The Faroe Islands have 960 km / 600 miles of road in total — 460 km of national highway and 500 km of local roads — and almost all of the interesting riding happens on the local half. Four tolled subsea tunnels now stitch the archipelago together, several older mountain tunnels are single-lane with passing bays, and a lot of the coastal roads are single-track with lay-bys. Riding here is not about distance. It is about learning two rules — how single-lane meeting works and how the tunnel tolls are billed — and then having a very good few days.
Route at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Road network | 960 km / 600 miles total: 460 km national, 500 km local |
| Vágatunnilin | 4,940 m / 16,210 ft, opened 10 December 2002, deepest point 105 m below sea level, two lanes, 7 m wide; 2,933 vehicles a day in 2024 |
| Norðoyatunnilin | 6.2 km / 3.9 miles, opened 29 April 2006, down to 150 m below sea level, maximum gradient about 6 per cent; 4,221 vehicles a day in 2024 |
| Eysturoyartunnilin | 11,238 m / 6.98 miles across three tubes, opened 19 December 2020, with the world's first undersea roundabout 72.6 m below the fjord; lowest point 189 m below sea level, no gradient steeper than 5 per cent |
| Sandoyartunnilin | 10.8 km / 6.7 miles, opened 21 December 2023, replacing the Gamlarætt to Skopun ferry |
| Tolls | the four subsea tunnels are tolled, all other tunnels are free; charging is by automatic number plate recognition |
| Payment window | single-trip online payment no later than six days after passage, otherwise an additional 50 DKK applies; Faroese rental vehicles are billed by the rental company at its own rates |
| Single-lane rule | passing places marked with an M sign; priority is signposted at tunnel entrances; turnouts sit on the right, and the driver with the turnout on their right gives way |
| External link | Smyril Line's Norröna runs weekly between Tórshavn, Seyðisfjörður in Iceland and Hirtshals in Denmark |
To put the classic first ride on your phone before you leave the airport, open the Sørvágur to Gásadalur directions and send them to your navigation app. It is short, and it goes through a single-lane mountain tunnel to one of the most photographed villages in the North Atlantic.
The tunnel system, and how it is billed
Until 2002 the islands were a set of separate road networks linked by ferries. The Streymin Bridge of 1973 joined Eysturoy and Streymoy into what Faroese call Meginlandið, the mainland, and then four subsea tunnels changed the geography completely.
The Vágatunnilin opened on 10 December 2002 under the Vestmannasund, 4,940 m long and 105 m below sea level at its deepest, connecting Tórshavn's island to the airport island. The Norðoyatunnilin followed on 29 April 2006, 6.2 km under the Leirvíksfjørður down to 150 m below sea level with a maximum gradient of about six per cent, linking Eysturoy to Klaksvík.
Then came the big one. The Eysturoyartunnilin opened on 19 December 2020: three tubes totalling 11,238 m meeting at a roundabout 72.6 m below the surface of the Skálafjørður, the first undersea roundabout in the world, decorated with an 80 m metal artwork by Tróndur Patursson and lighting effects. The main branch from Tórshavn to the roundabout is 7,460 m, with 2,153 m to Saltnes and 1,625 m to Strendur. Nothing in it is steeper than five per cent and its lowest point is 189 m below sea level. It cut Tórshavn to Runavík from 55 km to 17 km and from 64 minutes to 16, and Tórshavn to Klaksvík from 68 minutes to 36. The Sandoyartunnilin, 10.8 km to Sandoy, opened on 21 December 2023 and ended the Teistin ferry route.
How you pay. The four subsea tunnels are tolled; every other tunnel in the country is free. There are no booths — cameras read your plate as you drive through. You can pay online before or after the trip, set up an automatic agreement, or use a subscription, and a single-trip online payment must be made no later than six days after the passage or an extra 50 DKK is added. If you are on a Faroese rental vehicle, you do not use the public toll system at all; the rental company bills you directly at its own rates, which is worth confirming when you collect the vehicle. Vágatunnilin and Norðoyatunnilin are charged in one direction only, which in practice means you are billed for both ways when driving out from Vágar or from Klaksvík. Eysturoyartunnilin and Sandoyartunnilin charge per direction travelled.
Single-lane roads and single-lane tunnels
This is the part that genuinely worries first-time visitors, and it is simpler than it sounds once you know the convention.
On single-track roads there are lay-bys along the whole length. They exist to keep traffic moving, not for parking, so do not stop in one to take a photograph. Give way courteously and expect the same.
Single-lane tunnels work to a rule. Signage at the entrance tells you which direction has priority. If you do not have it, you duck into one of the passing places, which are marked with an M sign. The turnouts are cut into the right-hand side of the tunnel, so the practical version is that the driver who has the turnout on their right is the one who moves. In the older tunnels the bays come roughly every hundred metres. The one exception worth remembering: if you meet a lorry or a bus, pull into the nearest passing place whether it is on your right or your left, because they cannot manoeuvre and you can.
On a motorcycle this is easier than in a car — you fit, you can see further ahead, and you can stop in a shorter space. What is not easy is the light. Many of the older mountain tunnels are unlit or barely lit, they are wet, and the temperature drops as you enter. A dark visor that was fine on the open road becomes a real problem, so carry a clear one or run a photochromic.
