The Best Stopover Stays If You’re Flying To Europe

Everything about Hong Kong has the wow factor, from its mist-capped mountains to its gravity-defying skyscrapers. It’s a prerequisite to go big or go home: drink in the lights and the sights, from the traditional (like the 19th-century Man Mo Temple) to the contemporary (the Cup Noodles Museum) and the touristy (the tram up to The Peak and the Tian Tan Buddha that’s almost as iconic as the skyline).  

This is a city where you can hike, have a beach day and be in the heart of the metropolis, all in one short stay. And did we mention it has its own Disneyland? 

Writer Italo Calvino said that "a classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say", which is also true of this classic stopover. It’s not hard to see why Singapore is, in many ways, the ultimate mid-transit destination. It’s endlessly pretty and green—hello, Gardens by the Bay and Botanic Gardens—safe, clean, and has one of the best airports in the world (the epic Changi has won no fewer than 695 awards to date).  

Every visit unveils something new, from hip prohibition-style cocktail bars to one-of-a-kind exhibitions and experiences (like Super Nintendo World opening at Universal Studios later in 2025, or Cosford Container Park, the new go-to for street food, served from old shipping containers).  

If you’re looking for a stopover that’s a completely different vibe to anything you’ll find in Europe, fly with SriLankan Airlines via Sri Lanka, with its rolling tea plantations, national parks of elephants and leopards, and richly flavoured endemic cuisine. Its capital, Colombo, offers the best of it all: laden with spice route history, this multi-cultural harbour city invites you to uncover ancient temples and colonial architecture, before relaxing at soft-sand beaches. 

If there’s one thing Sri Lanka is famed for (aside from cricket), it’s its train journeys, which are widely acknowledged as some of the best in the world. If you’re extending your stay here, the three-hour trip from Colombo to Kandy is a must.  

Favourable exchange rates contributed to Tokyo’s popularity soaring in 2024, and its appeal shows no signs of slowing down (especially as Japan Airlines offers easy stopovers). One of the most populated cities in the world, it’s a mesmerising melting pot of Japan’s past and present, where neon-flashing skyscrapers and mind-blowingly busy intersections (good luck at the Shibuya Crossing) sit alongside Buddhist temples, imperial palaces and traditional native gardens.  

Hidden gems are reserved for those who seek them, like the tiny, wood-built bars of Golden Gai and concealed whiskey dens, and stores selling niche anime and manga treasures. Go in cherry blossom season and see the city under a blanket of pink.  

If you like your cities green, like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur is sure to steal your heart. Dotted with leafy banyan trees, it even has a mini rainforest right in its bustling centre, where you can stroll a 200-metre skywalk while spotting monkeys and macaques—all against a backdrop of sparkling high-rises. This juxtaposition of the old and new is echoed across the skyline, where minarets and domes sit alongside the world’s tallest twin skyscrapers, the famous Petronas Twin Towers. 

When it comes to dining, there’s everything from cheaply priced (and insanely good) street food at lantern-lit hawker halls to glossy sky-high Michelin-starred restaurants. Head just outside the city and you’ll find one of the world’s most significant Hindu temples: the 400-million-year-old Batu Caves complex. 

Big, bold and glittering, Dubai is fabulously futuristic, with next-level architecture that’s all killer, no filler. There’s the world’s tallest structure, the Burj Khalifa, Atlantis, The Palm, and the Palm Jumeirah, to name a few. Expectations are defied at every turn: it’s home to the highest lounge bar in the world (The Lounge at The Burj Khalifa), the deepest pool in the world (Deep Dive), and one of the biggest shopping malls in the world (Dubai Mall). 

Beyond the famous gloss and glitz is an authentic taste of Arabian tradition, where you can sip on cups of gahwa (Arabian spiced coffee), encounter Emirati art and join camel-back desert tours to Bedouin villages. 

A high-octane metropolis where cloud-shrouded cocktail bars sit alongside ornate Buddhist temples, you can literally feel the pulse of Bangkok as city life unfolds around you. Amid the tooting tuk tuks and bustling markets are real moments of calm, should you seek them, found in air-conditioned art galleries, on the Chao Phraya River and on the leafy lakeside lawns of Lumphini Park. 

Add to that a dining scene that’s gathering pace as the most electrifying in Asia, cemented by the launch of the first Michelin Guide for Thailand in 2025 (which inspired chefs to up their game), and an added dash of intrigue from its recent The White Lotus cameo, and you’ve got one compelling case for a stopover. 

If you want a concentrated taste of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is the perfect dish—and a stopover on the menu with Vietnam Airlines. A city where the past is as present as the here and now, it’s a captivating melange of architectural styles (from French colonial to futuristic skyscrapers), gilded temples, floating markets, and sobering nods to its history (including the Cu Chi Tunnels and War Remnants Museum). 

Street food is as budget friendly as it is fresh and fragrant (think roadside banh mi loaded with soft herbs). Or, if you prefer your pho fancy, there’s an equal abundance of fine dining restaurants and cool rooftop cocktail bars to splash out on.  

You may not have considered Doha, but after a visit here, you’ll be wondering why you didn’t sooner. It’s a sensory feast of spice-scented souks, sand-whipped dunes and shimmering high-rises, whose skyline is best admired from the waters of the Arabian Gulf, aboard a traditional Dhow. Engage with its rich Middle Eastern tradition through Islamic architecture (like the spectacular blue and gold Katara Mosque), desert camel safaris and Qatari cuisine (Bayt Sharq is unmissable).  

The fact that its international airport was crowned the world’s best in the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2024 (pushing Singapore Changi off the top spot for the first time in 12 years), and there’s visa-free entry for more than 100 nationalities, only adds to its allure.