An icy wind instantly dried my mud-covered face. On top, a new icicle dread locked hairstyle formed, like a chia pet left in the freezer.
Nearly naked, prolonged exposure to this extreme weather could quickly result in death.
Lucky for me, most of my body was kept plenty warm, submerged in an otherworldly blue geothermal pool.
Weathering a winter blast while soaking in the world famous Blue Lagoon Geothermal Spa near Reykjavik, Iceland is quite the opposite of a survival situation.
This was paradise.
Hard to believe that a side trip to this exotic little slice of heaven was free, at least from a flight standpoint.
Throw in visits to cozy city cafes, a few museums and a stroll to the beautiful and award winning opera house and it was one hell of a weekend getaway.
Want to visit the blue lagoon in Iceland?
What to sip on a Guinness in Ireland?
See Van Goghâs artwork in Amsterdam?
Do some bad karaoke in Tokyo (more on that in a minute)?
Take advantage of stopovers and you can give your bucket list the beat down.
Technically, what is a stopover?
In airline terms, a stopover is simply a stop or visit to a location en route to your final destination.
When a flight is routed through an airlineâs hub city, they will sometimes allow for a free stopover in that city.
Instead of just grabbing some crappy airport food on your way to a connecting flight, you can jump off the plane and discover a new place for however long the rules permit.
Since my Icelandair flight connected through Iceland on the way to Newark, it was easy to stopover for a few days before continuing on to visit my family back in the states. The flight cost the same either way.
Iceland is an expensive place, but spending a weekend there is totally feasible. When youâre in the airport 20 minutes from a world renowned spa in a gorgeous natural setting, itâs hard not to stop and âsoakâ it in;)
Booking Stopovers Ainât That Hard
It doesn’t take a travel guru to figure out how to book a stopover. What it takes is a diligent and motivated traveler.
Pay attention to these opportunities when booking your flight.
Here are a few tricks.
Check in with the airline â Call em up!
When youâre researching your flight pay close attention to where your connecting flights are.
If you see a place youâd like to pop off for a visit, give the airline a call and see if a stopover can be included at no cost.
Of course you can look up the airlineâs rules online, but calling up and getting the right person on your side may reveal a workaround.
If the representative you get doesn’t get you, hang up and try again.
Search multiple flights
On kayak.com search under the multi-city tab and route yourself through the stopover city you want to visit.
For example, if youâre leaving New York and want to see Madrid on your way to Paris, search for a flight from NYC to Madrid then Madrid to Paris.
You may be able to find that multi-stop flights are cheaper than just booking a straight round trip from NYC to Paris.
Check out National Carriers
State owned and operated or associated airlines run flights through hub cities in there country. Since they want to increase tourism, theyâll sometimes make free stopovers a part of the deal.
Check out this Wikipedia on National Carriers or âFlag Carrierâsâ, find the country you want to visit on a stopover and do some flight searches to your destination on that airline.
Wikipedia Flag Carrierâs List
Use Frequent Flier Miles and Travel For Free
Get into travel hacking and book free flights!
By transferring your credit card points to airline partners that allow stopovers youâll be able to take advantage of stopovers at literally no cost.
For example, when you book an award ticked with United airlines you are allowed 1 stopover plus 2 open jaws. Open jaws are flights leaving from a city different than the one you flew into originally.
Want to explore even more places at no extra cost? Combine open jaws with stopovers and youâll really be cruising.
Hereâs how to get started with travel hacking.
Bad Karaoke In Toyko = The Perfect Stopover
âThis long introâŠis this right?â said the short Japanese karaoke DJ as he cued up my request for Where the Streets Have No Name by U2.
‘Nobody can take away my Bono moment’, I think to myself.
The absurdly long length of the intro allowed me to duck into the bathroom where I wet down and slicked back my hair Bono style, then nerdily slipped on a pair of shades.
As Bono belted outâŠ.âI want to runâ I leapt onto the stage and into the blaring lights to the amusement of the 5 Japanese businessmen in attendance, plus my friend Jim.
Just this single moment, singing off key, looking out at the stadium seating while dramatically prancing around on stage like U2âs overly expressive front man made the stop in Tokyo worth it.
When you throw in temple visits, sushi and 4 days of fun, the stopover was just as memorable as any part of my trip to Thailand.
Karaoke in Japan.
Check.
Start squeezing in stopovers while you travel, and youâll crush your bucket list in no time.
A Few Helpful Links
Frugal Travel Guy’s 5 Most Generous Airline Stopover Rules
BootsnAll’s Indie flight planner. An alternative to kayak.
STA Travel List of Possible Stopovers By Airline Worldwide
You're almost there!
Drop your email below so we can send your FREE course!
Recent Comments