My family (my husband, our daughter, and myself) has already purchased our flights from Delta to fly from the US to Prague in a couple of weeks (mid March 2026). My brother is considering joining us, and he has found some reasonable fares on Turkish Air.

He also said he researched and found out that he can stay overnight in Turkey for free if there’s a overnight layover.

I don’t know anything about Turkish air or this overnight layover promotion.

I would love some advice about this to pass on to my brother. This will be his first time traveling out of the country by himself. He wants to travel to another country before he meets us in Prague. (He did go to Germany with our parents many years ago when he was in grade school.)

My family is only going to be in Prague for 4 full days, and his logic is that if he’s going to spend all that money to fly to Europe, he wants to stay longer than four days. I don’t blame him.

I entirely get his logic of not wanting to spend all that money on such a short trip. IMO Turkish Airlines is way superior to Delta in terms of comfort and service and would definitely be my choice. Turkish often (always?) offer free stopovers in Istanbul on long haul and it is a great way to break up an otherwise long journey for a few days. Not sure if they limit the length of stopovers but 3-4 day would be perfect.

Istanbul is a fascinating city with great sights, amazing food and very good value hotels. It is a reasonluy manageable city for the tourist , it will however perhaps be a bit of a culture shock for someone who has never ventured out of the US (but we all have to start somewhere!)

better

I, too, have had very good experiences with Turkish Air.

Istanbul is a fascinating city. The only problem with their one-night stopover options is, IMO, that Istanbul can easily take a week -- and a busy week at that! So my advice would be to think through priorities in advance to take full advantage of the opportunity.

I would rate TurkishAir ahead of Delta for pretty much every flight.

I've also done the overnight stay offered by TurkishAir in 2024, because it was not my first visit to Istanbul.

My trip report is here if you want the full story: A Speed Date with Vienna and A One Night Stand with Istanbul

The TL: DR 48-ish Hours in Vienna and 23.5 in Istanbul. Don’t try this unless you’ve lived in one city and had visited the other.

Some excerpts:
Outbound flight (IAD-IST-VIE) My Economy aisle seat (all Business seats were taken, as this was a last-minute-ish purchase) was almost Economy Plus in size and comfort. Do & Co, a preeminent Austrian caterer (with a rooftop restaurant overlooking Stephansdom) now caters meals on more than 60 airlines, including TurkishAir. I had a real meal that I actually ate! Even better, the flight crew requested that all passengers put their seats upright during the meal service, so no one had to suffer with a reclined seat in their dining space.

The 9-hour overnight haul to Istanbul was just okay, but that’s not on the airline. Lots of people chatting long into the night, and many walking around all the time, too. That, and I am woefully out of practice when it comes to sleeping on overnight flights. Since returning to the U.S. in 2019 we’ve only traveled internationally four times, and all were the short IAD-DUB hops so I am truly out of practice.

Captured a beautiful sunrise on the approach to Istanbul. Breakfast was equally as delicious: a fresh mix of feta and cucumbers, bread and jam.

Once on the ground I made haste for the IGA Lounge in the main terminal for my 2-hour layover, an oasis of calm in the otherwise Grand Bazaar feel of the airport. A cup of Turkish black tea and a plate of farmer’s cheese with black cumin (nigella?) seeds, cucumbers, and warm bread recharged me.

While Turkey and Austria may have close economic ties, when I boarded the puddle-jumper to Vienna I could not help but wonder if there was a tiny bit of 200+ year lingering resentment from the Austro-Turkish war: the plane was so old that the in-flight entertainment system still had the attached remote, and the system did not even work. Small matter for a short flight, but still humorous.


Inbound flight and 23.5 hours in Istanbul: VIE-IST-IAD
TurkishAir pulled out the modern planes for the hop to Istanbul. Heh. I think the Turks are still harboring a grudge. Breakfast was served; a refreshing cheese and cucumber dish that I ate despite having just eaten. To the victors of those 10-12km walking days go the spoils of eating all. the. cheeses.

I had arranged a driver to my hotel (I was offered a choice from between two hotel options and selected the Grand Yavuz Hotel in Sultanhamet). The hotel so had a Grand Budapest Hotel vibe and as a bonus, a beautiful rooftop restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus. The room was spartan but modern; the shower had great water pressure; the bed was comfy; and the neighborhood was pleasant. No complaints from me.

A quick refresh and then I was out the door, heading to the Grand Bazaar and the adjacent Spice Bazaar. Like Marrakech, these streets, especially on a warm spring Saturday afternoon are both chaotic and calm, raucous and reticent, and, if you’ll indulge my creative spirit, a chaotic symphony of loud butterflies.

Agoraphobes, Enochlophobes, and Ochlophobes, take note.

