If you’re like me and you love to travel as much as humanly possible, then multi-city flights might be perfect for you. As booking multi-city flights allow multiple flight destinations, you’re able to see and visit various cities or countries in just one trip. They add that flexibility where you can create layovers, combine numerous trips, or even fly in and out of different airports. Sometimes, they might even cost less. In this article, I’ll fully explain what multi-city flights are, how precisely they work and how you can book them.
1. What is a multi-city flight?
A multi-city flight is a type of flight itinerary that includes more than one destination. For example, you can book a multi-city flight from Los Angeles to St. Louis, then from St. Louis to New Orleans, and then from New Orleans back to Los Angeles. This way, you can visit more than one destination in just one trip, without having to book separate tickets for each of the legs. And you’re ready for a multi-city adventure. Read on how to build a multi-city itinerary and start planning your travel.
Some main advantages to multi-city flights are:
- Potentially save money on airfare by combining multiple destinations into one ticket.
- Definitely save on baggage fees by checking your luggage only once.
- Gain time by avoiding unnecessary layovers or connections.
- You can explore more destinations by adding extra legs to your trip.
- Customize your trip according to your preferences and interests.
- Mix and match different airlines and airports to find great deals.
2. How to book multi-city flights on KAYAK?
Booking a multi-city flight is very easy with KAYAK’s Flight Search tool that lets you select “Multi-city” instead of “Round-trip” or “One-way” – and here you can add your extra legs to your itinerary. Let’s give you a step-by-step on how to book a multi-city flight:
You can fine-tune the results by adding and subtracting legs as you start planning your itinerary. Sort the results based on time of day taking off, or landing (earliest or latest) to make things easy to sift through.
Next, it’s highly advisable to carefully review the booking details, as there are more legs to double-check on.
3. What are the best destinations for a multi-city trip?
Multi-city trips are fit for most destinations (not all) – so toggling with various options makes total sense. One ticket, multiple destinations. It’s easy and just the way I love to see the world. Here is an example itinerary for a trip with multiple stops.
4. Is there a secret trick to the best way to book multi-city trips?
For me, a travel writer, it’s always about saving time. If I’m avoiding unnecessary layovers or connections, it means I have more time to explore my destination. If I spend all my time having to book multiple tickets and checking in multiple times, I am not spending my limited hours venturing around and meeting new humans. Of course, I also love to add extra legs to my trip.
I’ve added stopovers in Africa, like Nairobi en route to Johannesburg, in order to get some time in Kenya. Many airlines actually encourage this, too – with special offers and what they call “free stopovers” in places like Iceland and Portugal. And let’s face it, being able to mix and match also means I am actively curating and customizing my travel schedules.
How was this guide created?
I have been on the road, roughly 200 days every year, for the better part of two decades. As you can imagine I am constantly taking multiple flights and having to puzzle out my travel. What I like to do is spend time online finding interesting routes to fly – who knew you could get to Paris via Morocco! And then I often crowdsource and ask friends what they are doing with their itineraries, as I am always learning something new. It isn’t a perfect science, of course, but I love to be able to keep things a little more flexible.
Some of our top flight routes:
- Flights to New York
- Flights to Las Vegas
- Flights to Los Angeles
- Flights to Orlando
- Flights to Denver
This post is part of our Flight guide. Booking a flight and need handy travel tips? Our guide has got you covered.
Multi-city flights FAQ
In fact, you can save money on flights by combining multiple destinations into one ticket. Sometimes, especially during peak season or between the most popular routes, booking a multi-city flight can be cheaper than booking multiple one-way tickets. And you can avoid all the search time looking for one-way tickets all over the globe.
Most airlines release their flight schedules around 11 months, or so, before the dates. With international travel, there are some rules worth following – summer months are very busy and thus demand goes up, and you might not be able to get the exact flights you are after. A good rule of thumb is to start looking roughly 6 months before your specific travel dates, and not wait much later than 3 months before you’re planning to get into the skies.
This is a type of multi-city flight. It means that you fly into one city and out of another. For example, you can book an open-jaw flight from New York to Boston, then take the train to Providence, Rhode Island from Boston, and then fly back to New York from Providence. This way, you can explore all these places in a way that you would like, without having to necessarily backtrack or return to your original destination.
Absolutely you can. It’s a simple multi-city flight, or call it an “open-jaw flight.” And KAYAK has the perfect search tool to help with these. Try KAYAK’s Flight Search and click on multi-city instead of return or one-way.
