By Mike Lee · Updated May 5, 2026
Stopover programs are not exactly a secret, but I am still surprised by how often friends and colleagues have never used one. This guide is meant to get you up to speed quickly: what a stopover can get you, which airline programs are worth checking, and when the whole thing is more trouble than it is worth.
The basic idea is simple. If your route already connects through a hub, a stopover can let you tick the box on a new place without going far out of your way. Sometimes that means a free hotel, sometimes a discounted package, sometimes a domestic add-on, and sometimes just a cleaner way to split a long-haul trip.
Turkish, Emirates, SriLankan, Gulf Air, Royal Jordanian, Ethiopian, China Southern, and XiamenAir can be useful when the long connection is eligible. Read the rule carefully, because these are usually transit benefits with strict conditions.
Copa, TAP, Iberia, Icelandair, Avianca, and LOT are the kind of programs I check when I want to turn a connection into a short city stay without adding airfare. ANA and JAL are also worth checking for Japan, especially when a domestic add-on can turn a Tokyo trip into a broader Japan itinerary.
Qatar and Oman Air are more like stopover bundles than free hotel programs. They can still be a good move when the hotel price, transfer, and flight schedule line up.
Turkish Touristanbul, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, and Gulf Air are worth checking when you have a long layover but not enough time to plan a proper overnight stop.
Use these cards as a starting point, then confirm the current rules on the airline site before booking. Hotel possible means the benefit is conditional, campaign-based, route-specific, or subject to inventory. No hotel can still be useful if the fare works.
I group the cards by alliance because that is how most flight searches start. The stopover rule still belongs to the operating airline.
Istanbul (IST)
Complimentary hotel for eligible international round-trip itineraries: generally one night in economy or two nights in business. Turkish also runs Touristanbul, a separate guided city tour for eligible 6 to 24-hour layovers.
Beijing (PEK), Chengdu (TFU), Shanghai (PVG), Hangzhou (HGH), Tianjin (TSN), Wenzhou (WNZ)
Transit accommodation: eligible transfer passengers can receive a complimentary hotel night (inventory and routing dependent).
Addis Ababa (ADD)
Hotel voucher provided for qualifying long-transit passengers; typically one night.
Toronto (YYZ)
Air Canada has a Toronto stopover page, but the visible public page is old. I would not plan around it unless the booking flow or airline confirms it.
Japan via Tokyo and ANA domestic network
Useful for turning a Japan trip into a multi-city itinerary on one ANA ticket. ANA markets one free and one USD 100 stopover per direction on eligible Value, Standard, and Full Flex fares when international and domestic travel are booked together.
Bogotá (BOG)
Adds a Bogotá stop on connecting itineraries at no additional airfare. The program emphasizes destination discounts and partner offers rather than included hotel nights.
Panama City (PTY)
Add a Panama stopover on eligible itineraries with no additional airfare.
Munich (MUC)
Stopover programme oriented around Munich as an itinerary add-on. The offering centers on partner experiences and bookings rather than included hotel nights.
Warsaw (WAW)
LOT Stopover is a Warsaw stop on eligible round-trip journeys that do not start in Poland. It gives partner discounts and Polish domestic-flight offers, not an included hotel.
Singapore (SIN)
Free guided city tour for eligible transit passengers. The benefit is a tour, not a multi-day stopover program.
Lisbon (LIS), Porto (OPO)
Add a Portugal stopover at no additional airfare. Partner discounts available at hotels and attractions.
Doha (DOH)
Discounted stopover hotel packages sold through Qatar Stopover. Useful, but not the same as a complimentary hotel.
Muscat (MCT)
Bookable stopover packages with hotel nights included in the bundle. Pricing varies.
Amman (AMM)
Transit accommodation including hotel, meals, and transfers for eligible itineraries where RJ is the first available connection.
Colombo (CMB)
Complimentary Colombo transit hotel for eligible SriLankan-to-SriLankan connections on one through ticket. Published fare thresholds, visa responsibility, and advance confirmation rules apply.
Casablanca (CMN)
Royal Air Maroc publishes transit support at Casablanca: meal vouchers after 4 hours and possible hotel accommodation after 8 hours. Treat this as conditional transit handling, not a flexible stopover holiday.
London (LHR/LGW), constructed via multi-city booking
No standardized stopover program with defined benefits. Stopovers can be constructed through multi-city pricing or BA Holidays multi-centre bookings.
Hong Kong (HKG)
Stopover booking option in Hong Kong. Offers and discounts may apply; a hotel is not automatically included.
Madrid (MAD)
Add a Madrid stopover at no additional airfare. Includes partner discounts at hotels and attractions.
Japan via Tokyo, Osaka, and JAL domestic network
JAL supports multi-city stopover itineraries and has a complimentary domestic-flight offer for international passengers when the domestic and international flights are booked together. Some origin markets pay a stopover charge if the first Japan stay exceeds 24 hours.
Saudi Arabia (commonly via Jeddah JED or Riyadh RUH)
Stopover visa flow with a one-night accommodation benefit on eligible Saudia itineraries.
