Buying a SIM at Vágar, and who it is for
Visit Faroe Islands, the national tourist board, says prepaid cards are sold at phone shops, kiosks, petrol stations, post offices, hotels, regional information centres and the information desk at Vágar Airport. The airport page adds that local SIM cards are available for international visitors whose phones are not locked, sold at the desk and at various retailers.
The information desk opens 1.5 hours before departures and 30 minutes after arrivals in connection with scheduled flights, according to the same page, so it is not a round-the-clock counter. If your flight lands outside those windows, plan to buy in town. The page also notes there is no ATM or currency exchange at the airport, so bring a payment card.
Føroya Tele's Hello Føroyar prepaid plans
Føroya Tele's visitor prepaid range is called Hello Føroyar. The company's page describes two prepaid eSIM options at 299 DKK and 199 DKK, bought online, and physical SIM cards sold at Teleshops in Tórshavn, Hoyvík, Klaksvík, Saltangará, Tvøroyri and Vágar Airport. It says plans can be bought and activated whenever needed, that top-ups for extra credit and data are available online, and that a refund is possible within 14 days if the plan has not been activated.
The page does not set out data allowances or validity, so we do not quote them. Ask which plan matches the length of your trip. Føroya Tele's customer line is +298 80 80 80. The company's homepage says its mobile plans come with 5G, and describes the visitor product as ready to use and purchasable online.
Roaming, and the second operator
Visit Faroe Islands says both operators have international roaming agreements. The European Commission's list of areas where the EU roaming rules apply names the EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and does not name the Faroe Islands, so a visitor on a European plan should look up their own operator's terms for the islands before assuming free roaming.
We could not open Nema's visitor terms, so we do not describe its tourist offer; contact the company for details.
5G across 18 islands, tunnels included
In a press release dated 15 April 2024, Ericsson, the equipment supplier, said Faroese Telecom had launched 5G reaching the entire population across all 18 islands, with coverage on bridges, ferries and fishing boats up to 100 km offshore, and through deep subsea tunnels. The release also mentions VoLTE for improved voice calls. Visit Faroe Islands separately says nearly all the islands receive an excellent broadband connection with 4G and 5G fully functioning across the whole country.
Those are statements by the operator's vendor and the tourist board, not a regulator's coverage survey, and population coverage does not mean every hillside. Use the claims as a reason to expect a signal on the main roads and in the tunnels between islands, and download offline maps for a hike to a cliff edge or an uninhabited valley.
112 and other numbers worth saving
Visit Faroe Islands lists 112 as the emergency number for police, fire and medical services across the islands, with the police non-emergency line at (+298) 351448 or 114. It also gives 1870 for after-hours medical advice, (+298) 314544 for dental emergencies in Tórshavn and 118 for directory assistance, and recommends calling ahead for medical advice before going to an emergency room.
Keep voice available and test calling before you leave Tórshavn. For hikes, tell your accommodation your route, since a mobile network cannot be assumed on every trail.
Adding a local eSIM to your phone
Apple says an iPhone must be unlocked to use a travel eSIM, which matches Visit Faroe Islands' condition that visitors' phones should not be locked, and that you choose the data line in Settings, Cellular. Google says Pixel 3a and later phones can combine a physical SIM and an eSIM. Samsung describes SIM manager. Our Faroe Islands plan page covers a pre-departure alternative.
Networks our Faroe Islands plans use
These are the operators named on our plans for Faroe Islands, taken from the plan data, so the list follows the catalogue.
- Faroese Telecom5G
- FT Samskifti4G