With jagged peaks that seem to pierce the clouds, waterfalls surging across verdant slopes peppered with grazing sheep, deep ravines and wide fjords, and fog that drifts about like a billowing curtain, the Faroe Islands are wild and wonderful. So, it’s no wonder that the archipelago’s appeal revolves around nature-based activities that appeal to intrepid travellers.
The lives of the Faroese people are deeply intertwined with the surrounding landscape; a sense of peace pervades, with locals hiking trails that offer an intimate connection with nature, sailing in the fjords, relishing the stiff breezes and refreshing rains, and delighting in the colourful wildflowers and bird songs that accompany the long summer days.
This natural magic has traditionally been considered its own wellness experience, but unlike other Nordic countries, the Faroe Islands hadn’t embraced spas with saunas and outdoor thermal and cold baths for mind-body wellbeing until recently.
The Faroe Islands, an 18-island archipelago and an autonomous nation within the Kingdom of Denmark, are nestled in the North Atlantic between Scotland and Iceland. Until recently, most people couldn’t tell you where these isolated isles are located and nor why they should visit. But a number of factors – including the government boosting funding for tourism since 2013, the restaurant KOKS receiving its first Michelin star in 2017, and an increase in Visit Faroe Islands’ social media presence – brought an influx of tourists to these shores. The number of international visitors had started to rise steadily pre-pandemic and now continues to increase.
Recent draws to the island include PAZ, a new two-Michelin-starred restaurant focused on foraged ingredients; a duo of sub-sea tunnels showcasing visual and auditory art; and Vingardurin, an informal wine bar-restaurant-gallery exhibiting mostly contemporary Faroese art. And now there are a range of new spa offerings, with the islands waking up to the fact that their raw, rugged beauty provides the perfect backdrop for wellness.
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Saunadypp
Close to one of the two sub-sea tunnel portals on Eysturoy, the second largest Faroese island, you’ll find the first and only floating sauna in the archipelago. Open since last summer, Saunadypp bobs in the harbor of Glyvrar village on the east side of a fjord named Skalafjordur. You can drop in or rent the small, black-painted sauna for two hours, and settle on one of the mahogany benches in the toasty interior that hovers around 70 to 90C. A window looks out to a scene of colourful fishing boats and the surrounding undulating grassy landscape. Or take in the sun directly by spreading out your towel on the outdoor wooden deck. You can even arrive by canoe.
Although this is a traditional sauna where you ladle water over hot ceramic rocks, you can also book a guided saunagus (aka aufguss) session. This is a wellness technique where essential oils are introduced into the water, creating an aromatherapy experience. You can take breaks by nibbling on fresh fruits or cooling off with a quick climb down a ladder for a chilly (3-9C) dip in the harbour. At night, the sauna is particularly captivating as indigo-hued lighting elements are turned on inside, while outdoors, you can gaze at the navigation lights of the boats crossing the harbour and wonder at the brilliance of myriad celestial objects.
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Havdypp
Havdypp, a day spa that opened last spring on the west coast of Streymoy, the largest Faroese island, feels remote, yet it is surprisingly easy to reach. Just a 30-minute drive from the capital Torshavn, it perches on a grassy slope above the black sands of Leynar Beach, where the waters of Vestmannaud fjord tumble onto the shore.
Whether you come by yourself or in a group, the spa requires reservations since the two-hour sessions are private. Up to 12 people can luxuriate in the sunny, ash wood-paneled interior, housing a traditional sauna with a steamy temperature between 80 and 95C. Lounging inside as well as in the hot and cold pools on the outdoor wooden deck, you’ll have outstanding vistas of the ribbons of cascading waterfalls in the distance, as well as the islands of Koltur, Heystur and Vagar (the latter is right across the fjord).
After warming up in the sauna, take an invigorating plunge in the 5C cold tub (that fits four people), alternating this with an immersion in one of two hot tubs (40 to 42C, each accommodating six to seven people). The spa provides snacks (fruits and nuts) as well as beverages (coffee, tea and water), along with towels. Don’t leave without visiting their shop. Havdypp is known for producing handmade vegan soaps (including shampoo bars) that contain local ingredients such as seaweed and buttercups, the national flower.
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Ress Spa
Set high above downtown Torshavn on gentle slopes blanketed with wildflower-speckled meadows and adorned with a copse of conifers, Hotel Foroyar’s Ress Spa embodies the Nordic spa tradition, but in a distinctly Faroese way. To enter the new outdoor spa area, which opened in summer 2025, guests don bathrobes before exiting the hotel and strolling barefoot along a 30-foot-long, curvy channel that was carved almost seven feet into the earth. The path is flanked by walls of rugged stones and buttercups peek above on the grassy surface. The moment you step onto the ground floor of the two-story Spa House, soothing warm water bathes your feet in this roughly textured black tiled room.
The Spa House resembles a traditional Faroese dwelling, complete with a rock facade and a turf roof. From a spacious window, you can see the tree-studded slopes and, in the distance, downtown Torshavn. Before or after a glass of champagne and a salad in the cafe, hang up your robe and swim in the heated indoor-outdoor infinity pool where you’ll be enveloped in nature. (It’s especially intimate at night when it’s just you and the stars.) Then indulge in the traditional sauna with tiered wooden benches, as well as a pair of hot pools and a steam bath that gives you a choice of two typical Faroese weather experiences: fog or heavy rain. Guests often delight in the contrast between these hot/warm treatments and a soak in the one-person cold (6C) pool. On the upper level of the Spa House, an open-air rooftop terrace is home to a smaller heated infinity pool.
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How to get there
Atlantic Airways flies twice weekly with direct flights from Edinburgh (one hour) and (in the summer) twice a week from London’s Gatwick airport (two hours). Vagar Airport is around 40 minutes by car from Torshavn.
Where to stay
Hotel Foroyar
Set on a hill above downtown, the 200-room Hotel Foroyar melds the contemporary with the traditional – think a turf roof, plenty of glass to view the surrounding nature-scape, local art hung on the walls and, of course, the stellar spa.
Havgrim Seaside Hotel
A short walk from downtown, Havgrim Seaside Hotel, an upscale boutique hotel, is set along a windswept coast with 14 airy guest rooms offering stunning views of the ever-changing weather.
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