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ferryman.ca
The Faroe Islands is a country of 17 inhabited islands lodged in a remote corner of the North Atlantic about mid-way between the Shetlands and Iceland. Inter-island ferries have therefore played a vital role in the islands’ development. But that importance has diminished a lot in recent years as major, and very impressive, tunnels have been built to link most of the larger islands. Unconnected islands are still linked by government-run ferries and in some cases by helicopter service. But the tunnels have made travelling around the islands much easier, which has led to a spurt in tourist visits.
For our visit in September 2025 we stayed in a hotel on the hill looking down on the capital city Tórshavn, on its harbours and, weather permitting, across the Nólsoyarfjørður to the island of Nólsoy. While we watched the ever changing sea and sky we could see the ferry crossing back and forth from Tórshavn to Nólsoy. The harbour was always busy - in addition to the Nólsoy ferry there are also ferries to the southernmost island of Suðuroy, as yet unconnected by a tunnel, and also the Smyril Line ferry that connects to Iceland and Denmark.
We first saw the ferry docked in Seyðisfjörður when we toured Iceland in 2005. Back then it also made a stop in Scotland on its way to Denmark. It triggered a dream to be able to travel from Canada to Britain just by using ferries. It will probably just remain a dream as I see little likelihood of any ferry connection from Canada to Greenland to Iceland.
Like most travellers we were visiting the islands mainly for their dramatic coastal scenery. Our visit was squeezed into four days and hampered by a sprained ankle which limited us to mainly driving the few but excellent roads. The tunnels, under the sea and through the mountains, made it easy and relatively quick to drive through much of the country. But a few more days and the chance to use a few ferries to visit the other islands would have been well worthwhile.
The Faroes have a reputation for very wet and fast changing weather, but mild winters. The hills are all covered with lush grass which feed the ubiquitous sheep. Everywhere we saw sheep, all dressed in wild, long coats of vary patterns of black and white and grey and brown. But the weather treated us very kindly; we barely needed our wet-weather gear, although the skies were ever changing and the wind constantly very strong.
The inter-island tunnels allowed us to rent a car and to do the trip in such a compressed time, and without them we might never have found the time to visit. But as impressive as the tunnels were I still hankered after the experience of waiting for a ferry at the end of the road and admiring the beauty of the land from the sea as we crossed.

INFO
Location
The crossing
The crossing is 6 and takes 20 minutes. Departures about every 1 to 2 hours, between 6:45 and 10:00, 365 days a year, with reduced schedule on weekends and holidays.
The boats
Cost
66 DKK for a pedestrian, 168 DKK for a car (2025). Discounts for residents and for pre-paying.
Operator

When I was there
September 2025
External links related to the

The MS Galaxy from Limassol

What was the MS Galaxy doing in Tórshavn harbour while we were there? A large ro-ro ferry registered in Limassol in Cyprus. It turns out that the Galaxy was standing in for the MS Smyril, the regular ro-ro ferry used on the Tórshavn to Krambatangi (island of Suðuroy) route while the Smyril was in dock in Denmark undergoing its 20-year inspection and other updates.

The MS Smyril vessel is not to be confused with the Faroese owned Smyril Line which operates the ferry service to Iceland and Denmark. And what does Smyril mean? Its the name in Faroese and in the Shetlands for a merlin, a small falcon.


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