Music Iceland Airwaves 2026: four nights, eleven venues, twenty-eight shows
Does a festival format that’s nearly forty years old still work? Our notes from Reykjavík in late November.
Tansu 3 min readFounder and editor
Tansu
The person behind icelandify.com. Here I share the experience I’ve gained exploring every corner of Iceland since my first year here, and my passion for photography.
- On the island
- Since 2013
- Originally from
- Istanbul
- Stories
- 9
My story with Iceland began when I first visited the country in the autumn of 2011.
I work in product design and web development. In my spare time I’m into outdoor sports and photography, and for years I’ve been exploring the lesser-known, remote parts of Iceland with various photography groups.
Here I share the experience I’ve gathered over the years, the places I’ve discovered and my photographs.
In 2015 I founded the Instagramers Iceland photography group in Reykjavík, organising photo walks and meet-ups. The group still carries on today, if with fewer events.
Since my first years in Iceland I’d always wanted to start my own blog and share my life here. I finally brought that idea to life, first in Turkish, and now in English with Icelandify.
What I do
This site is a publication, not a catalogue of services, but people ask, so it’s here. For all of them, see the contact page.
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01
Guiding
In small groups, with someone who has travelled the island for years. The route is built around you, and the timings are planned to avoid the crowded stops.
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02
Photo tours
Planning shoots knowing where and when the light is right. Northern-lights nights, the blue hour and the right stops for long exposures.
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03
Consulting
If you’re planning your own route: one-to-one advice on a day-by-day plan, choosing a car and accommodation, and what’s open or closed in each season.
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04
Software and web
I work in product design and web development. I design user interfaces, build web applications and improve the performance of existing projects.
Stories by Tansu
Music 
Travel 72 hours in Reykjavík, away from the crowds
There’s a city beyond Hallgrímskirkja and Harpa. Three days, all within walking distance.
Tansu 1 min read
Guides 10 days in Iceland: a realistic budget
Item by item, at 2026 prices. Where can you save, and where does trying to save end up costing you?
Tansu 1 min read
News 2025 tourism figures: fewer visitors, longer stays
Ferðamálastofa’s annual report shows short city breaks declining and the average stay rising to 6.4 nights.
Tansu 1 min read
Guides Which insurance should you take when you hire a car?
CDW, SCDW, GP, SAAP, TP... Which of these abbreviations do you really need, and which are sales talk?
Tansu 1 min read
Culture Icelandic food: what do people eat beyond the horror stories?
Fermented shark is a tourist ritual. The real cuisine is built on lamb, seafood and cultured dairy.
Tansu 1 min read
Travel Látrabjarg: birdwatching at Europe’s westernmost point
A fourteen-kilometre cliff, millions of birds and a place where the puffins aren’t the least bit afraid of you.
Tansu 1 min read
Culture An introduction to Icelandic cinema: five films
Dark humour, empty landscapes and little dialogue. These five films explain the country better than any documentary.
Tansu 1 min read
Music After Sigur Rós: what’s happening in new Icelandic music?
A generation has stepped out of post-rock’s shadow, bringing jazz, electronics and the choral tradition together in the same song.
Tansu 1 min read