I was duly impressed by the Mammas deftly wielding their buggies over the uneven payment as they went from vendor to vendor, with the occasional Vespa zipping about as added obstacles, too. I laughed at the universal language of husbands carrying the bags and holding on to their wives’ purses while they shopped; and of Turkish teen girls obsessed with selfies. And let’s not forgot the stray kitties that meander like stealthy ninjas around shopper’s ankles—super cute little flea taxis.

DH seemed to think I would be able to score a rug on this outing, but it was not to be. My guard down, and before I could recall my negotiating tactics from a previous Marrakech visit, I was lured into a rug shop. Then came the stories about the hours of hand-weaving in each rug and how the colors are dyed using his grandmother’s tears. But I just wasn’t feeling it. Next time.

It was in the Spice Bazaar where I found my tapestry, not surprising, sampling Turkish Delights and teas, and being lured to one vendor after another by the aromas of pungent and earthy and heady spices in their beautiful displays. How could one not be?

Somewhere along the way I stopped for a Döner Kebab (so good) and an Ayran. One either loves or hates that cold salted yogurt drink, and I am a fan. At a table next to mine, two Burqa-clad women were enjoying their lunch of…spaghetti. Istanbul really and truly is the crossroads of civilization.

My airport driver messaged and asked if he could collect me an hour early because streets (and I used that word generously) in Sultanhamet were to close for the Istanbul half-marathon. I’ve seen the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque at dusk (sights absolutely worth seeing, especially with a chai in hand), so rather than drag my exhausted self over to view them on this evening, and with a 0530 hotel departure now I instead took in the views from the rooftop restaurant while writing postcards.*

In good order I was deposited at IST the following morning and made a beeline for the Lounge where the perfume of breakfast surreptitiously prepared me for the flight home. More cheese and cucumbers. I could eat this every day, and often do during the summer when my cucumbers are growing like gangbusters. My Weekender filled with 11lbs of the good stuff, give or take.

So. I paid extra for an Economy Plus aisle seat on the port side of the plane, knowing that after 10 hours in a carbon-composite tube hurtling through space I would be looking to exit quickly. Upon boarding, I settled into my seat. Or so I thought.

There had been a plane change, and weirdly several passengers were moved around the plane. My EP Aisle seat had been switched to an Economy Middle. Oh. My.

The best the crew could do was to seat me in an aisle Economy seat at the bulkhead, and on the right side of the plane. I hate bulkhead. The tray and the entertainment system is in an entirely unpleasant configuration for me. Good thing I needed to start reading the book my group would be discussing in two days and could just zone out, except for enjoying the food at the mealtimes.

All air travel is horrid so it is a matter of degree. The food is a little better on TA and you may be eligible for a refund and compensation if they cancel your flight, which is a better deal than US carriers. You might consider where you want your perks and sky miles to reside. Even if things go swimmingly it is a complete inconvenience and hassle. Pick your poison but Turk probably better.

Ditto, would take TA over Delta any day, unless I had a zillion Delta miles.

FourForTravel, What a great snippet of your report!!
This is making me wonder if I ought to consider booking with TA for a flight to Italy....seems like a long detour but with a free stopover in Istanbul it's tempting..

Please tell me: Is the stopover limited to one night only? Can you extend if you pay for the additional nights at a hotel?

I have no idea about the 23.5 hour layover and any extensions. I jumped on it because I'd toured Istanbul previously and thought it would be fun to roam the bazaar again. Sorry that I can not assist more.

I can totally express my love for the IGA Lounge, though, should you decide to transit through.

eks, I flew TK via Istanbul into NAP and out of BRI a couple years ago. Did the stopover on the way home, mine was a shade longer than 24 hours.

Lounge in IST, food, service, and hard product (this will depend on the aircraft you get to some extent) all good in business class on TK. From SFO, not sure I would go out of my way again unless I found a compelling deal $$, just because I was so very tired. But Istanbul is delightful of course, and I had a great time. From the East Coast the extra hours of travel probably don't make that much of a difference.

The name for this overnight option on many airlines is STPC (stopover paid by carrier). Korean Air used to do it (they stopped around Covid, and I don't know if they ever resumed) and I believe Etihad does it too. However, on Etihad, it's only granted if you are taking the shortest possible connection and it still requires an overnight. If you try to take it by picking a long connection it can be denied to you, and that after having booked your ticket. So if you want STPC, I would do so by booking with the airline directly, maybe even over the phone, or with a knowledgeable travel agent.

I have done STPC in Korea and they even used to give you vouchers for evening meal, breakfast and a meal in the airport, as well as a night in a nice hotel. It suited us well at the time because I was travelling with an infant daughter and that overnight in a hotel brought us some sanity. I would do it again at the drop of a hat, it was fantastic.

Lavandula