Guide

How to book a flight with a stopover

A stopover is a stay of more than a day in a city on the way to somewhere else, as opposed to a layover, which is a connection of a few hours. There are four ways to book one, and they differ in price, in freedom, and in who is responsible when a flight is late.

Book it as a multi-city trip

On the airline's site or any flight search, choose multi-city instead of round trip and enter each flight: home to the stopover city, the stopover city to where you are going, and the way back. On one airline, or an alliance, it is one booking and one ticket.

Why it works

It often costs little more than flying straight through, and it keeps the whole trip on one booking.

The catch

Search engines show the cheapest dates for each flight on its own, not for the trip as a whole, so the order you visit the cities in and the day you move between them can change the total by hundreds. That is the part worth comparing.

Why the order of the cities changes the price

Use an airline stopover program

Airlines with a hub between two continents want you to connect through it, and 12 of them let you stay there, some for days at no extra airfare, some with a free or discounted hotel. You book it with the ticket, usually on the airline's own site, by choosing the stopover option or booking a multi-city through the hub.

Why it works

Days in a second city on the same ticket, and on several of these programs the same fare. The connection is protected: if the first flight is late, the airline rebooks you.

The catch

Booking through a third party usually forfeits it, and the terms change, so read the airline's own page before you buy. The table below links to each one.

Airlines that let you stop at their hub

Turkish AirlinesStopover in Istanbul: free hotel night(s) on qualifying long connections (economy 1 night, business 2), booked in advance through the airline. Touristanbul runs free city tours for 6 to 24h layovers.
IberiaStopover Hola Madrid: add 1 to 9 nights in Madrid on long-haul itineraries via MAD with no fare change, plus city perks.
TAP Air PortugalPortugal Stopover: up to 10 nights in Lisbon or Porto at no extra airfare when connecting via Portugal.
IcelandairIceland Stopover: up to 7 nights in Iceland at no additional airfare on transatlantic itineraries.
EmiratesDubai Stopover packages (hotel, visa and transfers). Dubai Connect adds a free hotel, transfers and meals on transits of 6 to 26 hours.
Qatar AirwaysQatar Stopover: discounted hotel nights in Doha on transits of 12h or more, booked with the ticket through Discover Qatar.
Singapore AirlinesSingapore Stopover Holiday: hotel, transfers and attraction bundles for stopovers in Singapore.
FinnairHelsinki Stopover: break the journey in Helsinki for up to 5 days on Finnair itineraries.
Ethiopian AirlinesAddis Ababa Stopover: on a single-ticket connection of 8 to 24 hours, a free hotel night, transfers and meals, with transit-visa help; collect the voucher at check-in.
Copa AirlinesPanama Stopover: up to 7 days in Panama City at no extra airfare when connecting via PTY.
Air CanadaToronto Stopover: up to 7 days in Toronto on the way to Europe or Asia at no extra airfare; book it as a multi-city.
EtihadAbu Dhabi Stopover: up to two free hotel nights on a stop of 24 hours to four days, booked direct with Etihad, plus a discount pass for attractions.

Each name links to the airline’s own page. Terms change; that page is the one to trust.

Pick a ticket with a long layover

Some one-stop tickets connect after 10, 20 or 30 hours. That is long enough to leave the airport, see a city and sleep there, on one ticket, often for about the same price as the quickest way to fly the leg.

Why it works

One booking, bags checked through, and the airline responsible for getting you to the end.

The catch

Most flight searches hide these, because they sort long connections to the bottom. An overnight connection is only useful if you pay for a bed, and you still have to be allowed into the country.

How Stopover finds layovers long enough to count as a city

Buy two separate tickets

One ticket to the stopover city, and a second, days later, onward. Budget airlines make this cheap within a continent, and it gives you any city and any length of stay.

Why it works

The most freedom, and sometimes the lowest price.

The catch

Nobody is responsible for the connection but you. If the first flight is late or cancelled the second airline owes you nothing, and bags have to be collected and checked in again. Leave a day, not hours, between them.

When two tickets are worth the risk

Before you book any of them

Can you enter the country? A stopover means passing immigration. Check the visa or electronic travel authorization rules for your passport before you book, not at the gate.
Is it one ticket or two? On one ticket a missed connection is the airline's problem. On two, it is yours.
Are your bags checked through? On one ticket they usually are; on two separate tickets, never.
When do you land? An evening arrival and a morning departure is a hotel night, not a day in the city.
How long does the airport take? Count the time to get through the airport and into town at both ends, not the raw layover length.

Or let it work that out

Give it your cities.

Stopover prices every order your cities could go in, on dates that fit together, and checks each flight for a layover long enough to be a free city and for an airline stopover program on the way. No account needed.

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