With Cyber Monday airfare deals nearly upon us and summer only six months away, it’s already time to start planning your 2026 European vacation. And while popular cities like Rome or Barcelona seem to always get the most attention from travelers, with a little bit of savvy planning, you can add another bucket list-worthy destination to your itinerary without booking an extra flight.
Icelandair offers a fantastic stopover program, meaning, if you book a transatlantic flight to Europe that was going to connect in Reykjavik anyway, rather than killing a few hours in the airport terminal, you can stay up to an entire week in Iceland at no additional cost to your airfare. Here are a few things you should know about this stopover program, and what to expect if you decide to turn your layover into a mini-vacation.
Direct Connections from North America
Icelandair offers direct flights to Reykjavik from several major U.S. and Canadian hubs, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Denver, Toronto, and Vancouver. Then, it’s just one more short flight away from the European mainland, with direct flights under four hours to London, Munich, Lisbon, Venice, plus more than a dozen other European destinations.
Doing a stopover in Iceland also helps break up the long travel day and time zone change, especially if you are traveling from the West Coast.
Since Reykjavik is on the smaller side, Keflavík International Airport is extremely manageable to navigate, leaving the airport to get into the city or head out on an excursion won’t feel like a hassle, unlike in larger cities with complicated airport logistics like Milan or Paris. That makes the stopover program even more appealing, as adding a few days in Iceland to your itinerary doesn’t require much extra effort or increase the risk of logistical travel headaches.
Let Icelandair Plan Your Itinerary
When visiting a new place for the first time, instead of doing the research yourself, why not leave it to the pros? Icelandair lets you book tours, activities, and transportation to and from the airport directly on their website, including options that take you to the lagoons and volcanic landscapes the country is so famously known for. You can explore the Hvammsvík Hot Springs, take a road trip around the famous Ring Road, or go whale watching in the ocean waters around Iceland.
There are various stopover packages available at reasonable prices, as well as the opportunity to build your own itinerary, so you can piece together as many days of sightseeing as you’d like before continuing to your final destination. And regardless of where you are headed afterwards, it will likely feel like two entirely different vacations for the price of one, as Iceland’s unique landscape and geothermal features are unlike anything else you’ll find in the rest of Europe.
Chase the Northern Lights
Photo Credit: Alec Sills-Trausch
Even those who prefer to spend their vacation lying on a lounge chair on a sunny beach usually admit that seeing the aurora borealis is on their life’s bucket list. Iceland is one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights, and your chances only get better once you venture out past the light pollution in Reykjavik.
Keep in mind that the best season for spotting the northern lights is between September and mid-April, so if you’re thinking about doing the Iceland stopover as part of a summer vacation itinerary, keep your expectations in check, or better yet, plan your European vacation for the shoulder season when the crowds in many popular mainland destinations tend to be more manageable anyway.
Keep it Simple and Pack Light
Image Credit: Depositphotos
If your ultimate destination is the south of France or the beaches of Spain, you may be worried about how to fit a bunch of cold-weather gear into your suitcase. Fortunately, Icelandair’s baggage policies are quite lenient, and every ticket includes a small carry-on suitcase of up to 10kg, unlike some low-cost carriers that seem to charge you for down to the weight of your toothbrush, and many fare classes include checked baggage.
The airline also partners with various luggage storage locations if you’d like to leave your bags behind while exploring the island, just don’t leave behind your bikini or swim trunks for when you go to take a dip in the Blue Lagoon or one of Iceland’s hundreds of other geothermal pools.
Bottom Line
Whether you spend 24 hours or a full week in Iceland, making a stopover when you already have a flight connection in Reykjavik is a no-brainer and a great way to get double the fun out of a single vacation. Whether you are on the hunt for black volcanic beaches, a soak in a thermal lagoon, or are hoping to catch a glimpse of the endless other natural wonders that the country offers, you’ll have plenty of adventures to choose from without straying too far from the city center.
Just be warned: if you do a stopover at the front end of your trip, you might be tempted to stay on the way home, too.