How to get around the Faroe Islands by public transport

Understanding the split saves a lot of confusion, because the three services are ticketed differently and published in different places.

• → Strandfaraskip Landsins (SSL) operates the scheduled ferry routes directly and contracts the regional Bygdaleiðir bus routes to private bus companies. Its timetables are the authority for both.
• → Tórshavnar kommuna runs the town buses inside Tórshavn. They have been free of charge for residents and visitors since 2019, and there are seven town routes, all meeting at Steinatún.
• → Vágar Airport is the country's only airport. The scheduled bus stops at the terminal building.

Source: Strandfaraskip Landsins — Route overview — every scheduled bus and ferry route · Tórshavnar kommuna — Tórshavn by bus — town routes and timetables · Vágar Airport (FAE) — Vágar Airport

Almost everything radiates from the Tórshavn bus and ferry terminal, and almost every interesting journey involves one change.

• → West: routes 300 and 350 to Vágar Airport and Sørvágur. Route 300 is the one to rely on; route 350 is weekdays only but goes further, to Bøur.
• → North: route 400 to Klaksvík all week, with the weekday express 401 alongside it. Oyrarbakki on this corridor is the interchange for Eiði, Gjógv and Tjørnuvík.
• → West Streymoy: route 100 to Vestmanna for the bird-cliff boats.
• → South: route 650 to Sandoy through the subsea tunnel, and ferry route 7 on the long crossing to Suðuroy.

Source: Strandfaraskip Landsins — Route overview — every scheduled bus and ferry route, Route 400 Klaksvík – Tórshavn, Route 300 Tórshavn – Airport – Sørvágur, Route 650 Sandoy – Tórshavn

These are not obscure details. They are the difference between a day that works and a day that does not.

• → Some routes must be booked. Route 201 to Gjógv is a request service: every departure has to be telephoned for in advance on +298 233320, between 07:00 and 20:00.
• → Some routes do not run at weekends. Routes 202 (Tjørnuvík), 350 (Bøur) and 401 (the Klaksvík express) are all published as weekdays only.
• → Some places have no bus at all. Saksun is the notable one: no SSL route publishes a stop there.

Source: Strandfaraskip Landsins — Route 201 Oyrarbakki – Gjógv, Route 202 Oyrarbakki – Tjørnuvík, Route 350 Tórshavn – Vága Airport – Sørvágur/Bø, Route 401 Klaksvík – Tórshavn (Express Bus)

The outward journey is rarely the problem. Faroese branch routes run on schoolday and seasonal calendars, and the last departure from a village can be much earlier than a long northern summer evening suggests. Read the return column of the timetable before you commit to the outward bus.

Source: Strandfaraskip Landsins — Route 202 Oyrarbakki – Tjørnuvík, Route 350 Tórshavn – Vága Airport – Sørvágur/Bø

Visit Faroe Islands notes that most buses will take a bicycle, which opens up the parts of Vágar and Streymoy where the bus stops short of where you want to be.

Visit Faroe Islands on public transport

Source: Visit Faroe Islands — Travelling by public transportation in the Faroe Islands