Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands, situated some 370 km north-west of Shetland, are a dependency of Denmark. A score of road tunnels interconnect the islands, while a further six are either currently under construction or planned.

The road network

Motorways

There are no motorways on the Faroe Islands.

Other main roads

The end of Route 15 in Toftir, Eysturoy. Where possible, roads in the Faroe Islands hug the coast to avoid the mountains. Outside of the major population centres, traffic is light.

Faroese main roads are single carriageway, usually one lane in each direction and of good quality. On the main routes, for example Routes 10 and 11, the speed limit can be easily reached, with the roads having modern geometry and sight lines. Some tunnels and approaches can be quite steep, causing heavier vehicles to struggle in places. However traffic is sufficiently light that overtaking is possible in many places.

With the odd exception, all main roads have two digit numbers, with the lowest (Route 10) connecting the capital Tórshavn to the second largest town, Klaksvík via the Eysturoyartunnilin.

As of 2023, the majority of the population is connected to each other via bridges or tunnels. Some northern islands still require a ferry journey, and the large islands of Sandoy and Suðuroy in the south are yet to be connected - however Sandoy is due to be connected to the "mainland" by a new tunnel that will replace the ferry service onto Streymoy.

Selected Main Roads of the Faroe Islands

Route	Length	From	To	Island(s)	Notes
10	38km	Tórshavn	Klaksvík	Streymoy, Eysturoy, Borðoy	Main road in the Faroes. Includes Eysturoytunnilin and Norðoyatunnilin
11	27km	Airport	Kollafjørður	Vágar, Streymoy	Main road to airport, includes Vágatunnilin
12	16.4km	Tórshavn	Sandur	Streymoy, Sandoy	via Sandoyartunnilin
14	17.5km	Tvøroyri	Vágur	Suðuroy
15	18.9km	Toftir	Skálabotnur	Streymoy	Includes the two short arms of Eysturoytunnilin
16	6.4km	Norðragøta	Fuglafjørður	Eysturoy
21	12.5km	Route 11 at Stikkið	Vestmanna	Streymoy
22	1.1km	Airport	Sørvágur	Vágar	Continuation of Route 11 from Airport
23	10.2km	Oyrarbakki	Eiði	Eysturoy
32	8.7km	Øravík	Fámjin	Suðuroy
34	13.6km	Tvøroyri	Sandvík	Suðuroy
40	9.3km	Sandur	Skálavík	Sandoy
45	9.6km	Sørvágur	Gásadalur	Vágar	Continuation of Route 22 from Sørvágur
50	20km	Tórshavn	Kollafjørður	Streymoy	Old mountain road leading north from Tórshavn. Replaced by Kollafjørðurtunnilin route.
60	8.8km	east of Orarbakki	Funningur	Eysturoy
63	10.4km	Skálabotnur	Oyndarfjørður	Eysturoy
64	1.5km	near Oyndarfjørður	Hellurnar	Eysturoy	Spur off Route 63
65	11.6km	Strendur	Selatrað	Eysturoy
70	18.7km	Klaksvík	Viðareiði	Borðoy, Viðoy
71	9.0km	Klaksvík	Kunoy	Borðoy, Kunoy
76	16.7km	Syðradalur	Trøllanes	Kalsoy
550	16.1km	Hvítanes	Kollafjørður	Streymoy	Not signed on ground but shown on Open Streetmap - Old route 10 section via Kollafjørðurtunnilin

Note: Some routes may have been renumbered due to new tunnel openings and road improvements. Some route numbers may not be shown on the ground. Not all double digit roads have been shown.

Local roads

Local roads have three digit numbers (where used) and are of varying quality, some of which may be single track or unpaved.

Tunnels

Due to the topography of the islands, there are numerous tunnels connecting nearly all of the main islands, with several planned. Tunnels are free to use, except for the sub-sea tunnels:- Vágatunnilin (100kr by car as of 2023), Norðoyartunnilin (100kr) and Eysturoyartunnilin (175/125kr).

