This is my First Post on Flyertalk!

I have not traveled internationally in over 15 years. Going to Dubai in May. Most routes from Denver go through London or Amsterdam. Wife and I would like to add a 3 or 4 day layover in one of those cities on the return trip. It appears that this adds about $1,000 to the price even with the same flight home. Are there secrets for getting reasonable layover deals on these long flights?

The fare has to allow it. Some airlines are good about it, some aren't, and some are good some of the time but not at other times.

Airline fares, as you probably know, are not a good place to find logic.

You might try booking a regular round-trip ticket with a plane change in either of those places, plus a round trip from there to Denver and back. Might be cheaper. Then have your bags short-checked from Dubai to London or Amsterdam (whichever), pick them up and enter the country. Toss the last leg of that ticket. Later, use the first leg of your second ticket to return to Denver and toss the return half of that - or, if you can, save it for later.

Airlines don't like this. It violates their "screw the customer, as long as it maximizes our revenue" rules. If they catch you they can theoretically charge you what the flights you took would have cost on their own, but this doesn't happen to people who don't make a habit of it. Their computers won't catch you, since the second ticket starts well after the first one finishes.

(Customs and immigration folks don't give a fig about airline ticket rules.)

Efrem, thanks for the great advice! ^

Efrem's method will work, of course, or you could also just buy it as two separate r/t's.

1 Denver-wherever
2 wherever-Dubai

This will probably be cheaper, and gives you a lot of flexibility, but there is a greater danger of trouble if you miss a connection.

I suggest contacting a good travel agent, not expedia or any of the online agencies. A travel agent should be able to find what you�re looking for at a reasonable price.