A stopover is a planned break in a journey where you stay somewhere temporarily before continuing to your final destination. When your family flies from New York to Tokyo, you might have a stopover in Seattle, where you get off the plane, spend a few hours (or even overnight) in the airport or city, then board another flight to continue your trip.

Stopovers differ from simple layovers or connections, which are usually brief waits between flights. A stopover typically lasts longer, sometimes a full day or more, and might even be intentional. Some travelers plan stopovers to explore a city they otherwise wouldn't visit. If you're flying from Los Angeles to Paris, you might arrange a two-day stopover in Iceland to see the geysers and waterfalls.

The term can apply to any form of travel. A train journey might include a stopover in Chicago. A road trip could have a stopover in Nashville where your family spends the night before driving on the next morning. The key idea is that you pause your journey, rest or explore, then resume traveling toward wherever you're ultimately headed.