Hiking in the Faroe Islands
Where can I walk, and what does access cost?
Most land is privately owned and several popular routes charge a fee or require a guide.
- Almost all land is private — access is permitted, not guaranteed.
- Several well-known walks charge a landowner fee.
- Trails are marked with cairns, not signposts, and fog hides both.
Walking is the main reason many people come, and the access situation is the thing most visitors get wrong. There is no general right to roam. The land belongs to farmers, and several of the famous routes now charge.
Routes with an access fee
- Sørvágsvatn and Trælanípa — access conditions and fees can change; check current official route information.
- Trælanípa and the Bøsdalafossur waterfall, on the same route.
- Kallur lighthouse on Kalsoy — fee collected locally.
- Parts of Mykines, where a guide is required in some seasons.
Fees are set by individual landowners and change without notice. BEST has no feed for them — treat the figures above as indicative and pay what is asked at the trailhead.
Old paths
The hagagøtur — the old routes between villages, used before the roads — are mapped by Umhvørvisstovan and are often the best walking in the country. They are marked with cairns rather than signs.
A cairned route disappears in fog. If visibility drops below the distance between cairns, turn back rather than continue on a bearing.
Trip shapes that use this
Read next
Staying safe
Cliffs without railings, weather that turns fast, and no mobile signal where you need it most.
Faroese weather, and planning around it
Not cold, rarely still, and different on two sides of the same island. Plan flexibly rather than optimistically.
What to pack
Wind-proof rather than warm, waterproof boots, and no umbrella.