- Where
- Westernmost Faroe Islands
boat from Sørvágur, summer only - Coordinates
- 62.10° N
7.65° W - Biome
- North Atlantic basalt island
- The birds
- Among the largest Faroese
puffin colonies; only gannets - Status
- Ramsar wetland site;
hiking fee applies - Best visited
- May–August
An island at the end of the alphabet of islands, where the puffins outnumber everything, including my capacity for delight, which is considerable. Crossed a footbridge over the sea to reach a lighthouse with water on all sides of my attention. The fog came. The fog left. I stayed put, on advice.
The short answer
Mykines is the westernmost of the Faroe Islands: one green ridge in the North Atlantic, one village of turf-roofed houses with a handful of permanent residents, and in summer an overwhelming population of seabirds. The island holds one of the largest puffin colonies in the Faroes — and the archipelago's only gannet colony — concentrated toward the western end, where a footbridge crosses a sea gorge to the islet of Mykineshólmur and its lighthouse, built in 1909. Access is by small ferry from Sørvágur or by helicopter, summer only, weather permitting, and a hiking fee funds the paths and their protection.
Why it's worth knowing
Plenty of places offer puffins at a distance; Mykines offers them at your feet. The trail west from the village runs directly through the colony's turf, burrow entrances beside the path, birds whirring in from the sea with beakloads of fish, entirely unbothered by walkers who keep to the marked route. It is among the closest sustained encounters with wild seabirds available anywhere, and the rules that make it possible — stay on the path, mind the season, pay the fee that maintains it — are the reason it still works.
The field notes
The bridge over the sea
The island narrows westward to Hólmgjógv, a sheer cleft where the Atlantic runs between Mykines proper and the lighthouse islet. Islanders once crossed by rope and, later, a chairlift contraption of local legend; today a sturdy footbridge spans the gorge, waves working below, gannets wheeling overhead on the hólm's cliffs. The walk village-to-lighthouse and back is the island's classic day, and one of the great short hikes of the North Atlantic.
A village that holds on
Mykines village once counted around 170 people in its mid-twentieth-century prime; the permanent population today is a small fraction of that, swelling each summer with returning families and visitors. The turf roofs are working insulation, not decoration; the café opens for the boats; and the community's careful management of visitor numbers, fees and guiding is a small model of an island deciding its own carrying capacity.
Reading the weather like a local
Everything here is weather-permitting: the ferry cancels in swell, fog erases the views and then restores them twice as good, and same-day flexibility is the only sensible itinerary. The reward for a fair-weather crossing — cliffs, colonies, the bridge, the light — justifies building a spare day into any Faroes trip for exactly this island.
- Take the boat out and thank it personally on arrival.
- Sit near the colony and let the puffins conduct their business ungoverned.
- Cross the footbridge slowly, both hands accounted for.
- Greet the lighthouse and admire its commute.
- Leave on the last boat, reluctantly, as is traditional.
A puffin landing with the harvest crosswise in its beak. A dozen small silver fish held at once, arranged neatly athwart the bill, delivered to a burrow mouth at full speed. How the bird catches the tenth fish without releasing the first nine is a genuine piece of natural engineering, performed constantly, metres from the path.
Tally, in the marginA small bird commuting with the entire harvest crosswise in its beak — the finest packing I have ever witnessed.
Getting there
The passenger ferry runs from Sørvágur on Vágar in the summer season — roughly May to August — taking under an hour, bookable ahead and cancellable by sea state; the Atlantic Airways helicopter from Vágar airport offers a spectacular one-way alternative. There are no cars on Mykines. A hiking fee applies to the bird-cliff trail, and in peak nesting weeks guiding requirements can apply — check current rules when booking.
Day trips fit the boat schedule neatly; overnighting in the village guesthouse buys the island empty of day visitors, which regulars consider the real Mykines. Bring proper footwear, wind layers in any forecast, and the standing Faroese flexibility: the island decides whether today is the day.
Common questions
How do you get to Mykines?
By passenger ferry from Sorvagur on Vagar in the summer season, roughly May to August, or by the Atlantic Airways helicopter from Vagar airport, typically one way. Sailings are weather-dependent and bookable ahead; there are no cars on the island, and winter isolates it entirely.
When can you see puffins on Mykines?
Puffins are present through the summer breeding season, roughly May to August, with the colonies busiest in the middle weeks. The trail west of the village passes directly through nesting turf, so staying on the marked path is essential.
Is there a fee to hike on Mykines?
Yes. A mandatory hiking fee applies to the bird-cliff trail, funding path maintenance, safety and conservation on a fragile island, and guided requirements can apply in peak nesting periods. Current rates and rules are published with ferry booking information.
What is Mykinesholmur?
Mykinesholmur is the islet off Mykines' western tip, reached by a footbridge over the sea gorge of Holmgjogv, and home to the island's lighthouse, built in 1909, and to the Faroes' only gannet colony. The walk from the village to the lighthouse is the island's classic hike.
Do people live on Mykines?
Yes - one village, with a handful of permanent residents, joined in summer by returning families and seasonal workers. The village peaked at around 170 inhabitants in the mid-twentieth century and has managed its remoteness, and its visitors, carefully ever since.
Can you visit Mykines in winter?
Effectively no. Scheduled boat service runs only in the summer season, and outside it the island is isolated except for helicopter service, which weather frequently prevents. Mykines is a summer destination by design.