Faroese tunnels explained
Which tunnels are tolled, and which are single-lane?
A reference for the subsea tolls and the older single-lane mountain tunnels that visitors find unnerving.
- Four subsea tunnels are tolled; mountain tunnels are free.
- Tolls are automatic — there are no booths — and reach you via the rental company.
- Single-lane tunnels have passing bays marked M and a yielding convention.
Tunnels are how the Faroes stitch themselves together. There are more than twenty, and knowing which sort you are entering removes most of the anxiety.
Subsea, tolled
- Vágatunnilin — Streymoy to Vágar, on the airport road.
- Norðoyatunnilin — Eysturoy to Borðoy and the north.
- Eysturoyartunnilin — Tórshavn to Runavík, with the roundabout beneath the fjord.
- Sandoyartunnilin — Streymoy to Sandoy, opened 2023, replacing the ferry.
None have toll booths. Cameras read the plate and the charge reaches your rental company, who bill you afterwards — often weeks later.
Single-lane mountain tunnels
Older tunnels are one lane wide with passing bays cut into one wall. They are unlit apart from your headlights and can run well over a kilometre. Traffic is light, so meeting someone is occasional rather than constant.
- Turn headlights on before entering.
- Watch for the M signs marking passing bays.
- If the bays are on your side, you give way.
- If you meet head-on, whoever is nearer a bay uses it. Do not reverse a long way.
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