Faroe Islands expands its self-navigating car itineraries

We can’t all be type B travellers, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with pulling together an itinerary before a trip (in fact, you could be rewarded for doing so).

But with research earlier this year revealing two-thirds of travellers have arrived in a destination that already feels familiar because they had consumed so much content about it online, we think embracing a bit of spontaneity might be the answer.

Which is exactly what you can do with the Faroe Islands’ self-navigating car adventures, which have just been expanded.

First announced last summer, travellers are encouraged to hop in a car and let the GPS take you between four to six landmarks over the course of three to six hours.

Each spot has been carefully curated by locals, and you won’t know where you’re headed until you arrive.

Best of all, while there will be some overlapping stops, no tourist will receive the same itinerary as someone else on the road at the same time, so you never feel like you’re doing the same old thing as everybody else.

“These routes are shaped by the people who live here, offering a more authentic perspective,” Marta Káradóttir, content and communications manager at Visit Faroe Islands and project manager behind the initiative, said.

“We’re really just asking travellers to let go of control for a moment. When you don’t know what’s around the next corner, you open yourself up to something completely different. Maybe something more beautiful. Maybe just more real.”

Where you could be headed on a self-navigating car adventure

The original launch involved 30 itineraries, but 15 more have just been added. Extra potential pit stops have also been added to existing routes.

On the cultural side of things, you might find yourself at Funningur Church, one of the oldest turfroofed wooden churches in the Faroe Islands, or at Viðareiði Church, which boasts views of one of Europe’s tallest sea cliffs.

You might find yourself hiking among the fjords, reflecting on the beauty of Lake Funningsvatn, or going for a dip in an outdoor pool in the remote village of Syðradalur.

How to get to the Faroe Islands

There’s only one airport on the Faroe Islands – Vágar.

The archipelago’s national carrier Atlantic Airways operates flights to and from Billund and Copenhagen in Denmark, Oslo, and Reykjavík year-round, as well as from destinations such as Barcelona, London Gatwick, and Paris Charles de Gaulle seasonally.

Alternatively, you can take the ferry from Hirtshals in northern Denmark, which takes around 30 hours.

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