Adventure is a State of Mind
When planning a trip in which flights are involved, consider adding a third location as an affordable way to expand your adventure. Many airlines will allow you to have a “stopover” without adding to the price of your ticket, meaning you can add an extra location to your trip without adding to the price of transportation. A stopover is similar to a layover but is 24 hours or longer. Some airlines actually promote this. For example, Icelandair makes it easy to book a one- to seven-day stopover in Iceland as part of their flights to continental Europe.
Even if the airline you are using does not promote stopovers, it is often possible to create one on your own. Start by searching online and identifying the flight you are interested in taking and determining where their connecting flights occur. For example, many flights to Europe from the U.S. have a layover in Frankfurt. If this is the case for you and you want to add some time in Germany to your trip, you can then redo your online search as a “Multi-City” search and add that stopover location. There are also some websites, such as airwander.com that help you identify possible stopover combinations.
Not all airlines allow stopovers and most have limits as to how long a stopover can last before adding to the expense of the ticket. It’s not always easy to figure out what the policies of an airline are from a quick glance at their website. If you’re not sure what the policy is, you can experiment with your Multi-City search by changing the length of time for your stopover. If you you change the length of time that you are staying in Frankfurt, to use the example above, from three days to five days and the price of the ticket does not differ, you know that you are still within the airline’s time restriction.
Consider adding a stopover to your next flight, whether flying internationally or domestically. It’s a great way to expand how much you can see and do during your adventures without adding significantly to the cost of doing so.
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