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Gettings snacks from a vending machine is an ordinary, run of the mill occurrence until that “bad boy” drops two bags of chips instead of one. It’s like an unadvertised two for one sale! I don’t know too many people that wouldn’t get excited about getting two of something for the price of one. That’s exactly what stopovers are about…the opportunity to visit two destinations for the price of one airline ticket. How? There are airlines that offer FREE stopovers!

That’s exactly how I visited Vietnam and Tokyo during my trip to Asia…by taking advantage of a free stopover. Tokyo was my free stopover city. I was able to cross off two countries from my destination bucket list during one trip. If you’re planning on heading to Vietnam and/or Tokyo then check out my posts on things to do in Ho Chi Minh and what you need to know about Tokyo.

What is a stopover?

You may be familiar with the term layover.  It’s what happens on a non-direct flight when you stop in another city before reaching your final destination city.  It’s a connection point which can be as short as 30 minutes in duration or as long as 23 hours.  The term layover and stopover are often used interchangeably.  But there are differences between the two.  A stopover is of longer duration.

During an international flight, a stopover is a stay that is longer than 24 hours and can last up to 7 days.  For a domestic flight, anything over 4 hours is called a stopover.

On certain airlines, you can take advantage of a stopover by spending a few days in the stopover location then continue on to your final destination, at no extra cost—two cities for the price of one.

How do stopover flights work?

Based on the airline fare rules you can stopover on your departure flight or on your return flight. Each airline has its own rules regarding the maximum duration of the stopover, stopover locations, visa requirements, and possible free hotel accommodations.

Best Airlines with FREE Stopovers

There are several airlines that offer stopover programs, however, some are easier to navigate than others. The following are the best airline stopover programs, in terms of the user-friendly website interface, program rules, visa restrictions, ticket booking, customer service, and navigating stopover locations.

Finnair Stopover

Stopover city: Helsinki

The Finnair stopover has a pretty robust list of destinations and routes with service out of the United States by way of Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Florida, Newark, and San Francisco.  With service to China, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Portugal, Denmark, and Dubai, just to name a few, you should have no problem finding a route to take advantage of this coveted stopover in Helsinki. Passengers traveling between North America and Europe or Asia can stopover in Helsinki for up to 5 days.

How to book a stopover in Helsinki

The stopover booking interface for Finnair is user-friendly.  You simply enter your travel parameters such as departure and destination airports, dates, and how long you want your stopover to be. 

Make sure the “stopover” radio button is checked.

The interface does the rest and you choose your flights based on timing and price just like any other transaction.

MUST Do while in Helsinki:  Visit the public saunas.  Apparently it’s a very big deal in Helsinki.  The New York Times published a guide to Helsinki’s Best Public Saunas.

Icelandair Stopover

Stopover city: Reykjavik

Through the Icelandair stopover, at no additional cost, you can take in the sights of Reykjavik for up to 7 days.  If you’re traveling between North America and Europe and checking the prices of the airfare make sure you add Icelandair to the list of places to check.  New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and Washington, DC are among the US airports. European destinations include Munich, Madrid, London, and Copenhagen.

How to book a stopover in Reykjavik

The Icelandair booking portal makes the process of finding flights pretty seamless. Just add the airport you’re departing from and your destination.

You’ll also have the option here to choose the leg of the trip for the stopover.

Choose your stopover duration. You’ll then be presented with flight choices and accompanying prices.

MUST DO while in Reykjavik: The Blue Lagoon, of course. Soak your tired muscles in geothermal seawater.  You can go with either the budget-friendly route or the super high end with this experience.  The choice is yours.

TAP Portugal Stopover

Stopover city: Portugal or Lisbon

You can spend up to five nights in Lisbon or Portugal without additional fees.  The TAP Portugal website has a route checker that allows you to see if the route you’ve chosen is eligible for a stopover.

Flying out of Boston, Miami, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, DC to places like Berlin, Budapest, Italy, and Ghana, to name a few, allows for a wide range of travel options.

How to book a stopover in Portugal

The TAP website contains a handy dandy “stopover eligibility checker”.  Just plug in your” departing from” and “going to” cities and the checker will tell you if that route allows for a stopover.

Once the route is confirmed, click the “Book Now” button.

You’ll now be able to enter all the trip details including whether you’d like the stopover on the outgoing or return flight and stopover duration.

MUST DO while in Portugal: Check out the Livraria Lello.  If you’re a bibliophile then this spot is for you.  Its beauty is unmatched.  It’s more like a castle museum than a book store.  You could get lost in there for hours.

Japan Airlines (JAL) Stopover

Stopover city: Tokyo or Osaka

With Japan Airlines you can take advantage of the stopover with routes between Japan and:

• Hawaii/Guam/Palau
• The United States/Canada
• Europe/Russia
• Middle East/Africa
• Australia/New Zealand
• India

Although not an exhaustive list, it’s clear there are options galore for routes that include the Tokyo stopover.

The options vary depending on where you’re flying from and to but you will be allowed two stopovers per trip.  You can stopover in Tokyo going and Osaka on the way back if you’d like.

How to book a stopover in Tokyo

First, check the round trip (without stopover) price for the trip. You want to ensure that adding the stopover will not cause the prices to increase. Note that the round trip radio button is checked.

Once you have the price for the round trip, go back and check the multi-city radio button and add the stopover location with the same dates. The price should remain the same. If for some reason the price increases, then you may have to call the airline to book the trip.

MUST Do in Tokyo: Street Kart formerly named Mario Go-Kart is a great way to tour Tokyo. You can’t beat racing through the streets in a go-kart while donned in a cartoon character costume. It’s arguably the coolest way to see Tokyo.

Read: Mario Kart in Tokyo: Everything You Need To Know

Airline Stopover Tips:

• You usually have to book directly through the airline website and not through 3^rd party vendors like Orbitz or Expedia.
• Some programs also include free tours and/or free or deeply discounted one-night hotel stays with the stopover.
• Always check the price of the round trip first to ensure that adding the stopover is not raising the price of the ticket.

AirWander: Another Stopover Tool

What is AirWander?

AirWander is a flight search engine that allows you to turn your round trip flight into a multi-city trip by predicting the cheapest stopover locations. These stopovers are NOT free, however, depending on the location you choose the added fee can be nominal compared to the whole cost of the trip.

How to use AirWander

Enter your starting and ending locations with travel dates. Once you hit enter, a “red plus sign” will appear between the 2 locations. Click it and the search engine will find possible stopover locations with the information about additional costs.

Once you choose your stopover location, the search engine will provide flight options and ticket prices. Keep in mind, your flight itinerary will most likely be a combination of one-way flights offered by different 3rd party booking sites.

Although AirWander allows you to book your tickets through the 3rd party vendor, it also provides the actual airlines you’ll be flying. Nothing is stopping you from taking the information provided and booking your flights directly through the airline if the price is the same.

So…now what?

Now that you have all of this great information, hop on over to a few of these website portals and practice. Enter your dream destinations and travel dates and see what you come up with. Let us know how it goes.

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