Sandavágur

Vágar is an island in the Faroe Islands, the island is also called Vága in combination with other words.

Understand

Map of Vágar — switch to interactive map

Map of Vágar

Villages

• 1 Bøur - an ancient settlement mentioned in writing as early as 1350 AD.
• 2 Gásadalur – a tiny village of 18 people.
• 3 Sandavágur – the first village reached with a bright red-roofed church.
• 4 Miðvágur – between Sandavágur and Sørvágur. There is a War Museum there.
• 5 Sørvágur – where the ferry runs to the bird island of Mykines.

Other destinations

• 1 Mykines – the westernmost island. It can be reached by boat from Sørvágur or by helicopter from the airport in Vágar or one of the helicopter places in Tórshavn or Suðuroy. Mykines is known for its puffins and charming village with turf roofed houses.

Talk

The Faroese language is descended from Old Norse but apparently only Icelandic offers mutual understanding with it. Visitors are advised never to assume that a place sounds like it is spelled and Vágar is pronounced something like Vau-er with au as in fraud (á is generally pronounced like that, in opposite to a).

Get in

By plane

The Faroe Islands' only airport, 1 Vágar Airport (FAE ^IATA), is on Vágar; see Faroe Islands#By plane for details.

By road

Vágar is connected by a sub-sea tunnel with rest of the country; for the applicable toll, see Faroe Islands#Sub-sea tunnel fares.

By ferry

If you took the helicopter to go to Mykines, you can choose to take the ferry (summer only, check the schedules) onwards/back to Sørvágur on Vágar's western side. See Mykines#By ferry for the specifics.

Get around

See "Get around" on the country's main page.

In order to reach Bøur, follow the road beyond the airport, drive through Sørvágur and continue towards west. Gásadalur is connected to Bøur by Gásadalstunnilin, a road tunnel.

Sørvágur is reachable on foot from the airport (2 km downhill). If the luggage is not too heavy, you can walk there, see the town and then take the bus to Tórshavn.

See

Optical illusion? No, it's just Sørvágsvatn playing tricks with your eyes

The views from Bøur of Tindholmur and nearby stacks are as good as anything in the Faroes. In Gásadalur you can watch puffins get the closest mainland view of Mykines and of the tiny but extremely shapely island of Tindholmur and the nearby stacks.

• Pakkhúsið í Bø (Bøur). An intriguing old storage house. Sometimes open as a café. 
• 1 Kálvalíð, Kálvalíðvegur 370, Miðvágur, ☏ +298 34 44 00, vaga@vaga.fo. This museum may be nothing more than an exhibit of an old Faroese house, but it also showcases every important thing the town of Miðvágur has to offer. The hill the museum is on also provides a nice scenic views of the impressive bay and landscape. 50 kr pp. (updated May 2023)
• 2 Faroe Islands War Museum, Varðagøta 61, Sørvágur (just outside airport; near T-intersection of Hwys 11 and 22), ☏ +298 221940. Sa Su 14:00–17:00. (updated Jul 2023)
• 3 Gásadalur, Inni á Bakka (lookout accessible via turn-off from Hwy 45). Village and waterfall. This is probably the most iconic image of the Faroe Islands. From a viewpoint, one can see few traditional environmentally-friendly houses in a background of a hill on a high cliff with a waterfall. For best picture, come just before sunset. (updated Jan 2021)
• 4 Sørvágsvatn (between Sørvágur and Vágar). The largest lake in the Faroe Islands. It is elevated 40 m above the sea and its curve sweeps close to sheer cliffs. (updated Jan 2021)

Do

• Football: 07 Vestur play soccer in the Premier League, Faeroes' top tier. Their home ground á Dungasandi (capacity 2000) is in Sørvágur. The playing season is April-Oct.

Buy

There are no shops in Bøur. The nearest shops are in Sørvágur.

Eat

• 1 Restaurant Cafe Pollastova, Í Bygdini 4, Sørvágur, ☏ +298 532352, pollastova@gmail.com. M–W F Sa 10:00–20:00; Th 10:00–16:00; Su 14:00–20:00. Quiet laidback cafe with views overlooking the fjord, Sørvágsfjørður (if you don't mind it being slightly interrupted by a football field). (updated Jul 2023)

Sleep

There are a few holiday homes for rent in Bøur. Ask the Tourist Information in Miðvágur, phone ☏ +298 333455, e-mail: vagar@vagar.fo, website: visitvagar.fo.

Giljanes Hostel & Campsite, 8 á Hillingatanga, Sandavágur, ☏ +298 271142, around 250 kr for a dormitory room, on main road & bus route from the airport to Torshavn.

Stay safe

Call 112 in case of emergency. There are doctors in Vágar. After normal work hours people need to drive to Tórshavn, if they need medical help. The medical help phone after working hours is 1870. It is the same for almost all of the country. The local doctor's phone in working hours M–F is ☏ +298 332413.

Go next

Routes via Vágar

END ←

W 11 NE

→ Streymoy