Where to ride
Vágar is where most riders start, because it holds the airport. The road to Gásadalur through the mountain tunnel is the postcard, and Bøur on the way is the better village. Streymoy holds Tórshavn and the road out to Kirkjubøur; the old route north through Sundalagið is longer than the tunnel but far more interesting.
Eysturoy repays a full day: the coast road from Skipanes toward Syðrugøta, the run out to Gjógv at the northern tip, and the climb to the Slættaratindur viewpoint between Eiði and Gjógv. Borðoy and the northern isles beyond the Norðoyatunnilin are quieter again, with causeways linking Borðoy to Viðoy and Kunoy and a set of dead-end valley roads that are worth riding purely because almost nobody does.
Sandoy is the newest addition to the road network and still feels like it: open moorland, few cars, and a road system that until December 2023 saw fewer than 200 vehicles a day arrive by ferry.
Practical information
Season and weather. The Faroes have no riding season in the Alpine sense — the roads stay open — but the weather is the limiting factor. Faroese sources describe international transport as difficult year round because of cost, distance and weather, and especially bad in winter. Realistically, May to September is when a motorcycle trip makes sense, and even then you should plan for rain, fog on the passes and crosswinds strong enough to move a bike between the lanes. As of August 2026 that is the pattern; check current conditions daily rather than relying on a forecast made three days earlier.
Getting there with a bike. Smyril Line's Norröna runs a weekly service linking Tórshavn with Seyðisfjörður in Iceland and Hirtshals in Denmark, carrying vehicles. That is the way to bring your own motorcycle, and it combines naturally with an Iceland leg. Book early for July and August.
Sheep. They are everywhere, they are not fenced off the road, and they move without warning. This is not a quaint detail: Google's Street View coverage of the islands was famously produced by residents and sheep rather than Google cars, which tells you how much of the road network is shared with them. Expect them on blind crests and in tunnel mouths.
Fuel. Tórshavn, Klaksvík and the larger settlements have stations. The outer islands and dead-end valley roads do not. Fill before you leave the main network.
Ferries and helicopters. Strandfaraskip Landsins runs the ferries and the blue village buses; the Smyril links Tórshavn to Suðuroy in the south, which has no tunnel connection. Timetables are sparse and weather-dependent, so build slack into any day that depends on a boat.
Gear notes
Three things about the Faroes make specific demands on kit.
The first is weather sealing and layering. Rain here is horizontal as often as not, and the temperature difference between a sunlit coast road and a 200 m-deep tunnel is significant. Nothing exotic is required, but everything needs to actually keep water out.
The second is navigation. Coverage is decent near settlements and poor in the valleys and inside tunnels, and a wrong turn on a dead-end fjord road costs a lot of time. A head unit that keeps maps locally, such as the JADO S6 motorcycle riding system, is the sensible answer. If the category is new, read the plain explanation of a motorcycle riding system first.
The third is power and pressure monitoring. Ferry crossings, guesthouses in villages of forty people and long days out mean sockets are scarce, so a 100 W bi-directional fast charger is worth its space. And because temperatures swing between a warm afternoon and a cold sea tunnel, a Bluetooth TPMS sensor gives you pressure and temperature on the move rather than at a petrol station you might not reach for an hour.
FAQ
Do you pay tolls on Faroese tunnels?
On the four subsea tunnels, yes. All other tunnels are free. Charging is automatic by number plate, and a single-trip online payment must be made within six days of the passage or a further 50 DKK is added. Faroese rental vehicles are billed by the rental company instead.
How do single-lane tunnels work?
Signs at the entrance state which direction has priority. If you do not have it, you pull into a passing place marked with an M. The bays are on the right-hand side, so the driver with the bay on their right gives way. If you meet a lorry or a bus, use the nearest bay regardless of which side it is on.
Is the Faroe Islands good for motorcycling?
Yes, if you accept that the total network is 960 km and the point is quality rather than distance. Coastal roads, mountain crossings and dead-end fjord valleys give you three or four excellent days without repeating much.
How do I get my own bike there?
Smyril Line's Norröna, which runs weekly between Hirtshals in Denmark, Tórshavn and Seyðisfjörður in Iceland and carries vehicles. Many riders build a combined Faroes and Iceland trip around that schedule.
When is the best time to go?
May to September. The roads stay open year round, but wind, fog and rain make winter riding a poor idea, and daylight in June and July is long enough to ride until very late.
Are the roads dangerous?
Not inherently, but they are narrow, wet and shared with sheep, and the older tunnels are dark and unlit. Ride to sight lines, carry a clear visor and treat every blind crest as if there is a ewe behind it.
Sources
- Transport in the Faroe Islands, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transport_in_the_Faroe_Islands
- Eysturoyartunnilin, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eysturoyartunnilin
- Vágatunnilin and Norðoyatunnilin, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vágatunnilin
- Sandoyartunnilin, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandoyartunnilin
- Tunnel tolls and payment rules, Tunnil — tunnil.fo/en/
