We’re sharing the top 10 free stop over program airlines have to offer. A stop over is a benefit some airlines have that allows you to take a long layover/stopover in a connecting city without additional airfare. Sometimes they offer additional benefits like a hotel room too!

We have many more episodes on travel tips and hacks so browse through our other episodes to tips on maximizing time and saving money on travel.

Hawaiian Airlines

• Stopover City: Honolulu
• Conditions: Allows stopovers in Hawaii without extra airfare. And there is no time limit. You just have to use the “multi-city” option when booking your trip. 
• Fly to New Zealand, Japan, American Samoa, Tahiti, South Korea, & Australia

Etihad Airways

• Stopover City: Abu Dhabi
• Conditions: Free stopovers up to six months; includes complimentary hotel stays for up to two nights.
• The stop over program website lists what hotels are included, must see attractions, and 24, 48, and 3 day itineraries to give you ideas. 
• Fly to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Africa, Kuwait, Oman 

TAP Air Portugal

• Stopover City: Lisbon or Porto
• Voted the best stopover program in the world by Global Traveler for the 6th year. 
• Conditions: Stopovers up to 10 days at no additional cost and you can get a 25% discount on a 2nd stop in Portugal + over 500 discount offers available on restaurants, tours, activities, & hotels
• TAP flies to more than 80 destinations in 30 countries including Europe, Africa, North & South America 

Air Canada

• Stopover City: Toronto
• Conditions: Free stopovers up to seven days when traveling from the U.S. to Asia or Europe

Finnair

• Stopover City: Helsinki
• Conditions: Offers stopovers up to five days but you have to either book the Classic Tarif or the Flex Tarif- Light Tarif does not apply 
• Flies to Europe, Asia, and North America 

Qatar Airways

• Stopover City: Doha
• Conditions: Provides stopover packages with luxury hotel stays at nominal fees.Stopover has to be between 12-96 hrs. (choose between standard, premium, premium beach, or luxury hotels)
  • Standard 4 star hotel is $14 for 1 night, $76 for 4 nights
  • Luxury 5 star hotel including breakfast is $83 for 1 night, $348 for 4 nights 
• Flies to over 170 destinations on 6 continents. 

Singapore Airlines

• Stopover City: Singapore
• Conditions: Offers stopover packages with discounted hotel rates and attractions, stopover up to 7 days 
• Perfect way to explore Asia, but they do fly to 120 cities world wide. 

Icelandair

• Stopover City: Reykjavik
• Conditions: Allows stopovers up to seven days at no additional airfare cost
• Great if you are flying to Europe- they fly to 50 destinations within Europe, North America, Greenland, and Iceland

Emirates

• Stopover City: Dubai
• Conditions: Free stopovers up to 14 days.
  • Emirates flies to many destinations around the world including cities in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the Americas 
  • Another perk about flying emirates is if you don’t have a stopover but an extremely long layover they do a service called the “Dubai Connect service” which they will provide you with a complimentary hotel stay and meals- look it up to see if your flight qualifies 

Turkish Airlines

• Turkish airlines flies to Asia, Africa, The Americas, & Oceania
• Stopover City: Istanbul
• Conditions: Complimentary hotel stay- 1 free night at a 4 star hotel for economy class passengers and 2 free nights at a 5 star hotel for business class passenger. Layover must be at least 20 hours and there is a list of departure countries that qualify- the US, Canada, and most countries in Europe qualify 

Stopover Programs – Episode Transcript

0:50

Today, we’re sharing the top 10 free stopover programs airlines have to offer.If you don’t know what a stopover program is, it’s a benefit that some airlines have that allows you to take a long layover or stopover in a connecting city without an additional airfare.And sometimes they offer additional benefits, like free hotel rooms or discounted stays.

1:08

Phase 2.Oh, I hear, free, free, free, and I’m interested.Always love the free and especially if the airline is giving it to you, you got to take it.And that’s one of the things too that is really great about the stopover program.A lot of times if you have a layover, some of us will think, oh, well, let me just take a long layover.

1:26

Maybe that 1215 hours will give me enough time to explore a city real quick.We’ve all done that.And when I say we’ve all done that, I’m talking about you, Kim.I’m talking about me, Brittany.Can’t speak to all you squaddies, but if you want more than just that short 1215 hours that would give you enough time to leave the airport, come back and make your flight, these stopover programs are for you that give you a great amount of time and of course those discounted or even sometimes free hotel rooms.

1:54

So the first one we’re going to talk about is the Hawaiian Airlines 1.They do a stopover in Honolulu and so this allows you to stop over in Hawaii without extra airfare.There’s no time limit, so you can go for as long as you want.Your stopover could be a day, it could be a few weeks, it could be a month.

2:13

You just have to use the multi city option when booking your trip.And if you were going to use this, you’d most likely be flying to New Zealand, Japan, American Samoa, Tahiti, South Korea and Australia because that’s where Hawaiian Airlines flies.

