Faroe Islands
We arrived a day late after the cancellation in Greenland, on Atlanic Airways flight. We collected ourbags and heading towards Bour. The hike up the ridge to Gasadalur was quite scenic until weather came in, views out towards Mykines and Bangarnir were very impressive. We had a quick bit at the cafe in Gasadalur, and took the classic photo of Mulafossur. I expected this waterfall to be more crowded, it is indeed unmissable, and even if photographed millions of times there is some pleasure in getting a great shot still for us ametuers.
We then checked into ourhotel, relaxed for a bit and went for fish and chips. The following day we hiked on Streymoy. We split up with one doing a trail run from Haldarsvik to Saksun and on to Tjornuvik. Great views and quite solitary, aside from being divebombed by skua polar seabird. The other hiked from Tjornuvik up towards Mylingur, however on the other side of the valley the winds were hammering and no views so turned around early. Overal highly recommend hiking/running on northern parts of Streymoy.
That night we had dinner at Paz, a new restaurant from an acclaimed local chef. It was excellent . The style was very nordic as expected, but taste profiles were excellent, while still incorporating local traditions and flavors. Meal was at a communal table, which was actually enjoyable.
The following day we hiked to Eidiskollur, a very nice viewpoint, looking back towards yesterdays activities. Make sure you go to the end as the view down to the sea is mesmerizing.
The drive eastward towards Gjogv was quite scenic. Short Gonguturur viewpoint hike is worthwhile. We had lunch in Gjogy which as fine. We then drove to Fulafjordur, and did a trail run along the coast east of the town. Mellow without much elevation but quite scenic.
The following day we attempted the Villingadsalsfjall hike on Vidoy, our best weather day as per forecast. However, at about 500m up storm came in fast and had to retreat. Great views look south however. Did the Vestmanna boat tour that afternoon, was fun enough despite hating group tours of this sort. Happy that it wasn't too long. We didn't see any puffins, but had previously seen them in Iceland, mainly just wanted to appreciate the cliffs from the sea.
We did a few short hikes on Kunoy, neither really recommended to be frank, maybe if we had done the full circuit and summited could have appreciated better views. Was aiming to do Klasvik viewpoint but ran out of time to do it justice.
We ate at Moss, which was fine, Aastova, Roks. Roks was clear winner amongst these. Artic snow crap was delicious. Would recommend making dinner reservations in advance as food is quite hit and miss.
Due to poor planning and flights getting moved around we ended up staying at 3 different hotels, Hilton, Seaside 1948, and Brandan. The latter was clearly the worst of the 3 due to a rude encounter with front desk, and road noise.
Got dinged for an allegedly new scratch on an already scratched up rental car to the tune of 8000DKK, hoping credit card covers it, not clear with the mandatory LDW with conflicts with credit card insurance requiring you void LDW. Recommend full paranoia with respect to rental cars here, don't just take photos of preexisting damage, do a full walk around with video. Also got a parking ticket for being slightly over yellow line in a mostly empty parking lot, and those tunnel fees add up.
We met some friendly folks in Kvivik, highly recommended, not so much at Sneaden where we were sneered at.
Customer service in the hotels overall was quite poor by international standards. Lots of media/reviews completely whitewash this aspect of Faroes/Nordic countries. Do not expect anyone to help you with your bags, hold a door when your hands are full, pour you a coffee, provide table service at breakfast, even if you are paying >$600/night. Basic politeness is also somewhat optional. My impression was that they are somewhat fed up with toursits, despite their tourists board contributing to the social media buzz to begin with. Also, fees for starting, then using a sauna, hot tub, which are beyond reasonable in my opinion.
We basically avoided all hiking fees, mostly to also avoid more crowded activities, there was a recommended fee at Villingadalsafjall, despite not providing proper trail maintenance and some inappropriately colored plastic cairns.
Overall the views are stunning, but scenery overall is a bit monotonous, and less dramatic than Lofoten. Its less varied compared to Iceland, and in our opinion not as an awe inspiring destination inferior to east Greenland, Iceland, Lofoten overall. Poor trail conditions, and poor weather limit its appeal as a return hiking destination. Considering the service, weather , ethical issues, and distance, certainly squarely on our do not return travel list. If you do go, I'd recommend flying Atlantic airways, far more reliable option to the islands than Iceland Air. 4 days should be sufficient, hoping to get 1 or 2 reasonable weather days.