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Black Sands and Riverbeds Airplane Tour In Iceland

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 06:18:26 GMT

One of the most mind-blowing experiences I've had to date. From 1,500 feet up, Iceland doesn't just look like another country — it looks like another planet.

“One plane tour over Iceland's rivers and you'll be back for more.”

Introduction: Why an Iceland Plane Tour Belongs on Your Bucket List

There are places you can only truly understand from the air, and Iceland's south coast is one of them. On an Iceland plane tour, the landscape below unfolds like an abstract painting — braided glacial rivers spilling across black sand plains, volcanic craters rimmed in rust-red iron, and electric-green moss draped over the highlands like velvet.

For years, this aerial perspective lived only in my imagination. I'd studied the work of photographers like Chris Burkard and Andro Loria , endlessly scrolling through their aerial photography of Iceland's river systems and wondering if I'd ever see those swirling patterns with my own eyes. This year, I finally stopped wondering and booked a flightseeing tour over the Black Sands and Riverbeds of southern Iceland.

It exceeded every expectation.

Booking an Iceland Plane Tour: What You Need to Know

Here's the single most important piece of advice in this entire article: if your goal is serious aerial photography, book a dedicated photo flight — not a standard sightseeing tour.

On a photo tour, the pilot can open the aircraft windows, giving you a crystal-clear view of the glacial riverbeds below with no glass, glare, or reflections between your lens and the landscape. Standard Iceland sightseeing flights keep the windows sealed, which is fine for taking in the views but frustrating if you came to shoot.

I booked a private photo tour with no other passengers, and it made all the difference. With the plane to myself, I could hop between the left and right seats every time the pilot banked a turn, chasing compositions on both sides of the aircraft.

A word of warning, though: all that seat-hopping comes at a price. Between the turbulence, the constantly shifting horizon, and trying to hold my camera steady while the small plane bounced through the air, I was feeling genuinely nauseous by the end of the flight. If you're prone to motion sickness in small aircraft, take Dramamine (or your motion sickness remedy of choice) before takeoff. Trust me on this one.

Aerial Photography Over Iceland: A View From Another World

An Iceland plane tour is firmly a bucket-list experience for landscape and nature photographers. Yes, you can capture aerial images with a drone — but drones face strict altitude limits and no-fly zones in Iceland, and nothing matches the sweeping perspective you get from a plane or helicopter tour.

Seeing Iceland's glacial river systems from above is genuinely surreal. Meltwater from the glaciers braids and splits across the volcanic black sand, carrying sediment that paints the channels in silver, turquoise, and gold. I kept glancing at the back of my camera after each frame just to confirm that yes — this is real.

The vivid green moss is another feature that makes aerial photography in Iceland so distinctive. When the sun breaks through, the moss-covered highlands light up in a saturated green you simply won't find elsewhere. I've photographed mossy landscapes in Alaska and Norway, but nowhere does it blanket entire mountainsides the way it does in Iceland.

And then there's the black sand itself. In places, red iron deposits bleed through the dark volcanic plains, and from the air it looks less like Earth and more like the surface of Mars.

Gear note: My favorite lens for this flight was the Fuji GF 45-100mm f/4 (roughly a 24–70mm f/2.8 equivalent on a full-frame sensor). The flexible zoom range let me go from wide, sweeping riverbed patterns to tighter abstract details without ever changing lenses — something you do not want to attempt in a bouncing Cessna with the windows open.

The Best Plane Tour Company in Iceland: My Recommendation

I flew with Atlantsflug (Flightseeing.is) , and I can't recommend them highly enough. Their customer service was courteous and professional from the first email, and the pilot went out of his way to make sure I got every shot on my list — circling back over the most photogenic riverbeds and tipping the wings for cleaner angles.

A few practical details before you book your own Iceland flightseeing tour:

Most standard tours have a 3-person minimum. Keep this in mind unless you book a private tour for one.
The Black Sands and Riverbeds tour starts at 44,900 ISK (about $325 USD). That price is for the standard sightseeing flight, where windows stay closed.
For a custom photo flight with open windows, contact their support team directly for a quote. It costs more, but for photographers, it's worth every króna.

Final Thoughts

If you're planning a trip to Iceland and debating whether a plane tour is worth the splurge, consider this your sign. The glaciers, waterfalls, and black sand beaches are spectacular from the ground — but from the air, Iceland reveals patterns and colors that most visitors never get to see. Whether you're a dedicated landscape photographer or simply chasing the most unforgettable views of your trip, an Iceland plane tour delivers a perspective you'll be thinking about long after you land.

