Is it better to book one-way tickets or multi-city flights?

Usually, booking a 'multi-city' (or open-jaw) ticket on the same itinerary is cheaper and safer than independent one-way tickets, mostly for long-haul international flights. For shorter regional hops (e.g., within Europe or SE Asia), separate budget airline one-way tickets are often cheaper.

How many days should I spend in each city?

A good rule of thumb is a minimum of 3 nights per major city (London, Paris, Tokyo) to actually see it without rushing. For smaller cities, 2 nights might suffice. Remember that every time you switch cities, you lose roughly half a day to travel and checking in/out.

Order of cities: Does it matter?

Yes. Look at a map and plan geographically to avoid backtracking. Also consider flight hubs—it's often cheaper to fly into a major hub (like London or Dubai) and out of another major hub. Use trains for the legs in between if efficient.

How to Plan a Multi-City Trip: Europe, Asia & Beyond

Why Multi-City Travel?

Why visit just Paris when you can see London, Paris, and Amsterdam in one trip? Multi-city travel maximizes the value of your long-haul flight. However, it introduces logistical complexity. Here is how to tame the chaos.

The "Open-Jaw" Strategy

Don't book a round trip to City A. Book into City A and out of City B. This saves you the time and money of backtracking to your starting point. Use the "Multi-City" tab on flight search engines.

The Hub & Spoke Model

Pick one major city as your base (Hub) for a week and take cheaper regional flights or trains (Spokes) to nearby cities for 1-2 days, returning to your base. This lets you keep one main accommodation.

5 Steps to Build a Multi-Destination Itinerary

1
Select Your Anchors: Pick the 2-3 absolute must-visit cities. These will define the skeleton of your route.
2
Connect the Dots: Look at a map. Does it make sense to go North to South? Or in a loop? Check train connections (e.g., Eurostar) vs budget flights.
3
Check "Lost Time": Calculate travel time between cities. If a flight is 2 hours, the total door-to-door time is likely 6 hours (airport transit, security, grind). Is it worth it for a 2-day stay?
4
Book Main Flights First: Secure your long-haul into the first city and out of the last city.
5
Fill the Gaps: Now book the inter-city trains or regional flights.

Let AI Optimize Your Route

Humans aren't great at solving the "Traveling Salesman Problem" (finding the most efficient route between multiple points). AI is.

Use NxVoy's Multi-City Planner to input "I want to visit London, Paris, and Rome in 10 days". It will tell you the best order to visit them to save money and time.

How to Plan a Multi-City Trip