There is no getting away from it; even in the modern world travelling is an expensive pastime. But, you can make your budget go so much further by adding in additional destinations!
This probably seems ridiculous, how can you save money by going to extra places? The secret is in using the stopovers to your advantage.
What are Stopovers?
Until now stopovers are that annoying period when you’re stranded in the airport waiting for a connecting flight. Or, they are the mad dash from your plane to the one that’s waiting.
The truth is, the further the destination the more times your plane will need to stop. This is for refuelling and to ensure you have cockpit staff that are still awake!
What you have probably never thought of is of turning the stopovers into mini-breaks. Instead of whiling away hours in the airport, simply book a couple of nights and catch your connecting flight later in the week. You’ll get to explore the city!
Yes, this is possible.
Using an Airline
You can contact your airline and ask them whether they provide stopovers for free or a small fee. Most airlines stop in their own capital city and will offer this facility while there. For example, Air France will let you stopover in Paris.
All you need to do then is locate a hotel and enjoy the visit for the number of days you wish to stay, before resuming your flight.
Multi-Stop Flights
If you want to do it yourself you need to look at the flight path the major airlines take and find out where the majority of them stop. You should then be able to book one-way flights to stopovers destination and a second one-way fight on from there to your ultimate destination. You can allow as big or as little a gap as you like between the flights.
You can also use multi-city flights to book a trip which will specifically allow you to stopover at your chosen destination. This is a time consuming but a rewarding method.
Travel Agencies
The alternative is to save your time and use a firm which specializes in locating multi-stop flights. They will do all the searching for you and find you the best possible deal; you can use an online service or an agent near you.
The easiest way to find stopovers destinations is to look at where airlines commonly stop on long-haul flights. A few airlines will even advertise their stopover locations.
Check for your stopover options on Sky-tours.
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