Driving along the West Coast of the Skalafjordur (Faroe Islands, Pictured Story)

When you think about the island of Eysturoy on the Faroe Islands, you like first think about key cities like Lervik or Runavik or the touristic spots in the North like Gjögv or Fulgafjordur. My trips so far have excluded the Southwest peninsula as of the islands as well. In August 2026, however, I took a short road trip along the West coast of the Skalafjordur fjord and then headed North along the Tangafjordur. Here is my Pictured Story along the routes 15 and 65 on the Nordic territory.

 

Faroe Islands Route 15, 65 (and 80) – Road Trip Overview

The trip started and ended at the route 13 and 15 junction, at the city of Skalafjordur at the North tip of the Skalafjordur fjord. Including a detour along route 80 (see below), the one-way distance to Selatrad at the West side of the peninsula is roughly 25km. The outbound trip took me roughly an hour, including some stops, while I took a rather direct, some 30 minute drive back on the same route. The route is (almost) entirely paved and can be driven with any kind of car. Especially on the way back, you might also use the Eysturoyartunnilin and connect to Runavik or Torshavn directly.

 

Driving from Skalafjordur to Selatrad

As said, my road trip started at its Northernmost point, at the route 13 and 15 junction. There is a gas station, which is also featuring fine food services at that location. Right when you enter route 15, you have a lovely view of the Skalafjordur fjord from its North tip, before hitting the village with the same name. The most striking building is right at the entrance to the village. It looks like a conference center or hotel, but is in fact a modern, major church. Overall, Skalafjordur is a nice village with some interesting views of ships in the harbor, but rather less spectacular.

The following kilometers run along the coast of the fjord. There are some minor villages on the opposite side of it.

 

Skala

One of the key villages of the trip is Skala. You have the choice of two routes here. The faster option is route 15, which leaves the coast and runs above the city. I definitely recommend taking a left turn into the city and following route 80 through the city, which starts at the picturesque ground of soccer club Skala IF. Another highlight is the picturesque Skala Church.

A sign on the right hand side tells you “Welcome to Presta” – and you should definitely have a stop at this small park at a waterfall. I absolutely loved hanging out there and enjoy the flowers as well as the lovely little lake. A nice additional feature is the public toilet at that location – a service which is very widespread all over the Faroe Islands. The place is marked as a playground on Google Maps, by the way. After passing the village of Innan Glyvur, you head back to route 15.

 

Strendur

Even though it just has some 1,000 inhabitants, Strendur is quite vibrant. It comes with a major harbor and is spread along the main road. A key reason for its development is that there is one of the East exits of the Eysturoyartunnilin subsea tunnel. Strendur has a very interesting harbor as well. However, there are also lovely views of other ends of the Eysturoy island, including East side of the fjord. I loved the views of Runavik and Töftir. You also have a nice view of Svangaskard, the former national soccer stadium of the islands.

 

Route 65

The roundabout to the subsea tunnel is also the beginning of route 65. After passing Strendur, there are some one-lane items with passing boxes (please don’t use them for parking). with the scenery becoming significantly more rural, there are also some amazing views of other ends of Eysturoy and the North tip of Nordoy. In this area, you can also do a stop having a walk to the Raktangi peninsula and its memorial (which I skipped due to health reasons).

With the stronger countryside touch, you also run more frequently into sheep along – and on – the road. The Atlantic ocean hosts some fishing farms as well. There are three villages along the route, Kolbeinagjogv, Morskranes, and finally Selatrad. The latter is also the dead end of route 65. You may go on with a bike, though, to complete the whole circle. I rather enjoyed the beautiful natural scenery and especially the waterfalls.

 

Return Trip

As you travel back the same route, I did not do too many stops on the return of this trip. However, you have some really nice views on the return as well. I shared a few of them below.

 

Travel (Faroe Islands)

Here are all my travel posts related to the Faroe Islands:

 

Postings about Road Trips

Here are all road trips on Flyctory.com