The Faroe Islands is one among our Best Places to Go in 2025. Find our full information here.
When I picked up the keys to my rental automotive in the Faroe Islands, the agent slid me a contract in contrast to any I’d seen. No clauses about mileage, no small print on insurance coverage. Instead, it was extra of an oath—one which mentioned I used to be able to “follow the car’s mysterious path, refrain from rebelling against the GPS overlord, and enjoy the adventure—even if I don’t know where I’m going.”
That’s the concept behind the Faroe Islands’ new “self-navigating” automotive excursions, the place vacationers relinquish management to a spontaneous itinerary of off-the-beaten-path locales, curated by way of Google Maps. There are dozens of various routes, which might be kicked off from wherever you select to start out your journey, and can take you to locations throughout all seven islands that may be reached by bridges and undersea tunnels. Though the tourism board has put aside autos particularly for the excursions—rentable by means of 62°N (a firm at the airport)—anybody with a sensible telephone and wheels can entry them.
The new initiative is designed to unfold vacationers extra evenly throughout the distant archipelago, situated in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Scotland. In latest years, the scenic volcanic islands have change into more and more standard amongst vacationers—and their Instagram accounts. In 2023, greater than 130,000 overseas vacationers visited the Faroe Islands, outnumbering the roughly 54,000 locals. Wary of their residence changing into one other casualty of overtourism, the authorities has labored for years to stop the islands from changing into overrun, together with by closing the nation every spring for “voluntourism” path work and by implementing a nightly tourism tax, starting October 2025.
The artwork of shock is deeply embedded on this new program—if two individuals begin a self-navigating route from the identical place at the identical time, they’re going to be given totally different routes. I started my journey in the capital of Tórshavn, which was my residence base for days of exploration. That first morning, after scanning a QR code on my automotive’s dashboard, the GPS despatched me to Kirkjubøur, a tiny seaside settlement that was as soon as the spiritual and cultural coronary heart of Streymoy island. Today it’s recognized for its trio of medieval treasures, together with the ruins of St. Magnus Cathedral, a 900-year-old picket farmhouse nonetheless inhabited by the identical household, and the white-washed Olav’s Church, which continues to host companies overlooking the sea. For the half-hour I milled round, it was simply me (although as I used to be leaving, a vanload of different vacationers pulled up).