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Faroe Islands Faroe IslandsIsland

Nólsoy

10.2 km² of land in the Norwegian Sea.

When to go

Nólsoy seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
N 0.5 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

10.2km²

Area

24km

Coastline

372m

Highest point

Eggjarklettur

234

People

10°C

Warmest sea

August

607km

To the mainland

When to go to Nólsoy

Good all year round.

The sea is warmest in August (10 °C) and coolest in February (7 °C). The water never reaches 21 °C: bring a wetsuit.

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in central Faroe Islands

Nólsoy is an island in Faroe Islands. It covers 10.2 km², with 24 km of coastline. Its highest point, Eggjarklettur, rises to 372 m. About 234 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 607 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire at FAE airport (Vágar)Discover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Nólsoy.

  • 3beaches
  • 1viewpoints
  • 2lighthousesNólsoy Lighthouse, Borðan Lighthouse
  • 5named peaksEggjarklettur, Uppi á Manni, Skúvafjall and 2 more
  • 1campsites
  • 1restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Nólsoy in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Nólsoy, each with its own numbers.

  • 1beachCoastya
  • 1mountainPeakyas

  • Highest point

    371m

    Eggjarklettur

    according to Peakyas

  • Beach with the warmest sea

    10.2°C

    Stokkvík

    sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

1 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

  1. Stokkvíkcove10.2°C

Open Coastya ↗

1 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Eggjarklettur371m

Open Peakyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 120 m above the sea. 79 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 29 %0–50 m
  • 51 %50–200 m
  • 21 %200–500 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Nólsoy10 km²
Capri10 km²
Manhattan54 km²

5 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)6667810121211987
Night low (°C)444568101010865
Sea (°C)7777891010101098
Rain (mm)12396957672688296110118117130
Wet days222021171513171719212123
Sun h/day0.00.82.54.45.85.84.94.42.91.20.10.0
Wind (km/h)363533302622222328323436

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020±0.0−0.1−0.1+0.2−0.1±0.0+0.1−0.3−0.1+0.2+0.8+0.6
2021+0.1−0.1+0.7+0.3−0.3−0.2+0.1+0.2+0.1+0.3+0.4+0.3
2022±0.0−0.3±0.0+0.1+0.2+0.1±0.0−0.1+0.4+0.6+0.7+0.5
2023−0.1+0.1+0.1+0.2+0.1+0.4+0.3+0.4+0.6+0.4+0.3±0.0
2024±0.0+0.2+0.3+0.3+0.7±0.0+0.2+0.1+0.4+0.3+0.6+0.2
2025±0.0+0.6+0.7+1.0+1.4+0.5+0.9+1.1+1.3+1.5+1.2+0.7

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Nolsoy Eggjarklettur
Alexandar Vujadinovic · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nólsoy by Maciej Brencz (1)
Maciej Brencz · CC BY 2.0
Nolsoy football pitch
Arne List from Kiel, Germany · CC BY-SA 2.0
Nolsoyingur 10-mannafar
Eileen Sandá · CC BY-SA 3.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

StreymoyFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands373 km²789 m25 km awaySandoyFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands111 km²479 m16 km awayEysturoyFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands285 km²880 m28 km awayHesturFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands5.9 km²421 m13 km awayBorðoyFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands95 km²755 m28 km awayVágarFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands176 km²722 m34 km awayKolturFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands2.3 km²478 m17 km awaySkúvoyFaroe IslandsFaroe Islands10 km²393 m26 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q240071) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsCoastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit