland with the intention of pulling the Faroe Islands back to Iceland. The witch climbed onto the mountain while the giant stood in the sea, but their plan failed when the sun rose and they were turned to stone.
Whether you believe the legend or not, there is something quite magical about seeing the two rocks standing offshore. And knowing the story behind them makes the view even more interesting.
Eiði and the Mountain Roads
We continued to Eiði, another beautiful Faroese village surrounded by mountains and dramatic scenery. Eiði is particularly well known for the views towards Risin og Kellingin and Slættaratindur, the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands.
One of the things we quickly realised during this trip was that you should never rush between destinations in the Faroe Islands. The roads themselves are part of the experience. We would drive around a bend and suddenly find ourselves looking down over a fjord, across a valley or towards a tiny village surrounded by enormous mountains.
So even when a particular stop wasn’t on our original sightseeing list, we were constantly stopping for photographs.
Funningur
Our route then took us towards Funningur. Funningur is another tiny Faroese settlement with an incredible location beside the fjord. The surrounding mountains make the village feel incredibly small, which is something you experience repeatedly when travelling around the islands.
We stopped at Grímur Kamban as part of our route before continuing towards our next major stop.
Gjógv: One of the Most Beautiful Places of the Day
Then we arrived at Gjógv. And this was definitely one of the highlights of Day 1. Gjógv is famous for the spectacular natural gorge that gives the village its name. The village sits in an incredibly scenic location, with colourful houses, green mountains and the Atlantic Ocean all around it.
The natural harbour is particularly impressive. It is one of those places where you can take dozens of photographs and still feel that none of them really capture what it is like standing there. We walked around the village and spent time simply enjoying the scenery.
The name Gjógv comes from the natural sea-filled gorge that forms the village’s famous harbour. The village is also included on official Faroe Islands day tours because of its spectacular setting.
Crown Princess Mary’s Bench
While exploring Gjógv, we also visited Crown Princess Mary’s bench. It is located in a beautiful position overlooking the surrounding landscape and provided another great viewpoint. This was one of those smaller stops that didn’t require much time but was definitely worth including because of the scenery.
Elduvík: Our Final Stop
Our final major stop of the day was Elduvík. Elduvík is a tiny village tucked into the landscape, with dramatic mountains rising behind it.
By this stage of the day, we had already seen an incredible variety of Faroese scenery. We had gone from the peaceful lagoon at Saksun, to waterfalls, black-sand beaches, sea stacks, mountain roads, fjords and tiny villages. And yet, Elduvík still felt completely different.
Back to Strendur
After Elduvík, it was time to make our way back to our accommodation in Strendur. By then, we had been out for a full day and had experienced what felt like several different landscapes in just a few hours.
That is probably one of the things I enjoyed most about travelling around the Faroe Islands. You don’t need to drive for hours between completely different types of scenery. Everything is incredibly close together, but the landscape can change dramatically within minutes.
Would We Recommend This Route?
Absolutely.
If you have a full day to explore Streymoy and Eysturoy, this is a fantastic route. It combines some of the Faroe Islands’ most recognisable landscapes with smaller villages that are just as memorable.
Our route was:
Saksun → Fossá → Tjørnuvík → Eiði → Risin og Kellingin → Funningur → Gjógv → Elduvík
And because we were travelling by rental van, we could take our time, stop for photographs and adjust the route whenever we wanted.
One important lesson from this day was that you shouldn’t underestimate the weather or the roads. Conditions can change quickly in the Faroe Islands, so allow yourself plenty of flexibility rather than planning every minute of the day.
Day 1: Our Verdict
Our first full day in the Faroe Islands was everything we had hoped for. We saw dramatic mountains, waterfalls, villages, beaches, sea stacks and some of the most beautiful scenery we had ever encountered. But perhaps the best part was that this was only Day 1. There were still three more days of our Faroe Islands adventure to come.
And as we discovered later in the trip, having a plan was important, but being prepared to change that plan because of the weather was even more important.
Want to see the full itinerary? Read our complete guide to 4 Days in the Faroe Islands: Our Epic Self-Drive Adventure and see how we planned our four days around the weather.
