Booking stopover flights is one of the most underrated travel hacks to maximize your vacation time and budget. The best airline stopover programs essentially provide a free mini-visit to a city in an international airline’s home country—typically the capital city or the location of the carrier’s main airport hub.
Usually booked as an extended layover, stopover flights can range anywhere from 24 hours all the way up to 10 days. Did we mention they’re free to add on to your itinerary? You heard that right: there’s no extra fee when booking a stopover, a true rarity in the airline world these days. Some carriers will even throw in a complimentary hotel stay, and other perks like discounted sightseeing tours coordinated through the destination’s tourism board, which is eager to impress travelers. But whether your airline offers a long stopover with tons of freebies, or you simply get the chance to immerse yourself in a new destination for a night, the programs are almost always worth booking.
Here’s a look at 13 of the best airline stopover programs, that will allow you to explore Madrid, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha, Reykjavik, Istanbul, Panama City, Porto, Lisbon, Helsinki, Addis Ababa, and multiple cities in Japan and Australia for hardly any additional costs to your airfare.
For more air travel tips and tricks, check out our guides to open jaw flights, skiplagged flights, how to get cheap last-minute flights, and some of the best flights you can buy with points and miles.
This story has been updated with new information since its original publication date.
TAP Air Portugal
Offering free stopovers in two cities—Porto and Lisbon—TAP Air Portugal has one of the most flexible programs out there. Plus, it allows travelers to stay in either city for up to 10 days. The stopover booking process is super simple, as TAP has integrated it into its standard booking field. All you need to do is choose your travel dates, departure city, and destination as usual, then click the “Add Stopover” button. This will open a pop-up window where you can input the details of your stopover, including whether you’d like to visit Porto or Lisbon and for how long.