Have questions about booking a photo flight in Iceland? Drop them in the comments below — I'm happy to help you plan.

Tomorrowland Music Festival

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 06:21:11 GMT

What Is Tomorrowland?

Welcome to Tomorrowland, one of the world’s largest electronic
music festivals! If you’re a music enthusiast looking for an
unforgettable experience, this is the place to be. Every year, thousands
of people from around the world gather here to dance, sing, and enjoy a
weekend of pure joy and celebration.

“Yesterday is history, today is a gift and tomorrow is a mystery.”

First things first, let’s talk about the location. Tomorrowland is held in Boom, Belgium, which is about an hour away from the capital Brussels.
The festival takes place on a massive site that spans over 400 hectares,
with 16 different stages, art installations, food stalls, and other
attractions. The festival site is beautifully decorated with vibrant
colors, fairy lights, and extravagant decorations that create a magical
atmosphere. The amount of money the festival puts into stage design, employee costumes, lights, lasers, fireworks, food, and other things is what makes this festival amazing.

They make sure to create an everlasting and magical experience when it comes to music festivals. It is no wonder why the tickets sell out in 10-30 minutes every year.

How To Buy Tickets

Pre-Registration

Pre-Registration usually opens up during the first two weeks of January. There will be notifications of when it opens on Tomorrowland’s website or their Instagram account .

Official Travel Partner Ticket Sales

https://belgium.tomorrowland.com/en/sales-info/official-travel-partners/

The first 20 people to register in each country will be rewarded with access to purchase tickets early rather than having to wait in the main ticket sale. Try to make friends with people in less popular countries to have a better chance at winning :D. I have never been able to be in the first 20 in the USA.

Main Ticket Sale

Everyone that knows about it will have plenty to say about the stressful experience of Tomorrowland’s lottery ticket system. If you don’t have the website loaded as soon as the sale goes live…say goodbye to your chances of getting tickets through the main sale.

The sale typically starts at 17:00 CET (Central European Time). If you load the website at 17:01? You’re doomed.

There are over a million people (about 2 million+) trying to purchase tickets where only 100,000 are available. Each Tomorrowland account can purchase up to 4 tickets total.

The other 80,000 tickets are reserved for Belgian residents only which requires that you have not only a Belgian address but also a bank account (for those of you thinking about attempting).

Once the sale goes live, you will get placed in a queue. For some reason, they never display your position in the queue. This would honestly save the stressful 30+ minutes of wondering if you’re going to get through to the sale page or not.

The last 4 years I have sat there waiting for 30 minutes only for the screen to update and say, “sorry, all tickets have been sold”.

Gutted feeling. But there are still other ways to get tickets, don’t give up yet!

Drugs

As with the majority of music festivals, there will be lots of drugs going around. Most of them get smuggled into Dreamville camping because the main thing they search for at the entrance are glass bottles. There are too many people and not enough security personnel to search every single compartment of people’s bags. Especially if you have a push cart piled up with bags like my camp mates from Switzerland had…beer pong table, x2 Cabana Tents, cooler, tents, sleeping bags, chairs, luggage, etc…

They simply do not have enough time or personnel to catch all of the drugs hidden in people’s bags.

*Beware* – If you do partake, aside from the risk of fentanyl laced drugs, there is a police presence at main Tomorrowland festival entrance. They also bring out K9 dogs and walk around searching.

So make sure you do what you want at the camp grounds before heading to the main festival entrance. That would be a terrible experience to get caught and kicked out of the festival!

Tomorrowland’s Camera Policy

Read more about it here: https://belgium.tomorrowland.com/en/practical/policies

My personal experience: You will be able to get your camera gear into Dreamville, however, I was stopped on two separate occasions about taking pictures with my camera because they said it was – “too professional”.

First time was when I was asking for help at a info station. He said he was going to radio his supervisor about it and also mentioned that they had a briefing about professional cameras.

Second time, I was taking someone’s photo near the food area inside Dreamville and I was stopped by a Tomorrowland crew individual along with 3 others. Before I knew it, I had 4 people surrounding me as if I was some criminal. She said I can’t be taking pictures with that camera and she was going to talk to her supervisor about it. She asked what type of camera it was, I told her the brand, and then simultaneously – a couple came up to me and asked if they could have their picture taken as well.

I smirked and looked at the Tomorrowland employee…she gave in and said yea go ahead. She asked what I was doing with the photos; I told her it was for personal use and I am just sending these photos to people after the festival; she wanted to know if I had a large social media following or the like…to which I replied that I don’t. Eventually, the supervisor said it was fine and I could continue.

