Best Airlines for Free Stopovers

Out of all major airlines, Icelandair is probably best known for its free stopover advantage. The carrier has long advertised stops in its hub city of Reykjavik at no additional cost beyond that of a standard round-trip ticket. Travelers seem to love it, thanks to the convenient geographic location of Icelandair's hub, combined with the airline's regularly discounted European fares. Prices are competitive, and Reykjavik makes for a handy Atlantic respite midway between North America and Europe.

Because Icelandair offers service from 12 North American destinations to 60 cities in Europe, there are plenty of routes from which to choose. Use the airline's booking engine and select the "Iceland stopover" option to book your trip.

Turkish Airlines offers free stopovers for anyone with a connection period over twenty hours. Passengers wishing to take advantage must apply for a voucher at least seventy-two hours before the departure of your first flight. The real perk? You get a free hotel room! Economy Class passengers may stay one night in a 4-star hotel, and Business Class passengers may stay two nights in a 5-star or boutique hotel free of charge.

The caveat? Finding a flight that has a connection that is over twenty hours long is challenging. I searched fares from JFK, BOS, and LAX and couldn’t find a Turkish Airlines flight that met the stopover criteria.

According to a representative from Japan's flag carrier, Japan Airlines (JAL) offers free stopovers in Tokyo (Haneda and Narita airports) and Osaka. If you want to add a Tokyo break to your journey, you have two options: Either use JAL's multicity booking tool and select "make stopover," or, if you'd like to arrange a shorter trip, try the standard round-trip booking tool, which displays overnight stopovers in JAL's Tokyo hub when available.

Hawaiian Airlines is another carrier that doesn't advertise a true free stopover for all flights. But when I ran a test search for fares, I found that, in many cases, you can stay a few extra days in Honolulu for just a bit more than a comparable round-trip route. This is an attractive arrangement principally because it offers travelers a tropical breather in the midst of lengthy transpacific flight itineraries.

A ticket from Los Angeles to Tokyo with a two-day stopover in Honolulu came to $681 round-trip. A fare from L.A. to Tokyo with a connection in Honolulu costs the exact same amount. Prices vary by route, of course. Use Hawaiian's multicity booking tool when booking to pull together your stopover itinerary.

A representative from Finnair told SmarterTravel, "We do offer a free stopover in Helsinki, apart from the lowest fare classes (tickets with the least flexibility). We have 2 million passengers traveling via Helsinki, so there's a lot of potential in developing stopover services even further in the future." Your stopover in Finland's capital city might be better than free—it could be cheaper than a regular round-trip.

My test search for fares on the Finnair website yielded a significantly more affordable price for an itinerary with an overnight stopover in Helsinki than for a similar itinerary with a short connecting flight. I tested fares from New York JFK to Amsterdam in December. With a brief layover in London, my round-trip ticket cost $ 1,106. A multi-city route from JFK to Amsterdam with an overnight stop in Helsinki, however, came to $1,059 round-trip.

Connecting to 140 destinations via its Dubai hub, Emirates advertises a stopover package that includes complimentary visas for stays of up to 36 hours.

My comparison of multicity flights featuring stopovers in Dubai with regular round-trip tickets showed that the prices were equivalent. A round-trip ticket from New York to Cairo cost $1,475, whereas the same itinerary with a two-day stop in Dubai cost $1,475.

Like Icelandair and JAL, Singapore Airlines is one of those few major carriers offering a true free stopover in its hub city. Complimentary stopovers in Singapore's eponymous hub are easily booked on the airline's website. I tested itineraries from the U.S. to some of the destinations to which Singapore flies and found equal pricing for both round-trip bookings and multicity bookings that include a stopover in the island city-state.

TAP Air Portugal has become one of the top airlines for free stopovers in recent years. At no additional cost, you can add a stopover in Lisbon or Porto when flying with the airline.

Passengers on eligible itineraries can choose to spend up to 10 days in either city, either on the outbound or return leg of their trip. This flexibility makes it easy to explore Portugal while traveling to or from another destination. As part of the program, TAP also offers a 25% discount on domestic flights within Portugal, enabling visitors to easily connect to Madeira, the Azores, or other parts of the country. While the stopover itself is free in terms of airfare, certain booking classes and route combinations must meet specific criteria.

Copa’s Panama Stopover allows one stop in Panama at no additional cost if it’s requested when the ticket is first purchased. If added after ticketing or after travel begins, normal fare differences and change penalties apply. A second stopover (outbound and return) is possible, if requested before ticketing, for an additional fee of up to $250 plus taxes. The stopover is valid for stays up to 7 days, and longer stays are treated as standard multi-city itineraries.

With Iberia’s Hola Madrid program, you can stopover in Madrid at no additional cost for up to 10 days (9 nights). The stopover addition is as easy as you can get when booking, head to iberia.com, click Book, and you’ll see Hola Madrid Stopover as an option in the dropdown menu. Input your flight information, and put in how many days you’d like to stay in Madrid, and whether you’d like to do it on your outbound or return journey. Iberia flies to 140 destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.