There is so much world to see. I love being able to say the “I’ve had tea in London, tequila in Mexico, steak in Brazil, sushi in Tokyo, bordeaux in Bordeaux, pizza in New York” quintessential experiences. For many, the opportunity to travel is a rare and sacred occurrence. If you’re like me, wherever you go, you want to see as much of it as humanly possible without having to return and go again. Stopovers are an under appreciated and under utilized part of travel allowing you to add and see multiple destinations at either minimal or no added expense!
A stopover is an allowed “stop” for more than 24 hours within your trip on an international ticket. Some fares have stopovers built in, others allow you to add them for a simple flat fee, either way you are able to add a select destination within a region into your itinerary. Some free tickets using miles even allow for stopovers! I live in New York but have lots of family in London. If I were planning a trip to Germany, I would ideally love to “stopover” in London on the way over for a few days, and perhaps on the return. Some international fares, often including many of the insane business class deals I make light of, allow for free stopovers. In the event that stopovers are not included, they often run a mere hundred dollars or so depending on the fare. Including stopovers in transit in either direction allows you to see a completely different city and perhaps culture without the hassle of first returning home. The elephant in the room is now asking how on earth you find “permitted stopovers”.
Rather than began a college style lecture on decoding the 20 page long airfare codes generated from airlines, let’s keep it simple. The two resources I praise for finding the best coach and business class deals in the world (other than this blog of course) often include all the info you need when posting a deal. TheFlightDeal always mentions any allowed stopovers when showcasing an insane fare (example). Not only do they often show the permitted stopover cities, they let you know how long or how short you can stay. Similarly, on FlyerTalk Premium Fare forum, the place where I find business class for less than coach, many users will translate and make light of allowed stopovers. On the most recent $1,300 round trip Business class flights from Berlin (with a stop in London) to Hong Kong, the fare allowed for stopovers in Singapore for only $100 each way. By taking advantage of these stopovers you would have scored travel to Singapore and Hong Kong, all in business class for less than coach. Many readers were kind enough to share that they had taken advantage of the deal, had never been to Asia and were thrilled to get to see two very unique and different shades of the majestic Pacific on one ticket. This is what stopovers are all about. If you’re only going to get one opportunity to visit a far away destination, use stopovers to see as much of it as humanly possible.
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