Six Bones

Chronicles of a Wandering Music Fan

Packing for Iceland Airwaves – Her Packing List

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I’ve written a brand-new packing list for super-cool women’s travel gear site Her Packing List, to help women going to Iceland Airwaves Music Festival pack for their epic musical adventure!

Autumn is upon us, which means that music fans from around the world will soon be flocking to Reykjavik for Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. Airwaves is one of my absolute favorite festivals, taking over the city for five days every October or November, and showcasing a ton of incredible Icelandic talent, as well as some awesome international acts. Not only is the festival great, but the location can’t be beat. Iceland is stunning, with Reykjavik as its cool, small-yet-cosmopolitain capital. I’ve gone to Airwaves twice, and have made some of my favorite travel memories at this festival.

One of the things that differentiates Airwaves from most other major music festivals is that it takes place in a chilly climate in late autumn, which means that you have to plan your packing very differently than you would for other music festivals, which are most often put on in spring or summer.

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Six Free & Cheap Things to Do in Akureyri, Iceland

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Akureyri is Iceland’s second-largest city, and despite the large population jump (~150,ooo in Reykjavik to ~20,000 in Akureyri), the town has quite a lot to offer. Though many of the nearby attractions and activities, such as whale watching or a visit to the Myvatn spa, can tend to be quite pricey, there are still plenty of things to do for travelers on a budget. [Read more…]

Essential Travel Apps: 112 Iceland

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For many visitors to Iceland, outdoor adventure is the main goal. And who could resist? With a million-and-one breathtaking places to explore, wild camping, and the ease and relative safety of hitchhiking, more and more people are looking to Iceland as a destination for some serious adventure.

There are many risks to this kind of travel. Iceland’s weather is fickle, unpredictable, and can turn severely bad at any moment. It can be easy to get lost seemingly-endless otherworldly landscape. There can be a pretty large distance between towns, and sometimes days-long gaps in traffic (even on the ring road), making it difficult to find help if something were to go wrong. [Read more…]

Getting a SIM card in Iceland

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Iceland has the highest rate of per capita mobile phone ownership in the world. This reflects in their incredible level of coverage: most towns and cities have 3G or 4G coverage, and even very remote areas, you’ll get at least a bar or two. For travelers in Iceland, this means that it’s very easy to stay connected. [Read more…]

Plus Size Leggings for Her Packing List

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Next in my series about plus size travel gear for women’s site Her Packing List is a post about one of the most useful items of travel clothing: Leggings.

I love leggings. Oh MAN do I love leggings. Since I’m not much of a pants gal, I wear leggings almost every day, and not only do they help me keep my legs warm, but they also help prevent the dreaded “chub rub” on days where I do a lot of walking. They’re a female traveler necessity, as they’re light, compact, and dry pretty quickly.

There are two routes to go, price-wise. There are either super-cheap leggings, or pretty expensive technical leggings, unfortunately without much middle ground. I’ll give some examples of each, so you can find what works best for you!

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Get Caffeinated: Four Awesome Coffee Shops in Reykjavik

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Hailing from Seattle, finding a good coffee shop is pretty high on my list of priorities when I travel. Not just for my much-needed caffeine fix, but also for the great comfort and workspace that comes from a really good coffee shop. Though quite a small city, Reykjavik is certainly not lacking in cosmopolitan comforts, and coffee is no exception. Though there are many great shops to choose from, these are my favorite coffee spots in Reykjavik. [Read more…]

Take Another Pylsa My Heart: Icelandic Hot Dogs

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via Bæjarins Beztu’s Facebook Page

When you think of the “national food of Iceland”, you may be thinking of cod, skyr, or lamb…but you’d be wrong. Turns out, the ultimate Icelandic food is the pylsa, or hot dog.

Icelanders really, REALLY love hot dogs.

…and for good reason! Pylsur are fantastic and super cheap, maybe even the cheapest cooked food you can buy in Iceland. A pylsa comes with ketchup, raw onions, crispy onions, a sweet Icelandic mustard, and a remulade. You can make them at home (ingredients are widely available at grocery stores in Iceland…you may even want to bring some back with you for when the pylsa craving takes over at home. It will.), and they’re available at a lot of different places, but the very best hot dogs come from the famous Bæjarins Beztu stands, the most popular of which is right by the harbor, and conveniently located next to several downtown bars for optimal drunk munching. [Read more…]

A Great Walking Tour with I Heart Reykjavik

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While getting ready for my first trip to Iceland in 2012, I started doing some casual online research, looking for things to do aside from the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival, which I was in town to attend. This is when I stumbled upon the Iceland-focused blog I Heart Reykjavik, which turned out to be a treasure trove of good information for travelers in Iceland. I’ve used her very-helpful posts to help plan parts of each of my trips to Iceland. When I found out that Auður (the woman behind IHR) was leading walking tours of the Reykjavík, I knew I had to check it out. [Read more…]

Five Ways to Save Money When Traveling in Iceland

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Seljalandsfoss, on Iceland’s south coast.

Iceland is one of Europe’s newly-very-popular tourist destinations. Between airfare deals from their biggest airline, a recent addition as an EasyJet destination, and huge festivals like Iceland Airwaves drawing in foreigners by the thousands, there’s been a steady increase in backpackers and budget travelers visiting this beautiful volcanic rock.

As I embark today on a 2-month trip to Iceland (my third visit in two years…I think I might be kind of addicted), I’m again thinking about ways i can keep to my budget and save money in this rather expensive country. Here are a few of the easiest ways to save some serious kronur, and make the most of your time in this amazing place. [Read more…]

I’m Katy, a Seattleite quitting my normal life to pursue my two greatest passions: travel and music. I’m documenting my general travel adventures, as well as great record stores, labels, festivals, and music I find around the world.