Mind you, I had a Fuji GFX 100s II that I was shooting with. 100 megapixel medium format sensor (maybe not true MF like Hasselblad, but close). Lol. So definitely in the top end of camera gear.

As for the main festival entrance, I was immediately denied entrance when they opened my bag and saw the camera. They, again, said it was “too professional”. So I turned back around and walked all the way back to Dreamville…30 minute walk at least…and put it back in my locker.

But it’s not over yet, Tomorrowland.

A few hours later, I decided to try again and disconnected my lens on the camera body to make the overall package smaller. Then took the camera body and stashed it in my fanny pack. The lens was placed in my sling bag which also had a DJI Osmo Pocket 3.

Right before I arrived to the main entrance, I swung the fanny pack around so that it was facing behind me. I also made sure to choose a different entry point this time with a different security person.

They had me open my sling bag, took a look…asked me what that Pocket 3 was and I showed them. All the meanwhile, they were distracted and never asked me to open my fanny pack.

I made it through! With my “professional” camera gear successfully smuggled through the main entrance, I walked straight to the lockers to store it there. From that point on, I always kept an eye out for other Tomorrowland crew and tried to only take pictures within the crowd so they don’t stop me for a third time.

So…things have changed since the last time I was there in 2014. They were much more strict about camera gear in 2024 for some reason. I saw other non-Tomorrowland crew people with full frame Sony Alpha cameras…it’s not like I was the only one with “professional” gear.

Make of that what you will. It is possible to get camera gear in and take great photos but don’t be surprised if you also get stopped like I did. Not going to lie, I was worried. Started to wonder if they were going to kick me out of the festival, haha.

Recommended Sim Cards For Internet

Personally, I prefer to use an eSim card rather than a regular sim that you insert in your phone. For those that don’t know, make sure that the phone you’re going to use is unlocked. Different sim cards won’t work on phones that are still carrier locked.

The eSim that I used gave me service the entire time at Tomorrowland with no shortages. It is such a luxury to have internet while at the festival. Whether you use it communicate with your lost friends or to navigate the festival grounds by using the Tomorrowland app (download here — iOS , Android )…it is so helpful.

Nomad This is the one that I used and recommend. If you want SMS or voice calling, make sure to double check the package you have selected before purchasing. Some deals are data only.

Where To Sell Your Tickets If You Can’t Go Anymore

Did your plans change and you or a friend can no longer attend the festival? There are a few options available to resell your tickets.

*Note* – It is technically not allowed to resell your tickets outside of the main Tomorrowland website. Read more about this here: https://belgium.tomorrowland.com/en/sales-info/official-ticket-channels/

Official quote from their website: “Be warned that, in accordance with Tomorrowland’s General Terms and Conditions of Purchase, it is not allowed to resell your ticket, unless through the official Exchange Desk.”

I have personally sold a ticket to someone in a Facebook group whom ended up becoming a friend of mine in Belgium. I just recently stayed with them again this year, 2024, 10 years later after we first went to Tomorrowland.

As long as you’re not selling your ticket for profit, I wouldn’t worry about getting in trouble for it.

With that said, here are some ways you can sell your ticket:

Official Tomorrowland Exchange Desk This opens up usually sometime in May so people often try to sell their tickets through other options before then. When it is open, you login to your account at my.tomorrowland.com and there will be an option to access the exchange desk to sell your ticket.
Facebook Groups Search Facebook groups for “Tomorrowland + current year + tickets” or without the word ‘tickets’ and you will find plenty of Facebook groups to join. *Word of caution* – Many people get scammed on Facebook so be careful. If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it is. I personally recommend either Global Journey, Official Travel Partners, the Official Exchange Desk, or Viagogo instead of this option unless you know what to look for when dealing with potential scammers.
There are certain signs such as poor grammar/punctuation, profile pictures that don’t match the listed gender or name of profile, offering a price higher than your asking price, etc.
Viagogo.com I have personally both purchased from and sold one ticket on this platform in the past with no problems. When you create a for sale listing, they will ask you to upload a PDF copy of your ticket which will be sent to the buyer when the ticket is sold. Buyer’s will then have to take that PDF copy and go to Tomorrowland’s will call booth at the festival to pick up their bracelets. You don’t need to worry about shipping the bracelet/treasure chest to the buyer.
Also, even though Tomorrowland states that you should not sell or buy from unauthorized third parties…people have been doing so with Viagogo for over a decade now. I guess it’s more of a gray area. You can buy a ticket from this platform and Tomorrowland will give you your bracelet at the will call booth on festival grounds even though it’s from Viagogo…make of that what you will. Money talks, I guess.

