I have recently gained a whole new appreciation for adding stopovers to my travels. Scheduling flights through layovers and stopping over for a night or two is a great way to spice up a trip. And the best part? It doesn't even cost you anything extra.
Stopping for just a few hours between connecting flights is a waste! If you can take advantage of this opportunity to plan a multi-day layover, it can be very rewarding.
I recently spent 36 hours in Istanbul on my way to Georgia. Earlier this year, I flew to Thailand via Singapore (where I stayed overnight) and flew back with an 18-hour layover in Beijing.
These layovers are so much fun!
Why stopovers are great
Stopovers are a great way to experience one more country on the way to your final destination.
It's almost a try-before-you-buy experience!
A short stopover in Istanbul on the way to Georgia got me thinking about the opportunity to visit Turkey. A short stopover in Beijing on the way back from Thailand gave me the idea for a longer trip in China. Of course, the capitals of these countries may not be representative of the whole country, but they at least gave me a tantalizing taste of what's to come.
If you're not looking to savor the flavor of your destination, then a stopover can simply be a small snack on your trip. It's like having an appetizer before the main course. If your flight isn't direct and you have a layover, why not make the most of it?
As I traveled from Southeast Asia to the UK via China, it was interesting to transition from lazing in a hammock on a tropical beach in Cambodia to strolling around Beijing in the dead of winter. I was literally (not really) freezing because I hadn't prepared anything at all for the weather, but it was totally worth it.
In Istanbul, I spent the day strolling through the Grand Bazaar, visiting some of the historical monuments dating back to the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and enjoying a delicious brunch and meze dinner before meeting up with my traveling companions for the rest of the trip.
Of course, these were short stops, but they were definitely worth it. They also help to shorten my flights: I can rest, shower, sleep, and then continue flying the next day.
Now that I've figured out that I like stopovers, I'm having flashbacks to previous trips. When I flew to South Africa last year, I could have stopped over in Addis Ababa! When I flew from Lisbon to Romania via Vienna, I could have totally stopped over there for a day! Awww.
Okay, so how do you plan for a longer stay?
Step 1: Multi-Site Search
Stopovers do require some extra searching and planning. However, it is not difficult to book flights with longer layovers.
In order to find the best stopover opportunities, you usually need to use a multi-stop or multi-city flight search. This is a feature that many flight search engines have, but which you may not normally use because most travel is point-to-point.
first in Kiwi Conduct regular flight searches on websites such as (see also...)My Ultimate Tips for Using Flight Search Engines).
Enter your start and final destinations and view the results, then note where some of the indirect flights stop. When you see a route combination you like, you can enter a stopover in the multi-stop search and add some extra time to that destination.
Now, here's the catch: if you book on a third-party booking site, you may receive separate one-way flights that are often more expensive than round-trip flights.
The solution is usually to go to the airline's own website and do a multi-city search there. The price you get is usually similar to a regular round-trip ticket, except for the longer connecting flights.
It depends on whether the airline is stopover friendly or not. Stopover-friendly airlines will make it easier to add multi-day stopovers to your trip.
By the way, stopovers actually make your trip cheaper!
Some search engines specialize in finding stopovers that can reduce the total cost of your trip, for example, if you will be flying on a cheaper day, or into a different airline sector. To find such discounted flights, visit Cleverlayover or Airwander and other sites.
With Cleverlayover, it's easy to add extra stopover time to your stopover. As they themselves point out, "You can end up spending an extra week in Honolulu and save money at the same time!"
Consider the ideal stopover destination
Certain destinations are strategically located between continents or regions, making them ideal transit points.
Iceland, for example, is conveniently located between Europe and North America. In fact, part of the great success of Iceland's tourism industry has been the promotion and facilitation of this type of travel. You can find out more about Icelandic tourism at Icelandair and WOWAir s website for more information.
Another example is the Azores Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, located between Europe and the east coast of the United States. Azores Airlines can transport transatlantic travelers from Auckland, Boston, Toronto and Montreal to several major cities in Europe, with a few extra days on the islands in between.
Not everyone is interested in visiting Dubai just for the sake of it, but as a stopover for a day or two along the way, Dubai is still interesting.
Singapore is an important stop in Southeast Asia because of its hub airport's easy access to the region and the world.
Heading to Central America or the Caribbean? Then try flying into Miami or Fort Lauderdale airports and continue your journey in a day or two.
View Special Offers
Some destinations advertise themselves as stopovers, offering great value freebies to travelers who decide to stay for a while. These freebies usually come from airlines originating from major (emerging) hubs.
During a recent stopover in Istanbul, I used a Turkish Airlines promotion that offered free hotel stays if the stay was no less than 20 hours. As an economy class passenger, I had a choice of several different hotels, the most expensive of which usually cost €120 a night.
The following destinations are currently offering free or discounted accommodations:
- Istanbul (Tw) - Free hotel accommodation for transit of 20 hours or more
- Doha, capital of Qatar - Stay at a free hotel with Qatar Airways
- Singaporean - Complimentary hotel accommodation for long layovers at Changi Airport on Singapore Airlines flights
- Addis Ababa-Free hotels for selected stopovers of Ethiopian Airlines.
- Lisbon, capital of Portugal - TAP Airways Offers Hotel and Travel Discounts for Visitors with Stopovers in Lisbon
There may be more hotels offering free hotels than these, that's just what I know so far. These promotions change all the time, so keep an eye out for them. Often, airlines will roll out these promotions over a period of time to mark a destination on the map.
Some destinations also offer free tours or short trips if you decide to stop over.Thrifty Nomads offers a list of stopover cities that offer free tours.