The Southern Islands (Sandoy and Suduroy)
The South That Keeps Its Own Time
South of the capital, the Faroes shift into a lower gear, and it is a change of rhythm we love. Sandoy rolls where the northern islands soar, a landscape of dunes, lakes, and low green hills, now linked to the capital by the country’s newest undersea tunnel. Two hours further by ferry lies Suðuroy, the southernmost island, which has spent centuries cultivating a character all its own, from its west-coast bird cliffs to the village that guards the original Faroese flag. This is the calmer half of the archipelago, and we save it for travelers who would rather settle in and wander than tick off a list.
Come and Discover the Southern Islands
Impressions of the Southern Islands
What to See and Do on Sandoy and Suðuroy
Our top 5 reasons to visit this region
Black Sand Where You Least Expect It
Discover the dunes of Sandoy, the only sand dunes in the archipelago, made of black basalt sand and backed by a beach where Faroese swim year-round. It is the last landscape you expect in the Faroes, which is exactly why it stays with you.
A Cliff Straight Out of the Atlantic
Take the mountain road to Beinisvørð, a sea cliff rising 470 meters (1,542 feet) straight from the ocean, long celebrated by Faroese poets and reached almost to the top by car. One of the great cliffs of the islands, and one of the easiest to stand atop.
Where the Light Lingers Longest
Save the west-facing cliffs of Eggjarnar, above Vágur, for the end of the day, when they catch the longest light in the islands. Watching the sun go down over the open Atlantic from here is among the south’s quiet rewards.
Into a Bowl of Cliffs
Take the easy mountain crossing from Tvøroyri into Hvannhagi, a bowl of cliffs and a lake with the Dímun islands floating offshore. The reveal as you crest the pass and the whole amphitheater opens below is worth the climb.
The Southernmost Point of All
Drive to Akraberg lighthouse at the southern tip of the country, a white tower held down by steel cables against the wind, where the next land south is an uninhabited Scottish island. You can feel exactly how far into the Atlantic these islands reach.
"Sandoy felt like the perfect place to slow down for a while. It's quiet, peaceful, and somewhere I found myself simply enjoying the pace of life."
Zsanett Barbara Nagy
Itineraries for Inspiration
The south suits travelers who have five days or more and a fondness for places that do not perform. Our itinerary inspirations below can add a Sandoy day through the new tunnel, then hand a night or two to Suðuroy, built around the ferry timetable and the quiet pleasures on either side of it.
Multi Day Tour to the Valley
Tórshavn and the Green Beyond
Island by Island
What our travelers find useful
Schedule Around the Smyril First
The Suðuroy ferry Smyril sails two to three times daily, and everything on the island has to fit around it. We build the day around the right sailings so you are never rushing for a boat or stranded waiting for one, and we flag the small local quirks in advance, like the fare being collected only on the return crossing, so nothing catches you off guard.
Do Not Try It in a Day
The ferry takes over two hours each way, which means five hours at sea and almost no time on the island itself. One night in Tvøroyri or Vágur turns Suðuroy from a checklist into a memory, and the island has enough hotels, cafés, and even a hospital to look after you properly.
The Old Road Over Beinisvørð
The mountain pass between Lopra and Sumba runs past the great cliff and opens only when snow-free, which is not often in winter. If it is shut, the tunnel delivers you to Sumba and the Akraberg lighthouse anyway; if it is open, take it, because the view from the top is the best on Suðuroy.
Services Are Clustered
On Suðuroy, fuel and shops concentrate in Tvøroyri and Vágur; on Sandoy, in Sandur and Skopun. Fill the tank and the picnic bag accordingly, because the stretches between them offer little.
Sandoy's Tunnel Art
Ease back to the speed limit and watch the walls, because Edward Fuglø’s installations make this the rare commute worth driving twice. It is the only undersea tunnel in the country where the art, not the destination, is the reason to slow down.
The Faroe Islands stories to inform & inspire
Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland: Which One Is Right for You?
A Faroe Islands Honeymoon: Where Almost No One Else Goes
Reasons to Visit Greenland, and Why It’s Not a Side Trip from Iceland
Discover More of The Faroe Islands
Streymoy & Tórshavn
Streymoy and Tórshavn hold the pocket-sized capital and its home island, from the ancient parliament headland of Tinganes to the bird cliffs of Vestmanna and the tidal lagoon at Saksun.
Vágar
Vágar greets most arrivals first, and it wastes no time: the island holds the country's only airport, the boat out to puffin-covered Mykines, and a coastline of sea stacks and clifftop villages within minutes of the runway.
Eysturoy
Eysturoy mixes old and new like nowhere else, with two stone giants stranded off its north coast, the tallest mountains in the country, and the world's first roundabout built beneath the sea.
The Northern Islands
The Northern Islands are the Faroes at their most vertical: Kalsoy's film-famous lighthouse, the seal-woman statue at Mikladalur, Klaksvík's working harbor, and Europe's great northern cliff at Enniberg.