2:30

That is so interesting that there’s no time limit.Yes, I think this is one of the good ones.Some of them do have, you know, just five days or something, so this is a great one.And when we talk about the time limits, what we’re really talking about here, so you guys can understand if you’re not too familiar, is how long the airline will allow you to stay there before they say, hey, this is not part of the same reservation.

2:53

You need to book another ticket, which then becomes another fare that you have to pay, right?So this is just with the time limit, an extended layover under 1 reservation.So some of them have timing, some of them do not.Hawaiian apparently does not.This could be really strategic for someone that’s going on like around the world trip or six month trip or something.

3:14

If they’re already planning to go to Australia, they could spend a week in Hawaii, in Honolulu.Especially if you’re coming from like in the middle of America, that flight to Hawaii alone is going to be a pretty long time, probably like 9 or 10 hours.So this is a great spot to just kind of relax, get a few days, acclimate, and then continue on the trip.

3:33

The second airline that we’re going to talk about that has a great stopover program is Etihon Airways, and the stopover is in Abu Dhabi.So Etihad is an airline specifically to the Emirates, more particularly the Emirate Abu Dhabi.So it offers free stopovers for up to six months and includes complimentary hotel stays for up to two nights.

3:56

That’s nice.Absolutely.The Stopover program website will also list what hotels are included, Must see attractions and 2448 and three day itineraries to give you ideas.So they’re also really helping you of, hey, this is what you can do in the city, almost encouraging you to come and stay and take part of this program.

4:17

So this would be great if you were flying to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar, South Africa, Kuwait, Oman.So I mean, we listed a lot of Middle Eastern countries, of course, but Abu Dhabi is a major airline hub.

4:33

So you can pretty much use this if you’re going anywhere in the world.And I think it’s a great program to take advantage, advantage of.Interesting, also Aman, I’ve been seeing a lot more.I think it’s a hidden gem that’s going to pop off very soon.I see a lot of stuff on Oman.

4:49

When we were actually in the Emirates in Dubai, when we went out and did our sunrise camel trek in the desert, we were very close to the border with Oman.Now of course, just on the border, but there’s so much beautiful stuff in Oman.Would really love to go ahead and do that.

5:05

So maybe we’ll take advantage and go to Oman when we do this.Yeah #3 tap Air Portugal, you can stop over in the beautiful cities of Lisbon or Porto, and it has a reputation as one of the best stopover programs in the world.

5:24

That’s according to Global Traveler, for not one, not 2, not 3, six years in a row, it has received this accolade.So we know it’s a good one.It’s going to good cities.This one does have a condition with time limit and that is up to 10 days at no additional cost. 10 days is a legit stopover, so a lot of people won’t need more than those 10 days.

5:45

If you do end up staying more than those 10 days, then you can get a 25% discount on a second stop in Portugal.So if you do decide to take advantage of the full 10 days in say, Lisbon, you can also add on another stop in Porto within those 10 days and you’ll get 25% off of that flight.

6:05

And on their website, of course, for people that are taking advantage of the stopover, they have over 500 different discount offers on restaurants, tours, activities, hotels.So you can really get the most out of your stopovers in these cities.And taps great because it flies to a ton of destinations, about 80 different destinations in 30 different countries all over Europe, Africa, North and South America.

6:29

So it’s a really, really good one to look into.In fact, I actually want to look into this one.It’s like a massive offer.Yes, Jamal and I are actually going to utilize the stopover program most likely because in September we are going to Portugal, but we actually use points to get us from LAX to London.

6:47

And so from London we’re flying Tap Portugal to Madera, which is a island off the coast of Portugal.But we’re going to do a stopover in Lisbon and it includes all of our flights and this is going to be fantastic.We’re going to get discounted hotels and restaurants and all sorts of stuff #4 on our list is Air Canada.

7:08

So they have a stop over in Toronto and you can do seven days there while traveling from the US if you’re going to Asia or Europe.So if you want to check out Toronto, this is a good one for you.OK, so when we go to Quebec City later, we could do a stopover in Toronto?

7:24

We could, yes.Oh, I have not been to Toronto.Toronto is an amazing city.I really do love Toronto.I would equate it to a cleaner version of New York.Really enjoyable.So a good airline to take advantage of the stopover program is Air Canada, but #5 is Finn Air and the stopover city is going to be Helsinki and their stopover program allows you to stay there for up to five days.

7:52

However, you have to either book their classic tariff or their fares.They’re light tariff, which I’m assuming is their equivalent of basic economy, does not apply to this.So it is fare specific to whatever fare you do purchase.

8:08

And Finnair flies to Europe, Asia, North America.So if you’re going on any one of those routes, you can do five days in Helsinki for free.I actually do want to make it to Helsinki, I’ve heard a lot of really good things about it and I want to visit in winter even.Yes, igloos.

8:24

Igloos.Number six, Qatar Airways, I’m happy to be reporting on this one because this one’s for the bougie traveler.This stopover city is Doha.And with this stopover package, it includes luxury hotel stays at very nominal fees.

