"When I picked up the keys to my rental car in the Faroe Islands, the agent slid me a contract unlike any I'd seen. No clauses about mileage, no small print on insurance. Instead, it was more of an oath-one that said I was ready to "follow the car's mysterious path, refrain from rebelling against the GPS overlord, and enjoy the adventure-even if I don't know where I'm going.""
"That's the idea behind the Faroe Islands' new "self-navigating" car tours, where travelers relinquish control to a spontaneous itinerary of off-the-beaten-path locales, curated via Google Maps. There are dozens of different routes, which can be kicked off from wherever you choose to start your trip, and will take you to destinations across all seven islands that can be reached by bridges and undersea tunnels."
"In 2023, more than 130,000 foreign tourists visited the Faroe Islands, outnumbering the roughly 54,000 locals. Wary of their home becoming another casualty of overtourism, the government has worked for years to prevent the islands from becoming overrun, including by closing the country each spring for "voluntourism" trail work and by implementing a nightly tourism tax, beginning October 2025."
Self-navigating car tours in the Faroe Islands present surprise, GPS-curated road-trip itineraries that reveal destinations as travelers drive. Dozens of routes can be started from any point and connect off-the-beaten-path locales across all seven islands linked by bridges and undersea tunnels. The tourism board set aside vehicles for the program through 62°N at the airport, though anyone with a smartphone and car can access the routes. The initiative aims to spread visitors more evenly across the archipelago as tourist numbers have risen sharply. Government measures include spring voluntourism trail work and a nightly tourism tax beginning October 2025.
Read at Conde Nast Traveler
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