Smyril Line Ferry

I decided to dedicate a whole post to the time on the ferry from Hirtshl to the Faroe Islands/Iceland. Why? In a way it was a cultural experience in itself in ship life and Dana’s first time experience it other than a cruise. I’ll also go through the process of booking it and what stuff you need to know if you want to take the ferry to Iceland with your vehicle.

Smyril Line is a Faroes Island company that started off as a trade/cargo company. In 2003, they expanded into the ferry service when they bought the M/S Norrona. Smyril Lines was founded in 1982 with a purchase of their first ferry which they named M/S Norröna. The current one was bound in 2003 and in 2021, they upgraded the ferry to what it is now today.

*Stern with the loading ramp for vehicles*

Smyril runs the ferry to the Faroes Island all year (twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter), but Iceland only in the summer. They also run other lines to the Faroes Island, but we will focus on this line. You have to check their online schedule to see the ports they are leaving from and the dates of when they land where. It’s a little tricky to read, and I emailed them to confirm I was reading it right to be safe. They use the seaports as the reference rather than the country, so Hirsth is Denmark, Tórshavn is the Faroes Island, and Seyðisfjörðuris Iceland. Remember, time is in the 24 hour system and the date is by day, month, year.

Once you find your schedule ferry, you can book through the online portal or email them. Mine was a bit more complicated since my return trip is without my wife. You can also book one way if you want as well, but you have some additional customs paperwork you will probably need to fill out for Iceland. If you are traveling with a vehicle, you need to know your dimensions in meters (length, width, and height), and your license plate number. You also need a rough estimate of weight and as of the time of this writing, let them know if it is an EV. Also, spare gas tanks and propane tanks but be empty on the ferry.

You also have options when booking the ferry for what cabin you sleep in. They have cabins ranging from 4 person shared to fancy 2 person cabins with upgrades in between and window or no window options. Initially when the plan as for me to by myself, I was going to book a no window cabin option to save quite a bit of money, but once Dana decided she wanted to go to the Faroes Islands, I decided to get the lowest window 2 person option possible. Of course, you have to give passenger information and passport number when you book. Keep in mind, prices also change based on when peak season is and how booked the ferry is, so the price you see could change.

A few weeks before your date of departure, they will send you an email with a link to some forms for Iceland customs. Make sure you fill that out so customs in Iceland will be easier. They will also send you information on check-in times at each port as well as a link on Google maps to where the exact check-in area is located. For people with vehicles, last check in is 2 hours before departure time while people without cars is 1.5 hours before departure. They open the check-in time a few hours before the deadline (example in Hirsthl departure time was 1530 but check in opened at 1130).

So after Dana and I finished our time in the Oceanarium, we made our way to the check-in area for our ferry in Hirtshl. The drive was only 7-8 minutes, so we got there pretty quick around 12. At the check-in, there are multiple drive in lines and you have to pay attention to the signs because each line that was open was for a specific departure. To make check-in easier, have your passports ready as well as a printed out receipt of your ferry. When you check-in, they give you something to put on your car, your room keys (which are paper!), and tell you what lane to park your car. Once your car is parked, you now just wait until your line is called to move. They have restrooms in the area if you need something, but not much else. It was awesome to walk around and see all the different rigs that were going to the Faroes and Iceland. A lot of drivers will be outside talking to each other and most are very friendly. If you haven’t done so already, this is a good time to organize your luggage out of the back and into the cab or anything with a side door, because once inside the cars are packed super tight front and back so you won’t have access if you have a tailgate or swing out.

Once it was time to board, you will be guided by the personnel into the ferry. The ferry has multiple decks, so you could be driving up a ramp or just staying on the ground level. At one point, you will have to make a U turn inside the car deck so keep that in mind. Once parked, turn on your E-brake, turn off your alarm if you can, and grab your stuff. It will be tight on the sides so watch your doors. Also, the deck will be a bit wet so watch your step. As you leave and head up to the other decks, keep in mind which stairwell you are taking so that on the way out you take the same one and don’t get lost. Sometimes, your room may not be ready yet, so you will have to hang out somewhere until they announce that they are ready. Also note that the ship run on Faroes Island time, so make sure you set your phones or watches to that time.

The M/S Norrona has a total of 9 floors. Since it’s a RORO, sometimes you have to take a certain side staircase in order to get to where you want so it can be like a maze sometimes. We were quite surprised with how nice of a ferry it was. It felt like a decent hotel when you walked around. It has some hot tubs outside on deck 7, a pool and gym on deck 1, a tax-free duty shop, small slot machine section, teen room, movie theatre, 2 bars, a fancy restaurant, fancy buffet, and a cafe! They also have 3 decks that have outside access which makes it nice to walk around to get some fresh air during the voyage. If you want, wifi can also be purchased paid by the hour and does have a GB limit.

The 2 person cabin window itself is small, but more than enough room for a short ferry. There is 2 beds, though one you will have to drop down, a TV, small desk, 2 closets, and a small personal bathroom with shower. Each room does have a room number, but a nice little touch they do is that every room has a unique fish on the door with its name in Faroese. Also inside, they give you a short description of the fish. It’s a very nice little touch that I enjoyed so I do love marine biology. On the TV, they have multiple channels, though only 2-3 are in English. Here, you can also track the voyage tracker and get general information about the ship. They also have a webcam of the bow of the boat with some music playing.

Once we settled into the cabin, we spent the first few minutes just walking around all the decks exploring and getting lost. I also attempted to teach Dana on how to orient on a boat with port, starboard, bow, stern, etc. It didn’t start off very good but by the end of the trip she got it. Of course, the first place we hit up was the gym, which for a gym was not bad. It had an assisted barbell rack, all the dumbbells, some cable machines, and the typical cardio machines (2 rowers, 2 treadmills, 2 bikes, and 2 ellipticals). It was definitely a nice surprise. One thing to note is that there is no elevator to the gym floor and it’s all the way on level 1. There is one on level 2, but we never took the elevator because they are pretty slow.

After that, we settled into the short experience of ship life. For me, it was just like going back on a MEU, except way more luxurious. Dana was going a little ship-crazy by the end of it though. The ferry does a good job of having things to entertain yourself and kids. They had activities for kids during the day and a little scavenger hunt for them. For adults, they held bingo, quiz night, live music, and have games available at the bar. They also have a nice little library of books you can read. The events usually happen at the bar on deck 5. We played Quiz night the first night and Dana was absolutely terrible at it. Out of the 20 questions, I answered 15 of them and Dana could only get 2, and she got one of them wrong! Other than that, we just killed time by watching the Olympics, working out, walking the top deck, and eating meals.

Overall the food quality was pretty good. We mainly ate at the cafe, which has the standard burgers, pizzas, and a small buffet you can choose. For breakfast, we ate at the fancier breakfast buffet on another level because of the price it was much more worth it. They had coffee/juice machine, crepe station, fruits, and other things. The one thing we ate the most though was the soft-serve at the bar. It was surprisingly extremely good so we always ended the night with one.

Taking the ferry to Iceland to me is definitely worth it. Not only were we able to experience the Faroe Islands as well, but it was a nice way to kind of reset on a trip. You are forced to slow down and recover from the go out and do things mentality that people often have when exploring new cultures and countries.

Faroe Islands - Day 1

Denmark