8:42

Your stopover very specifically has to be between 12 and 96 hours.And so then when you book this stopover, you can choose from standard, premium, premium, beach or luxury hotels and the prices are pretty affordable.For example, these numbers are real.

9:00

Standard 4 star hotel for $14.00 US for one night, $76 for four nights.That’s insane.If you want the luxury five star hotel that includes the breakfast buffet, $83 for one night or 348 for those four nights, that’s crazy.

9:19

And Qatar flies to 170 different destinations on 6 different continents, so there is no reason why we should not do this one.I’ve also heard great things about Qatar planes, especially their upper class seating.That is a dream of mine.It’s been a dream of mine too.

9:35

I actually, I’ve got a Thrifty Traveler premium e-mail and it was for their suites.And I told Jamal, I said I’m sending this to you because I just want to take the flight.I would utilize the points to do that.And of course, Doha is a great city in general.

9:51

I mean, this area of the world, not a lot of people realize how much wealth is here and how much infrastructure and opulence they’re putting into their cities.And I think 12 to 96, well, 12 is a little too short, but you know, up to 96 hours, enough time I feel to see Doha and with hotel rates like that and their version of five star hotels, you can’t beat it.

10:12

Next up, we have Singapore Airlines.Their stopover city is of course Singapore and you can stop over there for up to seven days and you can get discounted hotel rates and attractions.But this is a really great way to explore Asia.While we were on our way to Thailand, our stopover was in Singapore.

10:30

And then on our way home from Thailand, we actually did a stopover for two days in Singapore.But if you aren’t interested in Asia, they do fly to 120 cities worldwide. #8 on our list is going to be Iceland Air and their stopover is Reykjavik.

10:46

It allows stopovers for up to seven days at no additional cost.It’s great if you’re flying to Europe.They fly to over 50 destinations within Europe, North America, Greenland, and of course landing here in Iceland.So 7 days in Iceland I think is more than enough.

11:03

Obviously you could spend a lot more time in Iceland.We’ve all been there, here in the squad, it’s beautiful, we love it.But for anybody going through, take advantage of this.You won’t be disappointed with what Iceland has to offer.I wonder how this will be because Southwest has recently announced their partnership with Iceland Air, so I’m interested in seeing how this works because it’s an easy way to explore more of Iceland but also continuing on to Europe.

11:28

I did hear of a lot of people using this when I was just in Iceland in December.Nice.Before I go on to #9 I have a thought, a potential hack.So say you want to go to like for me this summer, I’m going to Paris.

11:44

I was really trying to find a good flight and the prices were not budging.You could potentially do a stopover program that or let’s use Reykjavik as an example.The flight to Reykjavik, let’s say it’s $1000, but you book instead a flight to like London and that flight’s 500, but it includes the stopover for seven days in Reykjavik.

12:09

You could end up saving big amounts of money.So that’s worth researching if you know, there’s a stopover program in the city that you really want to go to, maybe there’s like an added, you know, leg of that flight that you’d have to take, but you can end up saving a ton of money.

12:25

Am I onto something here or am I crazy?I think you’re onto something.I love it. #9 is Emirates and their stopover city is the beautiful city of Dubai.Stopovers are completely free for 14 days and 14 days is plenty of time to enjoy this city.

12:42

Emirates also is a amazing airline.It flies to many destinations around the world, all over Africa, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.And one other perk about flying with Emirates is that if you don’t have a stopover, but you do have an extremely long layover, they have another type of service.

13:02

It’s called Dubai Connect service.They will actually provide you with a complimentary hotel stay and meals.Just look it up.If you have a flight with them, you can see if your flight qualifies for it.But I know I’ve done stopovers where it is just about 12 hours and you of course, you need a hotel.

13:18

A lot of them that I’ve done have been overnight.I sure would have loved that free hotel.I mean, I feel like that’s such a good program if you don’t want to stop over there, but you have a long layover, getting a hotel robe, meals, it sounds like a perfect day.But lastly, we’re going to end on Turkish Airlines.

13:36

Their stopover city is Istanbul.They do complimentary hotel stays, one free night at a four-star hotel for economy class passengers.Or if you’re flying business class, you can do 2 free nights at a five star hotel baby.

13:52

But your leave over has to be at least 20 hours.And there is a list of departure countries that qualify. the US, Canada, and most countries in Europe do qualify though.So pretty much most of our listeners and Turkish Airlines flies to Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceana.

14:08

This has definitely got my creative juices flowing.I want to see how I can really get them and get some free stopovers and stays.And this is just the top ten.There are so many other airlines with stopover programs, so maybe we’ll have a Part 2 in the future.

14:24

Squatty’s let us know in the Spotify poll if you would like a Part 2 to this and thank you so much for tuning in to this week’s Just the Tip. Make sure to subscribe, leave a review and follow us on all the socials at Travel Squad Podcast and.Have fun travelling this weekend.