Subsea Tunnels of the Faroe Islands

Tunnel	Opened	Length (m)	Route No.	From	To	Islands	Notes
Vágatunnilin	2002	4,940	11	Leynar	Fútaklett	Vágar, Streymoy	Connects the Airport to the main islands. Fully lit, also with electric cat's eyes along the edge markings. Steepest section of tunnel is 6.9%.
Norðoyatunnilin	2006	6,186	10	Leirvík	Klaksvík	Eysturoy, Borðoy	Connects Klaksvík and the northern island communities to the "Mainland"
Eysturoyartunnilin	2020	11,200	10/15	Tórshavn	Strendur and Runavík/Toftir	Streymoy, Eysturoy	Has significantly reduced journey times to southern Eysturoy and improved connections to Klaksvík It now makes commuting possible from Runavík and neighbouring villages into the capital. Features include light art, and the "Jellyfish" roundabout.
Sandoyartunnilin	2013	10,785	12	Gamlarætt	Traðardalur	Streymoy, Sandoy	Replaced the old ferry that ran Gamlarætt - Skopun - Hestur. It was projected that approximately 400 vehicles per day would use the tunnel, early 2024 figures show the traffic is double this projection.

A further tunnel, related to Sandoyartunnilin, is proposed to link Sandoy with Suðuroy, but this is only in the planning stages. This would mean that all major populated islands would be connected by road.

Selected Land Tunnels of the Faroe Islands

Tunnel	Opened	Length (m)	Route No.	From	To	Island(s)	Notes
Árnafjarðartunnilin	1965	1,680	70	Klaksvík	Árnafjørður	Borðoy	One of the two Borðoyartunlarnir. Single lane traffic, due to be replaced by a modern tunnel.
Hvannasundstunnilin	1967	2,120	70	Árnafjørður	Hvannasund	Borðoy	One of the two Borðoyartunlarnir. Single lane traffic, due to be replaced by a modern tunnel.
Norðskálatunnilin	1976	2,520	ex-10	Oyrabakki	Skálabotn	Eysturoy	Connects the two halves of Eysturoy.
Kollafjarðartunnilin	1992	2,816	10/550	Kollafjorður	Kaldbaksbotnur	Streymoy	Bypasses a mountain road (Route 50) north of Tórshavn.
Gásadalstunnilin	2006	1,445	45	Gásadalur	Sørvágur	Vágar	Single lane traffic. Previously the only access to Gásadalur was by foot over the mountain on the "Postal Road".

Signage

A roundabout sign in Tórshavn. The dashed edges around the route number denote that this road will lead to that route eventually.

Signage follows the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals, and therefore all warning and regulatory signs will be familiar to European motorists. Unlike some Nordic countries, warning signs use a white background as opposed to the yellow backgrounds used elsewhere.

All directional signage is black text on a yellow background, with the road numbers in a white box. Distances to villages are usually shown on flag signs at junctions as opposed to dedicated route confirmatory signs.

Public Transport

There are no railways on the Faroes, however there is an adequate bus system in place. In Tórshavn, the red city buses "Bussleiðin" are free to use and run on seven routes around the municipality. Outside of the city, the blue buses (run by Strandfaraskip Landsins) offer a network of buses that connect to most villages. Bus connections can be made in several areas, with services timed to arrive at the same time - allowing passengers to jump off one bus and onboard the next - and ferries to outlying islands are timed to connect where possible.

Traffic rules

Headlights are mandatory at all times when driving.

Sheep wander around many of the rural roads. It is obligatory to inform the Police if one is hit, as then the farmer may be compensated - this is covered by an insurance scheme, and the driver typically does not pay.

Speed limits

• 50km/h - Urban areas. There are some 40km/h zones in Tórshavn centre.

• 80km/h - Rural areas. Some 60km/h limits exist on the edge of Tórshavn and on some lower quality sections of main road.

Vehicle registration

Vehicle registrations conform to the pattern AA 123, ie: two letters followed by three numbers. These are randomly assigned. Taxis have the special numberplate TAXI nn where "n is a number.

All vehicles have the Faroese Flag and FO country identifier on their numberplates.

Links

• BBC News: Faroe Islands- Inside the under-sea tunnel network  05.12.2020 (archive.org)