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The relatively flat landscape of Sandoy is ideal for bicycling and easy, family-friendly hikes. The region offers rustic cliffs, wonderful hiking trails, and charming coastal villages. Here, you can experience soft beaches, sandy dunes and peaceful lakes, which are ideal for angling. You can also enjoy local museums and cosy cafés.
The soil's unique sandy composition, from which the name of the island is likely derived, is utilised for innovative and sustainable farming.
The sparsely populated region has enjoyed and endured the effects of relative isolation until now. The new subsea tunnel, replacing the 30-minute ferry trip, will inevitably change the island and move it closer to the centre of the Faroes.
Check out the collection of contemporary Faroese art housed in the Listasavnið á Sandi art museum. It spans a century and contains one of two works by the great of Faroese art, Sámal Joensen-Mikines.
As strange as it may sound, Sandoy has been making international headlines recently! Why, you may ask? Quite simply, the latest in the impressive list of Faroese subsea tunnels has just opened, linking Sandoy not only to Tórshavn but also to the central core of Faroese islands, which are all connected by road. When you live on an island, this is a massive event!
At a whopping 11km in length, the new tunnel opened in December 2023 and runs from just north of the main town, Sandur, under the waters of Skopunarfjørður, across to Gamlarætt on neighbouring Streymoy. Over the years, the Faroese have become world experts at boring tunnels under the seabed, gradually inking this nation of 18 islands together and effectively ending rural depopulation. However, this tunnel was a huge undertaking and barely a few hundred meters shorter than the biggest infrastructure project ever attempted in the islands: the construction of the Eysturoy tunnel.
Since the tunnel's opening, Sandoy has never been easier to reach and makes an ideal day trip from the capital, Tórshavn.
On Sandoy, time seems to move slower, and plenty of characteristic cultural flavours exist.
The history of Sandoy stretches back to the 4th century – when the oldest settlements in the Faroe Islands were from. The climactic chapters of the Færeyinga Saga play out on Skúvoy island around AD 1000.
It was in the sandy ground of the churchyard in Sandur, that one of the Faroes’ greatest hordes of silver coins was discovered: 98 coins, known as the Sandur Hoard, were unearthed in 1863 when gravediggers were preparing graves in the area. It’s thought the coins, which date from as early as the reign of King Canute in England (from 1017), were buried around 1100 – they can be seen in the National Museum in Tórshavn.
Over on the east coast of Sandoy, a comfortable hotel and restaurant is located right by the shore, offering fantastic views out towards Nólsoy and the south of Streymoy. Alternatively, head to the west coast and discover the idyllic bay of Søltuvík, where you might be lucky enough to spot seals bobbing up and down off the seaweed-strewn beach. It was here in 1895 that a steamer ran ashore during an atrocious storm with the loss of everyone onboard bar one man who managed to clink to a plank of wood whilst being swept by the tides across to Streymoy, where he was finally rescued – a stone memorial beside the beach bares testament to the tragedy.
Outstanding nature and seal-watching
Sandoy
Camping in Sandoy
Sandoy
Sea stacks and mountain cliffs
Sandoy
The kiosk at the bakery is in the old bakery in Sandur.
Sandoy
An atmospheric break in the charming café in an old grocery store and post-office building by the harbour
Sandoy
You’ll see great tufts of marram grass growing in the dunes of black basalt sand
Sandoy
Ancient history
Sandoy
Rent a Kayak and explore Sandoy as you glide through the beautiful lake Sandsvatn
Sandoy
Related Feature
Related Feature
Twenty minutes by ferry from the village of Sandur is the hidden gem of Skúvoy, where 400-meter-high bird cliffs rise from the ocean, and a tranquil settlement is (almost) lost in time.
Skúvoy, named after the great Skua (or maybe the other way around), is famous for its rich birdlife, stunning landscapes, and deep historical roots. It's a top spot for puffin lovers and a Ramsar-protected site, with no rats, mice, or cats, allowing birds to nest close to the village.
The island has strong ties to Viking history, particularly Sigmundur Brestisson, key in the Christianization of the Faroes. It also features in Faroese folklore and the novel Rannvá by Dagmar Joensen-Næs, which tells the story of a farmer’s daughter who endures isolation in the remote beauty of Fagridalur.
Since there are no grocery stores or cafés, visitors are encouraged to book a “heimablídni” experience, a rare chance to enjoy the warmth of a faroese home and a local meal.
Fagridalur where Rannvá lived
Sandoy
Unlike what is common in the Faroe Islands, where churches are facing East-West, the church in Skúvoy is facing North-South
Sandoy
Heimablídni at Tummas Frank & Elisabeth's in Skúvoy
Sandoy
Sigmundarsteinur is a monument located in Skúvoy.
Sandoy
The ultimate get-away-from-it-all destination, Stóra Dímun is the Faroe Islands’ smallest inhabited island. Access to the treeless, two-and-a-half square kilometre island is exclusively by helicopter.
The islands’ population consists of one family. Farmers Eva úr Dímun (family named after the island) and Jógvan Jón, together with their two children, make up half the population. Eva úr Dímun’s family has farmed Stóra Dímun for eight generations.
A few tour providers offer day tours out to the island. See your
nearest regional tourist information.
LAT AFTUR
