Would you drive a self-navigating car? In the Faroe Islands, your car will guide you

Across the world, a handful of gorgeous places are overrun by people who show up to take carbon copies of the photos of the influencers who came before them.

But what sounds better? Being the millionth person to take a selfie in front of a pretty waterfall everyone’s seen on Instagram? Or being the first person to tell your friends about an epic place they’ve never heard of?

The Faroe Islands are betting on the latter.

This month, the Faroe Islands are taking mystery trips to a whole new level. The tourism board has just launched a new campaign inviting you to show up with zero plans or expectations, and simply rent a ‘self-navigating’ car. You’ll still have to drive it yourself, but you won’t have to make any decisions beyond what time to hit the road. 

Three rental cars from partner  62°N are outfitted with a special program that uses Google Maps directions to take you on one of dozens of unique itineraries, without revealing your final destination until you get there.

“These curated routes are programmed not to follow the crowd,” the tourism board says in its new campaign. “Instead, they disperse visitors to serene, lesser-known corners of the islands—curated by locals who know some of the most beloved but underappreciated spots.”

The catch? You’ll have to sign an agreement to do what the car says, and surrender to your mystery adventure.

With this initiative, we hope to lead by example, demonstrating how destinations can embrace innovation to spread tourism more responsibly and meaningfully.

- Guðrið Højgaard, CEO of Visit Faroe Islands

This is just the latest in a series of innovative marketing stunts that have earned the Faroe Islands significant attention, while also working to keep tourism at a manageable level. The 18 main islands of the Faroes have about 55,000 total residents, and received more than double that amount of tourists in 2023.

In 2016, the islands were literally put on the map by a herd of sheep outfitted with solar-powered, 360-degree cameras for ‘Google Sheep View’. Since 2019, the country has operated an annual voluntourism program called ‘Closed for Maintenance,’ during which the islands shut down their trails for a few days. A group of lucky foreign volunteers is then sent out to provide much-needed repairs and maintenance. Each year, thousands of people apply for just 100 volunteer places.

The Faroes’ mystery driving itineraries were made in collaboration with local residents, who shared some of their favorite, lesser-known places. You could end up virtually anywhere—many of the islands are connected by subsea tunnels, including one with the world’s only underwater roundabout, complete with art installations.

The goal is to get visitors to spread out rather than overloading the same few famous places, according to Guðrið Højgaard, CEO of Visit Faroe Islands. It’s a smart way to get ahead of the potential for overtourism in a place with serious potential to be the ‘next Iceland’.

“This is a more thoughtful kind of journey, designed to both protect what’s most beloved and reveal spots often overlooked,” Højgaard said in a statement about the campaign. “With this initiative, we hope to lead by example, demonstrating how destinations can embrace innovation to spread tourism more responsibly and meaningfully.” 

It might just work. This doesn’t come across as a short-term stunt, and it also aligns with many travelers’ desires to make fewer decisions. ‘Mystery’ trips have been on the rise in the last few years in part because it takes a lot of the pressure out of travel planning. 

Companies like Pack Up + Go and Journee plan mystery adventures for clients who can choose to wait till they get to the airport to reveal where they’re going, while Guess Where Trips plans mystery US road trips. The trend has made its way to group trips too—last month, Intrepid Travel, the parent company of Adventure.com, announced a new ‘Uncharted Expedition,’ where nearly everything is a surprise. “In a world where all the information is at our fingertips, travelers are seeking to venture into the unknown in search of new and exciting experiences,” the company said in a statement about the new trips.

In the Faroes, there’s potential for all rental cars to adopt the technology for the ‘self-navigation’ program, and it will be available for visitors indefinitely. 

Even better news? It doesn’t cost any extra.

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