Guide ·
Multi-city flight planning
Fly into one city and home from another when the overland middle is the trip. Compare that open jaw with two one-way tickets before you commit.
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Two cities can be one ticket or two. The cheaper shape is the one you compare, not the one you assume. Photo via Unsplash.
A round trip into one city forces you to retrace the route. If you want London and Paris, or Rome and Barcelona, an open jaw lets the train or a short flight sit in the middle. The ticket flies you into the first city and home from the second.
Sometimes two one-way tickets are cheaper or simply available when a multi-city tool is not. The cost of that simplicity is risk: if the first flight is late, the second airline does not care, because it is not the same trip.
Open jaw
Fly into city A and home from city B
Often the cleanest version of a two-city trip
Two one-way tickets
Separate airlines or a simple change of plan
A delay on the first ticket does not protect the second
Hotel in each city
The flight shape should match where you sleep
Book flexible hotels until the flights are real
| Option | Best for | What to weigh | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open jaw | Fly into city A and home from city B | Often the cleanest version of a two-city trip | Search an open jaw, affiliate link for KAYAK |
| Two one-way tickets | Separate airlines or a simple change of plan | A delay on the first ticket does not protect the second | Price one-way fares, affiliate link for Expedia |
| Hotel in each city | The flight shape should match where you sleep | Book flexible hotels until the flights are real | Hold flexible hotels, affiliate link for Booking.com |
Ways to book two cities
Build it in the right order
Decide the nights in each city before you hunt a fare. A clever ticket that gives you six hours in the second city is not a two-city trip. Search the open jaw, then search the two one-way fares, and take the total that includes bags.
Leave a buffer on the day you change cities. A morning train and an evening flight is a plan. A late train and a tight flight is a story you will tell without joy.
City pages for this shape: London with Paris, or Rome with Barcelona. The fare search itself starts at how to find cheaper flights.