Xiamen (XMN), Fuzhou (FOC), Quanzhou (JJN), Hangzhou (HGH)
Free transit accommodation for eligible international or regional connecting flights on the same ticket. Hotel level depends on cabin; ground transport is not included.
Taipei (TPE)
China Airlines has active Taipei stopover marketing, including a route-specific free-hotel campaign from London Heathrow for eligible 2026 travel. Useful, but verify the campaign, route, passport, and travel-date rules before booking.
Selected China Eastern and Shanghai Airlines hubs
China Eastern publishes an official overnight transit hotel application, but the public page exposes limited rule detail. Confirm airport, ticket stock, fare eligibility, and application approval before relying on it.
Seoul area via Incheon (ICN)
Free transit tour program for eligible connections. The benefit is a guided tour rather than hotel accommodation.
Almaty (ALA), Astana (NQZ)
MySTOPOVER offers one hotel night, breakfast, and airport transfers for a small fixed package price on eligible international connections through Kazakhstan. Extra nights may be available for an added fee.
Abu Dhabi (AUH)
Abu Dhabi Stopover. Complimentary stay of up to two nights at selected hotels on eligible Etihad bookings.
Beijing (PEK), Changsha (CSX), Shenzhen (SZX), Urumqi (URC), Guangzhou (CAN), Dalian (DLC), Wuhan (WUH), Shenyang (SHE)
Free accommodation program for eligible transfer passengers on qualifying connections through listed hubs.
Dubai (DXB)
Dubai Connect. Complimentary hotel, transfers, and meals for eligible long connections when the itinerary uses the shortest available connection.
Bahrain (BAH)
Bahrain Stopover Paid by Carrier can provide a complimentary hotel for qualifying Gulf Air-operated through fares that meet fare-value and connection-time rules. Non-qualifying passengers may be able to buy the service.
Haikou (HAK), Chongqing (CKG); Beijing and Shenzhen listed as forthcoming
Hainan publishes transfer benefits at selected Chinese hubs. Haikou offers one complimentary room voucher for eligible international or regional transfer passengers; Chongqing offers a hotel for eligible overnight transfers, subject to advance QR-code application and daily room limits.
Reykjavík and Iceland via Keflavík (KEF)
Add an Iceland stopover on transatlantic itineraries with no additional airfare.
Bandar Seri Begawan (BWN)
Royal Brunei has a stopover request program for selected city pairs, valid for tickets purchased from March 4, 2025 through September 30, 2026. Request at least five working days before arrival and verify the exact city-pair, visa, and hotel terms.
Once a program looks promising, ignore the marketing for a minute and test the itinerary. A stopover should make the trip better. It should not add a worse flight, a useless discount, or a night in a hotel far from both the airport and the city.
I start with the trip I actually need to take, then price it as a round trip, a one-way combination, and a multi-city ticket. If the stop keeps the fare close, creates real time on the ground, and does not make the transfer annoying, it is worth considering.
These terms matter because airline rules often treat them differently. A long layover may qualify for a transit hotel or tour. A stopover may require a multi-city booking or a specific stopover flow.
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Nonstop flight | A flight from origin to destination with no intermediate stops. |
| Direct flight | A single flight number that may include an intermediate stop. It is not the same thing as a nonstop flight. |
| Layover | A connection between two flights, usually under 24 hours, used mainly to reach the onward flight. |
| Stopover | A planned break in the trip, usually over 24 hours, that lets you leave the airport and spend time in the connecting city. |
The word stopover gets used for different products. Before booking, separate the benefit from the destination.
| Benefit type | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Complimentary or conditional hotel | The airline may arrange the room because the connection is long and eligible. This is usually a rule-bound transit benefit, not permission to choose any stop you want. | Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Jordanian, SriLankan Airlines, Gulf Air, Emirates, China Southern, XiamenAir |
| Stopover package | The airline sells hotels or local offers around its hub. This can still be a good deal, but the hotel is part of a paid bundle. | Qatar Airways, Oman Air, Air Astana |
| No-extra-airfare stop | The ticketing tool lets you pause the itinerary at the hub without adding airfare. The room, meals, and sightseeing are normally on you. | Copa Airlines, TAP Air Portugal, Avianca, Iberia, Icelandair, ANA, JAL |
| Transit tour | The benefit is a guided tour during a long layover, usually under 24 hours. This is for seeing the city once, not for turning the hub into a trip. | Turkish Airlines Touristanbul, Singapore Airlines, Korean Air, Gulf Air |
| Constructed stopover | There is no branded stopover program, but a multi-city search or package booking may still price sensibly. | British Airways |
Panama worked because it solved the fare and gave me enough time to see the canal. A Bogota to Rio itinerary with four nights in Panama City priced better than the direct flight.
Oman worked as a short stop, not as a full holiday. Muscat was worth seeing, but the heat changed the way I used the day. That is exactly the kind of destination where a stopover can be the right amount of time.
Turkish Touristanbul is useful for a different reason: it makes a first pass through Istanbul easy when you are tired and do not want to negotiate the city from scratch.
I would check these before treating the stopover as part of the trip. Airline pages change, and small fare-rule details can decide whether the hotel exists or whether you are just holding an awkward ticket.