Mykines Day Trip Guide - Helicopter and Ferry

Mykines is one of the most popular day trips to do during a visit to the Faroe Islands - and one we did during our trip.  To that end, I thought I would put together a mega guide to what we did and the logistics around it. 

Getting to the Island 

There are two options to get to and from the island - helicopter and ferry.  

Both options fill up pretty quickly, so I would advise booking as soon as you know which option you would like to travel. 

The helicopter only flies on certain days and booking on Atlantic Airways only opens one week in advance.  There are only 12 seats on the helicopter and it can be pretty competitive to get a space.  I stayed up until midnight to book our tickets and once I had checked out only 4 seats remained!  So be quick - also for this reason we booked the ferry as a back up. 

The helicopter flies from Vagar airport and you can't book a return trip on it - only one direction.  For that reason, we did helicopter to Mykines and the ferry back.  

I had never been on a helicopter before so I loved it!  

It was only supposed to be a ten minute journey to Mykines, but because we had a wee delay in taking off the pilot gave us a little treat.  He spent about ten minutes touring us around the island, giving us an amazing and different perspective!  I loved it! 

Upon arrival in Mykines we stepped off the helipad right into the centre of the village.  

Your other option is ferry, which you can book months in advance.  So, as a back up we had booked the ferry both directions in case we couldn't get on the helicopter.  The ferry does sell out, so book it as soon as possible.  

The ferry sails from Sorvagur to Mykines and takes about 45 minutes.  If you don't fancy doing the Sea Stacks hike (my post here), the ferry also gives you a view of them.  

The Village of Mykines 

Most people get straight off the helicopter or ferry and go on a hike - totally missing the village.  However, I would recommend taking some time and walking around the village and take it in!  

There are only two full time residents on Mykines under the age of 30 and most of the people who have houses in Mykines don't live there most of the year!

It's a very quaint village, snuggled behind the harbour, and in terms of amenities we spotted: 
- toilet and shower block 
- cafe with internet (according to the sign) 
- hostel if you decide to stay the night

So in summary, if it is a horribly windy day you might struggle with things to do and to stay warm and dry! 

The Hikes
There are two main sides to the island with hikes - and there is a 100DKK hiking fee to enjoy it.

If you are only visiting Mykines for a day then you will have to decide whether to hike East (hills and landscape) or West (puffins, cliffs, lighthouse and the only bridge over the Atlantic ocean).  

We chose West...

The first challenge on this hike is getting up a very steep grass hill - which is (again) not maintained or built in any way that suggests its fit for more than sheep.  

However, once you're up there the rest of the hike is moderate difficulty and it's quite an enjoyable hike. 

There are plenty of sheep and a variety of seabirds to see - my favourites were the puffins (of course).  There were so many puffins to see and on loads of different backgrounds/landscapes and they were doing their puffin thing - puffing up, catching fish and just chilling out!

There were also loads of gulls but none that swooped and attacked us unlike in other locations in the Faroe Islands and in Scotland! 

In addition to all the birds on Mykines, there are some amazing cliffs and cliffscapes.  On your way back you can also spot the village - and get quite an unusual angle of it. 

One of the most novel features of this walk is that to get to the lighthouse there is a bridge to take you onto the island of Mykineshólmur.  This is the only bridge over the Atlantic Ocean!  

So it is pretty fun to cross that!  Plus you get a really unique perspective of the nests on the cliff and the birds swooping in and out of their nests.

We decided not to continue the hike all the way to the lighthouse (because we had seen a few other lighthouses during our trip).  Instead we took our time puffin spotting! 

Most other people went to the lighthouse - however I think you would have had to power on at quite a pace to get there first, see it, and then go slower on the way back. As you don't want to miss the one ferry of the day home! 

Hopefully this post was useful to anyone who was thinking of visiting Mykines, let me know if it is!  And if you are all about puffins- May and June are your best bets!