Have you ever craved a food you’ve never even tasted before? I’ve been experiencing this phenomenon with pastel de nata ever since I started planning my honeymoon. Is that enough of a hint for which destination we chose for our honeymoon? If you said Portugal … you’re right!

I had the pleasure of visiting Portugal when I was younger and knew I would return one day. My husband and I always toyed with the idea of visiting, as he has a personal connection to the country. His grandmother was born and raised in Alcobaça, Portugal. I’m thankful we chose to visit on such a momentous occasion as our honeymoon. We were also influenced to choose this destination in part by the many romantic vineyards, restaurants and spa experiences we have seen on social media. Many of our friends recently visited Portugal and were enthused to hear we were planning to visit. Clearly, Portugal is a hot destination right now!

Although it was difficult to only choose three cities to visit out of the many amazing spots, we feel we made the best choices to experience the most out of our 11-day trip. Based on the results of many hours of research, these are the three destinations we chose:

Porto
Our first destination is Porto. Although we are taking an overnight flight, we know we will feel refreshed after flying in Executive Class on the award-winning TAP Air Portugal. As our trip constitutes a long-haul flight, we are excited to experience the “complete gastronomic experience” offered to guests in Executive Class. Once we arrive in the Porto region, we plan on trying local cuisines and visiting charming cafés for our caffeine fix. After fueling up, I am personally looking forward to picking up some new clothing items from the plethora of boutiques in this area. The plan is to wear one of these new outfits when we go on a wine-tasting river cruise from Porto to the Douro Valley, of course imbibing some legendary Port wine (my husband’s favorite) and viewing the many exquisite bridges in this area. We are also excited to see the picturesque countryside with its flowing grapevines and to sample wines from one of the oldest wine regions in the world. It certainly makes sense why the Douro Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Lisbon
After spending three days enjoying the lush countryside in Porto, the plan is to head down to Lisbon to get a feel for the nightlife. My husband still has family in the area that we plan to connect with to get a local feel for the city. When we aren’t tearing up the dance floor at night, we plan to explore the many museums as well as the city’s exquisite architecture to get our fill of the heavily renowned art and culture scene here. Once we work up our appetite wandering around the city, we plan on experiencing dinner and a show. Lisbon is the one city I chose for our honeymoon that I have already visited, and I chose to return to take my husband to hear fado, a soulful, blues-sounding style of music local to Lisbon.

Madeira
We end our trip at a destinatiom I have been dying to visit, the lovely Madeira. Madeira is an archipelago that sits in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa with a subtropical climate. The plan for the final leg of our trip is to spend half our time on a beach chair and the other half hiking. One hike that recently jumped out at us was exploring Pico do Areeiro, the third-highest peak in Madeira and a popular spot to view the sunrise. If we can still move our legs the next day, we plan on visiting Ponta de São Lourenço to glimpse the spectacular cliffs and breathtaking views. Following these hikes, we are excited to dine in some of the numerous waterfront restaurants Madeira has to offer. As a lover of seafood, I know I am going to be delighted with the popular dishes we will have to choose from.

After four days in paradise, it is time to fly back to Lisbon to depart on our flight back to the States. Although the trip home is never as enjoyable as the trip to your destination, I know the service we will receive on TAP Air Portugal will certainly help alleviate the sadness of our honeymoon ending. I know I will look forward to reliving the trip when I write my article reviewing our honeymoon experience in Portugal.

Have you visited Portugal and have recommendations for where to score the perfect pastel de nata? Let me know in the comments below!

— Laura Gosselin, guest blogger