Cycling the Faroer Islands (bike packing)

We chose the end of June and beginning of July (2022) as this time was supposed to be the driest one (it was still very wet) and you can avoid the major tourist spike , which begins in July.

 

To get to the islands we took trains from Switzerland to Aalborg. The bikes were packed in TranZbags, so we could take them for free, however it was a nightmare finding space for them on the trains. We biked from Aalborg to Hirtshals (flat, quite boring but there are some historical landmarks on the way). On the way back we cycled part of this way again the other way to Hjørring to avoid short train transfers. To get to the Faroe Islands we took the Smyril-Line ferry to Tórshavn.

 

We did not know exactly what to expect of the Faroe Islands and came a bit overprepared. We had extra food, lots of camping gas, a water filter, lots of cash and we bought a data package for one of our phones. Then we realized that many camping sites had kitchens, drinking water was easy to get and one could buy food in many villages (still, some planning was necessary). Most places, even the remote ones were accepting bank and credit cards and there is free WiFi at gas stations, on campsites and at hotels.

Route taken:
Tórshavn - Sornfelli - Giljanes
Giljanes - Gásadalur - Giljanes
Giljanes - Bøur - Sørvágur
Hike the Mykines (no bikes)
Sørvágur - Vestmanna - Eiđi
Eiđi - Gjógv
Gjógv - Strendur - Runavik
Runavik - Kambsdalur - Leirvik
Leirvik - Klaksvík - Viđareiđi
Hiking in Viđareidi
Viđareiđi - Klaksvík - Syđradalur - Mikladalur
Mikladalur - Syđradalur - Klaksvík - Æđuvík
Æđuvík - Runavik - Bus to Tórshavn
Tórshavn - Kirkjubøur - Tórshavn
 

Here are some remarks about biking on the Faroe Islands from our own experience.

 

Positive:

- Roads are generally in good condition even for road or racing bikes. Large pot holes are rare. In towns you can bike on the sidewalk.

- On the bike you have more time to experience the landscape and you have the freedom to stop anywhere you want.

- You will be very likely the only living being travelling by bike. Sheep got always very confused seing people on bikes, while they seemed not to care about cars and hikers.

- Toll roads. You don't have to pay toll for the underwater tunnels. Warning! The new 2020 tunnel (Eysturoyartunnilin) is apparently closed for bikes. We could not find any info about that online and only saw the sign just when entering the tunnel. At this point we did not have any other option...

- Ferries. Bikes ride free on ferries between islands.

- Busses. Bikes can be transported for free in long-distance busses.

- Tent spaces. Fairly easy to find camping spots if you are tenting.

- Campsites. As mentioned before camping sites (https://www.camping.fo) have often kitchens, laundry rooms, showers and toilets. Sometimes even common rooms to warm up and drying rooms to dry your clothes, tents and shoes.

- Safety/leaving the bikes. We felt generally safe on the islands and we did not habe the feeling that it is necessary to lock our bikes over the night. It was more important to find a dry space. Some campsites had some passageways with a roof. If you want to stay longer on Mykines, contact the ferry company (https://www.mykines.fo/) for a bike storage option.

- There are gas stations at important intersections in the middle of nowhere. Here you can warm up, have some lunch and use WiFi (sometimes) to plan your route.

 

Challenges:

- Lots of heavy traffic on the major roads during week days. Have bike lights on at foggy conditions and in the tunnels.

- The weather. The weather changes every 10 minutes or so, so come prepared for it. One moment you are sweating in the sun, the next you are fighting rain showers and gusts of wind or you are swimming in fog. We did not have top tier equipment, but equipment well-suited for outdoor conditions. Price-wise I would say, it was in the medium range. Much of it was second hand stuff but in good condition. Still, my cheap rain gear got wet after days in the rain and this when I started to get cold.

- Wind. The wind is more or less constantly bashing you. Several times we were fighting frontal wind going uphill. Also, a good tent is important. We saw many tent poles snapping and some tents clllapsing on campgrounds. Our tent survived well up to the last day where one pole dislodged and ripped a small hole into the inner tent.

- Weather forecasts. It is hard to plan and nearly impossible to predict. We found somewhat precise forecasts for 1 maybe 2 days on a Norse website (https://www.yr.no). There are also webcams (https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/webcams/faroe-islands_faroe-islands) on major passes, so you can check current conditions.

- Topography. The many ups and downs are a challenge, especially in combination with the weather. Sometimes, the main road passes villages on the slopes above. To avoid the climb, in some places you can pass through the village instead and get back on the main road, when it comes back down. We had a road bike with 16 gears and a gravel bike with 18 gears. With my road bike I was sometimes struggling on the slopes missing a few lighter gears.

- Many roads are only in and out, and many of the sightseeing hotspots and campsites are in dead ends. So we ended up biking the same routes several times. On bikes, we found there were not so many campgrounds, especially because 2 major ones were closed. However, there were some B&B or hotel possibilities available nearby as alternatives.

- Seatunnels. The underwater tunnels have a sidewalk you could bike on but we found it a bit narrow for our loaded bikes. We ended up biking on the road and cars had to pass us in a no passing zone. We were thankful to the Faroese drivers for their patience. On a bike, you are not allowed to use the new underwater tunnel between Streymoy and Eysturoy, however there is a bus connection (bus 450, about 60 DKK per person), where you can take the bikes for free.

- Mountain tunnels. The tunnels on Borđoy are one-way with a traffic ligth. It is very narrow and cars cannot or will not pass you, when you move. So let the cars pass first and then bike as fast as you can cause you don't habe much time until the next wave comes. If you are to late to make it through, wait for the oncoming traffic to pass you in a niche on the side. One of the hardest mountain tunnel to pass through for us was Leirvíkartunnilin. Although a two-lane tunnel, it is very narrow, there are no niches and there is only a gravel strip on each side. The day we went had lots of fast traffic and many lorries.

- If you like hiking, beware that some places have hiking fees and it appears that more and more landowners instate one if a popular trail crosses their land. For some trails it was not clear until you were standing at the trailhead. The hiking fees can be very high, the highest we saw was 550 DKK! They are, however, often on a trust basis (there is just a letter box or a bank account written on a sign) and we saw that many tourists just ignore them.

 

Other suggestions/remarks:

- Have some overshoes ready in case it is raining. Drying wet shoes can be a challenge.

- Bike shops are rare you have the minimum you need to fix a tire or a break.

- Have some extra days if you have bad weather and cannot do a hike you really want to do. Like this you can postpone it for a day. Have some other options ready.

- Have some cash for hiking/museum fees.

- Check comments on Alltrails about hiking fees.

- When planning your stay, keep in mind that most stores are closed on Sunday.

- Have some 10 and 20 DKK coins with you for showers/laundry.

- Do some good, collect some garbage on the route. As everywhere nowadays, there is lots of litter along the roads. I find plastic cords, nets and ropes the most dangerous garbage for animals.