Tomorrowland Meet At Delerium Cafe In Brussels

Every year people meet at Delerium Cafe downtown Brussels the night before The Gathering party, Wednesday night. This pub has over 2000 beers available! Some of the best beer I’ve had.

This is where I met a group of people from Switzerland that offered to give me a ride to the festival. Most people wear their Tomorrowland bracelet to represent but I’ve found that it’s also a great way to meet other people to camp with if you have the same bracelet.

This is how much beer my camp-mates bought for camping…two stacks plus additional vodka and rum. I also had my own Cold Beer Pickup voucher. We definitely did not run out of alcohol the entire festival!

Morning After

Look out for Dreamville newspapers being handed out every morning as soon as the festival starts on Friday. Definitely a worthy souvenir to keep.

Lockers

Aside from using small locks to keep your tent locked, (which I highly recommend for peace of mind), there are lockers at both Dreamville and the main festival grounds. The lockers in Dreamville are accessible 24/7 while the ones at the festival grounds are only accessible during opening hours 12:00pm-12:00am.

Don’t be like me and lose track of time when your locker at Tomorrowland is closing in 25 minutes. It’s at least 20-35 minute walk from Dreamville to Tomorrowland. I had to jog the entire way with a belly full of vodka, redbull, and beer.

Not my favorite memory of this festival. But I was able to convince entrance security to let me in to access my locker when the time was about 12:05-12:10 am. I don’t know what happens to your belongings if you leave them in a locker and it expires…but I didn’t want to find out the hard way.

Pro Tip: Take a picture of your locker info card that has the pin number on it. Just in case you lose your card…you can still access your locker.

Recycling Trash Bags For Tokens

There are Tomorrowland employees that walk around handing out recycling bags for your campsite. They have a program where each bag of recyclable material you bring them, they give you one token that can be redeemed for merch or even a secret disco party.

The recycle drop off and secret disco party is located next to the gym/yoga/crossfit studio.

Dreamville Tokens

Pro Tip: Look for Tomorrowland crew pulling a cart full of recycling bags then ask them if you can take a couple. Easy way to collect your tokens! ��

This is what I did. I actually asked if I could pay them for the bags. They looked at each other, then looked at me and said, “you can take them if you want. We didn’t see anything.”

I took 3 bags full of trash off their cart while my camp mates are staring at me, wondering wtf I’m doing. Lol. But now the hard part…I had to carry those bags all the way to the drop off which was at least 20 minutes away.

3 Tokens got me a Tomorrowland themed pull-string bag (which is beautiful and nice quality by the way). They also let me into the secret disco party even though that technically costs 1 token.

1 Token – Secret Disco Party
3 Tokens – Tomorrowland Pull-String Bag
6 Tokens – Official Tomorrowland Flag
7 Tokens – 20-Year Anniversary Gold Tomorrowland Flag
8 Tokens – Loop Ear Plugs

Where To Find A Supermarket (Grocery Store)

This will be the most cost effective option of food and drinks at Tomorrowland. All of the food that I tried at the festival was delicious and top tier but it’s also expensive and adds up. The drinks are also expensive.

There is a market nearby Dreamville that you can walk to and buy some food or drinks. Remember that no glass bottles are allowed into the camp grounds so make sure to buy a 2 liter bottle of soda or water and then just empty it outside or mix it with alcohol.

I personally bought a bottle of rum, 2 liter bottle of coca-cola, and then emptied half of it outside and poured the rum in. Easy way to get rid of the glass bottle.

Carrefour Market Reet

Molenstraat 83, 2840 Rumst, Belgium

Walking Through Arizona Slot Canyons

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 06:20:30 GMT

Arizona Slot Canyons: The Complete Planning Guide for Your First Visit

There's a moment, a few steps into your first slot canyon, when the desert sky narrows to a ribbon of blue and the walls begin to glow. Sandstone the color of fire curves around you in smooth, flowing waves, and the temperature drops as if you've entered a cathedral. This is what draws millions of travelers to the Arizona slot canyons every year — and why so many leave already planning a return trip.

Northern Arizona, particularly the area around Page on the Colorado Plateau, holds the densest concentration of accessible slot canyons in North America. Carved over millions of years by flash floods tearing through soft Navajo sandstone, these narrow corridors — including world-famous Antelope Canyon — offer some of the most rewarding photography and hiking experiences in the American Southwest.

This guide covers the practical side of visiting: when to go, how permits and guided tours work, what to pack, and how to stay safe. If you're still deciding which canyon to visit, start with our companion guide to the best slot canyons in Arizona , then come back here to plan the trip.

