I recently attended a co-sponsored event with TAP Portugal and Portugal Tourism office last week at Planet Hollywood. The informal cocktail hour kicked off at 6:30 p.m. with some delicious bites and libations. I had the pleasure of meeting some of industry leaders from Palacio Estoril Hotel Golf & Spa, Madeira Islands Promotion Bureau, Dom Pedro Hotels, Lutecia Hotel, Belmond Reid’s Palace and more.

These experts were all in town for one thing and one thing only, to celebrate the new offer from TAP Portugal on the new “Stopover Program”.  It’s easy as 1-2-3:

• Go to http://www.flytap.com/USA/enus/stopover
• Book your flight to any of the destinations the carrier flies to
• Select your layover preferences (Lisbon or Porto plus the number of nights, etc.)

There will be up to three days of free layover in Portugal you can take advantage of. I would recommend you take full advantage of the maximum allowance because it will be a trip you will store in your “favorites” for years to come. I’m already thinking about visiting the Madeira Islands on the way to my next trip to Europe, which will probably be in the first quarter of 2017.

If you recall my last blog about my trip to Portugal, I was disappointed that I didn’t have enough time to go to Porto. This offer (which has no expiration date as of now) will give me just that opportunity to revisit this country of beautiful scenery, beautiful people and delicious cuisine! Go and explore Portugal!

— Banu Yilmaz, advertising director