Free stopover programs are being offered to you if you want to build in more variety to your vacation.
Essentially, allowing you to visit multiple countries for the price of one.
This means that when traveling through airline hubs, instead of hanging out for an hour or several hours until you make your next connection, it will allow you to stay over in that city for several days before moving on to you final destination.
“They don’t charge extra for that,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Washington Consumers Checkbook.
He added that it’s best to book on the airline’s website or to call them directly about stopovers.
“I reviewed the websites at 100 airlines and found that 26 allow free stopovers. Many stopover programs are well advertised. It’s in an effort to attract tourism to their countries.” Brasler said.
Icelandair’s stopover program is among the best known, according to Brasler.
Several other carriers, such as Air Canada, Etihad, Iberia, PLAY Airlines, Qatar Airways, TAP Air Portugal, and Turkish Airlines, also actively lure customers by widely promoting fares with free stops.
But he said to check with those carriers to make sure you will pay the lowest price for your trip.
“That’s because I often found that I could save by building the same itineraries with one or more competing carriers other than the airline with the free stopover program,” Brasler said.
But some countries won’t let you go beyond nearby hotels. So make sure you don’t need a special visa to leave the airport for an extra stopover.
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