Sculpted by flash floods and painted by light, Arizona's slot canyons are among the most photographed natural wonders on Earth. Here's everything you need to know before you step inside one.

“You don't walk through a slot canyon. You walk through time, carved in waves of light and sand.”

When to Visit Arizona Slot Canyons

For the famous light beams: The iconic shafts of light that made Upper Antelope Canyon a photography legend appear roughly from late March through early October, strongest in midday tours between 11 AM and 1 PM. According to the Navajo Nation's own visitor guidance on Discover Navajo , summer midday slots are the prime window — and they sell out months in advance.

For fewer crowds: November through March is the quiet season around Page. You'll trade the light beams for softer, moodier colors in the sandstone, smaller tour groups, and easier last-minute bookings. For photographers, winter's diffused light actually flatters the canyon textures in ways the harsh summer beams don't.

Avoid monsoon gambles: Arizona's monsoon season (roughly mid-June through September) brings the violent afternoon thunderstorms that carved these canyons in the first place. Tours close at the first sign of flood risk — more on that below.

Permits, Guides, and How Booking Actually Works

Here's the part that surprises many first-time visitors: you cannot explore Antelope Canyon or the other Page-area slot canyons on your own. These canyons sit on Navajo Nation land, and entry is permitted only with an authorized Navajo guide.

The good news is that the process is simple:

Book through an authorized operator. Navajo Nation Parks & Recreation publishes the official list of licensed Antelope Canyon tour operators — always start there to avoid third-party resellers.
Budget for the entry fee. The Navajo Nation charges a per-person, per-location entry fee on top of your tour price, and America the Beautiful national park passes are not accepted on tribal land.
Reserve early for peak season. From April through October, popular time slots — especially midday light-beam tours — can sell out weeks or months ahead.
Know the rules. Drones, pets, and tripods (on standard tours) are prohibited, and commercial photography requires a separate Navajo Nation permit.

For wilderness slot canyons on the Arizona–Utah border, like Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch in the Paria Canyon–Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness , the system is different: no guide is required, but you'll need a BLM day-use permit, solid navigation skills, and full self-sufficiency.

Flash Flood Safety: The Rule You Never Break

The same forces that sculpted these canyons can turn them deadly in minutes. A thunderstorm twenty miles away — under a perfectly blue sky above you — can send a wall of water funneling through a slot canyon with no escape routes.

Take this seriously:

Check the forecast before any canyon trip. The National Weather Service issues flash flood watches and warnings for the Page and Colorado Plateau region.

Trust the closures. When Navajo tour operators cancel for weather, it's not an overreaction — it's institutional memory.

In wilderness slots, watch the sky and the water. Sudden debris in the stream, rising water, or a distant roar means get to high ground immediately.

Guided tours handle this risk for you, which is one more reason the guide requirement at Antelope Canyon is a feature, not a bureaucratic hurdle.

What to Pack for a Slot Canyon Adventure

Slot canyons demand surprisingly little gear, but the few essentials matter:

Grippy closed-toe shoes — sandy floors, metal staircases (Lower Antelope), and occasional scrambling

Water, even in winter — the desert dehydrates you quietly

A lens cloth or two — fine sand hangs in the air, especially when guides toss sand into the light beams for photos

Layers — canyon interiors run noticeably cooler than the surface desert

A small bag only — most operators restrict backpacks and all prohibit tripods on standard tours

Photographer's tip: Skip the lens changes entirely. Swirling sand inside a slot canyon is a sensor's worst enemy — pick one versatile zoom lens and commit to it before you enter, the same approach I take on aerial photo flights where conditions make swapping glass impossible.

Building Your Page, Arizona Itinerary

The beauty of basing yourself in Page is how much sits within a 20-minute drive. Pair your slot canyon tour with:

Horseshoe Bend — the famous 270-degree meander of the Colorado River, part of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

Lake Powell — kayaking, boat tours, and water-access slot canyons

Alternative slots like Canyon X, Secret Canyon, and Mountain Sheep Canyon — equally stunning, far less crowded, and covered in detail in our Arizona slot canyon roundup

For broader trip planning across the state — from Sedona's red rocks to the Grand Canyon — the official Visit Arizona tourism site is a reliable starting point.

Final Thoughts: Worth Every Grain of Sand

Arizona's slot canyons are one of those rare bucket-list destinations that genuinely live up to the photographs — and then exceed them, because no image captures the silence, the cool air, or the feeling of standing inside something water spent a million years creating. Plan around the light, book your guide early, respect the flood risk, and these canyons will hand you memories (and photos) that outlast any souvenir.

Been to the Arizona slot canyons, or planning your first trip? Share your questions and experiences in the comments below.