The 24-Hour Layover Trick (Plus Which Airlines Still Offer Free Stopovers)
I’ve been banging on about the long-haul layover for years to anyone who’ll listen. I do it for two reasons: to make a long-haul economy flight bearable, or to get maximum value out of a premium seat. Either way, if you’ve got the time, this is the best way to do long haul. Full stop.
The trick itself hasn’t changed: a connection under 24 hours isn’t classed as a “stopover” by most airlines, so you’re not charged the extra fare or fees that come with an official one. That matters just as much on a points ticket as a cash one — book it as a single award itinerary and the airline prices it as one ticket, not two separate flights. That’s what keeps it affordable. What’s changed is which route actually makes it worth doing, and how much better we’ve got at running it.
The key is finding two daytime flights, not one daytime leg and one overnight leg. Not every airline offers this — you need a hub where they run multiple flights a day to your destination, so you can actually choose the timing rather than getting stuck with whatever happens to be scheduled. That’s the part worth doing your homework on before you book.
In this post:
The bit everyone forgets: under 24 hours isn’t a stopover
A layover of less than 24 hours is treated as a connection, not a stopover. That means you can leave your bags with the airline (more on the two ways to do this below) and go and enjoy the city, without triggering stopover fares or fees. Most people don’t realise the window is this generous — they either rush through on a two-hour connection or pay for an official multi-day stopover when they didn’t need to.
The worked example: Sydney to Frankfurt via Singapore
Here’s a real search:
| Leg | Route | Flight | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SYD 07:25 → SIN 13:50 | Singapore Airlines SQ212 | 8h 25m, non-stop |
| 2 (next day) | SIN 12:35 → FRA 19:40 | Singapore Airlines SQ326 | 13h 5m, non-stop |
That’s roughly 22-and-a-half hours on the ground in Singapore — long enough to properly sleep, short enough to stay under the connection threshold. London Heathrow works as the second leg just as well as Frankfurt; pick whichever suits the rest of your itinerary.
Landing at 13:50 also means you arrive in the afternoon, not the pre-dawn crawl a lot of long-haul routes land you with. Your hotel room is actually ready — you’re not sitting in the lobby at 6am begging the front desk for an early check-in.
The reason this particular routing works better than it looks on paper is the time difference. Singapore is only two hours behind Sydney, so you land already half-adjusted. You get a proper night’s sleep on close to home time, then fly on to Europe already partway through the transition instead of trying to force sleep on the plane and arriving jet-lagged in both directions.
Two ways to do it, depending on how long your gap is
There are two techniques here, and which one you use depends on whether you’re under or over the 24-hour line.
Under 24 hours (our Singapore example above): because it’s booked as one itinerary end-to-end, your checked bags go straight through to your final destination. You land, walk out with just your carry-on, go to the hotel, and come back the next day to walk straight to the gate. No baggage claim, no re-check-in.
Over 24 hours: once you tip into stopover territory — say a 25-hour gap — your bags won’t go straight through; you’ll need to collect them at the airport. Rather than dragging them around the city all day, drop them back at bag drop once you’re inside the 24-hour window before your next flight. You collect once, then you’re bag-free for the rest of your time in the city.
What to actually do with the layover
Landing in Singapore with the better part of a day (or a night) up your sleeve is where this gets good. If you’ve set yourself up with RACV reciprocal club access, the Tanglin Club is the easiest reset going — pool, shower, food, a bed if you want one, a short ride from the airport. It’s the same move we use to turn a brutal layover into a morning by a 50-metre pool with the jet lag sweated out before the next flight.
If you’ve got energy left after that, or you’re skipping the club route entirely, our 5 Singapore travel hacks post covers the rest of it cheaply: the airport bus instead of a $25-40 Grab, kaya toast instead of the hotel buffet, and the timezone trick that gets you a Robertson Quay happy hour before the crowds arrive. Between the two posts you’ve got a full, low-cost layover itinerary that doesn’t involve sitting in an airport chair.
Get a local eSIM before you land
A day loose in a city you don’t usually visit means maps, ride bookings and restaurant hunts all need data — and roaming charges on a one-day layover add up fast for nothing. We install an Airalo eSIM before we fly so it’s ready the second we land.
New to Airalo — 15% off Existing user — 10% offJapan is even more generous with this
If your route runs through Tokyo instead, both ANA and JAL have made their stopover programs noticeably better in the last couple of years. ANA’s Multiple Stopover Service now covers more than 40 Japanese destinations, with the first stopover free per direction and a second available for around $130 — so you can add a genuine side trip to somewhere like Osaka or Hokkaido on the same ticket. JAL runs a similar setup: a Tokyo stopover is free for most nationalities, with domestic add-ons to more than 30 Japanese cities when booked on the same international reservation. Worth checking against your own nationality before you book, since JAL does charge a stopover surcharge for travellers from a small number of countries.
A few others worth knowing about
We haven’t used these ourselves yet, but they’re worth having on the radar if your route passes through: Emirates runs a stopover program in Dubai with hotel packages built in, Turkish Airlines offers free hotel nights on a stopover in Istanbul, Qatar Airways runs heavily discounted stopover hotel rates in Doha, and Korean Air’s K-Stopover packages bundle in hotel, meals and tours in Seoul. Same principle as Singapore and Japan — check the specifics before you book, since terms shift.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between a layover and a stopover?
A layover under 24 hours is a connection — no extra fare, no extra fees, and your bags can usually be checked straight through. A stopover is 24 hours or more, and some airlines charge for it or treat it as a separate leg. Staying just under the line is what makes this trick free.
Do I need to book a special fare to do this?
No. It’s often easier to search it as a multi-city itinerary rather than a standard return, since a normal search will usually route you onto the fastest connection instead of showing you the option to split the journey over two days.
What happens to my checked bags on a long layover?
Under 24 hours, they’re generally checked straight through to your final destination — you only carry your cabin bag into the city. Over 24 hours, you’ll need to collect them, but you can drop them back at bag drop once you’re within 24 hours of your next flight, so you’re not carrying them around all day.
What happens to my luggage during a layover with Singapore Airlines?
If both flights are booked on the same ticket, Singapore Airlines checks your bags straight through to your final destination — you collect only your carry-on and head into the city. Your checked bags stay with the airline the whole time; you don’t touch them again until you land at your final stop.
Is it safe to leave my bag at the airport, or can I leave luggage there and go out?
Worth being clear on what this means here — it isn’t paid airport locker storage for a carry-on. Your checked luggage is already in the airline’s custody as part of your through-ticket, the same as on any normal connecting flight. Nothing is left unattended; the airline holds it until your next flight, which is standard practice, not something to worry about.
Why is Singapore a good layover city on the way to Europe?
Singapore is only two hours behind Sydney, so the adjustment is gentle rather than jarring. You get a proper night’s sleep close to home time, then continue on to Europe already partway adjusted, instead of trying to sleep through the whole journey in one go.
Does Japan still offer free stopovers?
Yes, and the programs have become more generous. ANA and JAL both let you add a free stopover in Tokyo plus discounted or free domestic add-on flights to dozens of other Japanese cities, provided it’s booked on the same international itinerary.
