Stopover vs layover: the difference, and the airlines that offer free stopovers

The difference in one minute

A layover is the time you spend at an airport between two flights on the same journey. It might be 50 minutes or eight hours, and you usually stay airside, in the departure area, until your next flight.

A stopover is a deliberate break in the connecting city, usually of 24 hours or more, booked on the same ticket. Airlines draw the line in slightly different places: TAP describes its stopovers as 24 to 240 hours, and Etihad’s Abu Dhabi stopover needs a connection of between 24 hours and four days. The practical difference is that on a stopover you leave the airport, sleep in the city and carry on a day or more later.

Airlines that add a stopover at no extra airfare

These programmes are confirmed on each airline’s own website. In each case the flights cost no more for adding the stop, but your hotel, food and activities are on you, and not every fare or route qualifies.

• Icelandair: on flights between Europe and North America, you can add a stopover in Iceland at no additional airfare. Icelandair says the stopover includes flights only, and that flying your second leg on a different day can change the overall price
• TAP Air Portugal: the Portugal Stopover lets you stay in Lisbon or Porto for up to 10 days at no extra cost on the ticket, on eligible medium and long-haul trips, on the way out or back. TAP adds partner discounts for stopover passengers

Free hotels and free tours on longer connections

Some Gulf and Turkish carriers take a different approach: rather than an open-ended stopover, they add a free hotel or tour when your connection is long enough. The conditions matter, so read the airline’s terms for your booking.

• Etihad (Abu Dhabi): eligible passengers can stop over in Abu Dhabi or Al Ain with up to two free hotel nights at selected hotels. Etihad says it needs a connection of 24 hours to four days on a return ticket, on Etihad-operated flights, booked on etihad.com rather than through a travel agent
• Turkish Airlines (Istanbul): Touristanbul is a free city tour for passengers connecting between two international flights with a layover of 6 to 24 hours at Istanbul Airport, on one reservation. You register at the Touristanbul desk in the arrivals hall
• Emirates (Dubai): Dubai Connect can include a hotel, transfers, meals and a UAE visa for eligible passengers with a long connection, when the booking is the shortest available connection. Emirates says the offer depends on hotel availability
• Qatar Airways (Doha): Qatar Stopover packages are discounted hotel stays of up to four nights for passengers with at least 12 hours in Doha. They’re paid packages, not a free stopover

Is a stopover worth it?

Our view: a stopover is worth it when the extra city is somewhere you’d like to see anyway, and the flights you’d book are already competitive. Adding three days in Lisbon to a trip from New York to Rome, or a couple of nights in Istanbul on the way to Asia, can turn one holiday into two for the cost of a hotel.

It’s less useful if the stopover airline’s fare is higher than a rival’s nonstop, or if the hotel in the stopover city costs more than you save. It also adds a day or more of travel, so on a short trip it can take time you’d rather spend at your destination. Compare the full cost, including hotels and transfers, before choosing.

Entry rules apply on a stopover

On a stopover you pass through immigration, so you need whatever that country asks of visitors. Iceland and Portugal are in the Schengen area, where British and American visitors can stay up to 90 days in any 180 without a visa; our EES and ETIAS guide covers the new border checks.

For Türkiye, the UAE and Qatar, check GOV.UK’s foreign travel advice or the US State Department’s country page before you book. Our Dubai travel rules guide covers entry and customs for a stopover in Dubai. And if a stopover takes you through the US or UK, you may need an ESTA or a UK ETA even for a short stay; see our ESTA and UK ETA guide.

How to book one

The steps are similar for most programmes:

1. 1Start on the airline’s own stopover page, which links to the right booking tool
2. 2Or use a multi-city search on the airline’s site, with the stopover city as an extra stop
3. 3Check the fare before and after adding the stop: it should match on a no-extra-airfare programme
4. 4Book the hotel through the airline’s offer if one is included, within the airline’s deadline
5. 5Check whether your bags are checked through or need collecting at the stopover city

Where to start

Our route pages show flight times to the main stopover hubs: try New York to Lisbon, London to Istanbul, London to Dubai and New York to Dubai. Our destination guides for Dubai and Abu Dhabi cover what to see if you stay a night or two.

Questions people ask