Canadian travel advisor Lesa Nelson returned from the Azores with more than stunning memories — she returned with an entirely new way of thinking about how she serves her clients.
At a Glance
The Azores offer dramatic landscape variety—volcanic lakes, coastal cliffs, geothermal vents, and lush forest—all accessible within short drives on two main islands. The archipelago remains uncrowded and authentically underdeveloped compared to European destinations, making it ideal for travelers seeking natural diversity and discovery before mainstream tourism arrives.
One minute you are standing on the edge of a volcanic crater, looking down at an emerald green lake. The next, you are overlooking dramatic coastal cliffs with the Atlantic Ocean stretching all the way to the horizon. A short drive later, rolling green farmland unfolds around you, hedgerows lined with hydrangeas, the whole scene looking uncannily like the Irish countryside. Then the landscape shifts again: black volcanic rock, steaming geothermal vents, dense forest, the sound of waterfalls. Welcome to the Azores — a destination that, until recently, Canadian travel advisor Lesa Nelson had barely considered recommending to anyone.
Nelson traveled to the archipelago as part of an ACTA (Association of Canadian Travel Advisors) fam trip, a professionally organized journey designed to blend destination immersion with professional development. Alongside a group of fellow advisors, she visited two of the nine islands: Terceira and São Miguel. What she found there didn't just expand her knowledge of a single destination. It reshaped how she thinks about her work entirely.
A Destination Unlike Anything Before
Before touching down in the Azores, Nelson expected something broadly similar to other Atlantic island destinations she had encountered. What she found was something far more layered. The sheer variety of landscapes packed into a compact geography stopped her in her tracks. "As a travel advisor, that's what really excites me," she says. "It's a rare find that offers so much variety without having to go a long distance between experiences." In a single day of driving across the island, she encountered volcanic lakes, ocean vistas, charming villages, tea plantations, grazing cows, geothermal pools, and lush tropical forest. The contrast, she notes, was nothing short of astonishing.
What made this variety so professionally meaningful was not just its visual drama, but its implications for clients. Nelson works with travelers who have diverse interests and comfort levels. A destination that can deliver hiking, hot springs, whale watching, local food culture, and quiet village life, all without requiring multiple flights or exhausting transfers, is exactly the kind of rare find that makes her job both easier and more exciting.
The Surprise Nobody Told Her About
Perhaps the biggest revelation was not what the Azores offered, but what it lacked: crowds. Nelson had braced herself for the tourist infrastructure common to European island destinations. Instead, she found viewpoints, walking trails, and natural attractions that her group could explore without feeling like part of a procession. "The Azores is still in the very early stages of their tourism growth," she observed, and that status gives the destination a rare authenticity that is increasingly difficult to find on the continent.
For Nelson, this discovery carried a sense of urgency. "I don't think this is going to remain a secret forever," she says. "The Azores will be discovered, and I think right now is the time to visit — before it gets too busy, while it still feels authentic and unspoiled." She sees the destination as a natural fit for the growing segment of travelers who take pride in discovering places before they become mainstream, people who have already ticked off Paris and Rome and are now searching for something with more texture and fewer tour buses.
What a Brochure Can Never Tell You
Before the trip, Nelson knew the facts. She knew about the volcanic lakes, the hot springs, the whale watching, the scenery. What she could not have anticipated was the feeling the islands produce in the people who visit them. "What I couldn't have known is how the destination makes you feel," she reflects. "There's a calmness to the Azores. Life moves at a different pace. People take time to enjoy their surroundings, and visitors naturally start to do the same."
That sensory shift, that almost involuntary slowing down, is precisely the kind of insight that no brochure, website, or photograph can communicate. It is the knowledge that only comes from being present: from feeling warm spring water, from watching sunshine break through rain clouds within minutes and illuminate a landscape that looks completely transformed, from sitting down to a meal with locals who are in no particular hurry.
The trip also gave Nelson something more technical: a clear understanding of how Terceira and São Miguel differ from one another in character and experience, and therefore which type of traveler belongs on which island. That nuance matters enormously when she sits across from a client and begins to build an itinerary. "That's the value of experiencing a destination first-hand," she says. "I can now speak not only about what there is to see and do, but also about who would love it, who might not, and how to create an itinerary that truly fits each traveler."
Who Should Go, and Who Should Skip It
Nelson is precise about her ideal Azores client. Travelers who love hiking, photography, whale watching, natural hot springs, road trips, and the pleasure of wandering through places that don't feel overrun will find the islands deeply satisfying. She sees a particular fit for active travelers and retirees with the time and curiosity to let each day unfold differently. The destination also makes natural sense for anyone who has already fallen for Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, or Costa Rica and is looking for that next discovery.
On the other hand, Nelson is equally candid about who would be better served elsewhere. Travelers whose ideal holiday revolves around luxury shopping, nightlife, or a week on a wide sandy beach will likely find the Azores underwhelming. "To really appreciate the Azores, you need to get out and explore," she says. "The rewards are incredible, but this is a destination that gives the most back to the people who are curious and willing to adventure beyond the hotel."
The Insider Tip Most People Miss
Among the practical lessons Nelson brought home, one stands out for its counterintuitive simplicity: stop worrying about the weather forecast. The Azores are famously capable of delivering four seasons in a single day, and Nelson learned quickly that a forecast calling for rain is not a reason to rearrange plans. A shower rolls through, and twenty minutes later the sky opens and reveals a landscape that looks entirely different from the one visible an hour before. Her advice is to dress in layers, carry a light rain jacket, and stay flexible. Some of her most breathtaking views came in the moments immediately after her group had resigned themselves to a weather-ruined morning.
A Broader Lesson About Being a Great Advisor
The Azores trip reinforced something Nelson has observed repeatedly across her career: the most rewarding destinations are often the ones travelers are not yet asking for. Clients arrive in her office with specific places in mind, drawn by social media and word of mouth. But beneath those requests, Nelson says, is almost always a feeling they are chasing: beautiful scenery, authentic culture, fewer crowds, outdoor adventure, or simply the pleasure of disconnecting. Once she understands the why behind a trip, she can introduce destinations the client may never have considered.
That shift in approach is perhaps the most lasting outcome of her time in the Azores. "It's gone from a destination that I barely knew about to one that I actively champion," she says. Going forward, she intends to bring the Azores into conversations much earlier, particularly with clients who love nature and take pride in discovering places before everyone else does. The islands have moved from the margins of her mental map to the center of her recommendations, and her enthusiasm for what comes next is already building. With Africa and a safari on her wish list, along with the Faroe Islands and Slovenia, Nelson finds herself drawn increasingly to destinations that offer dramatic landscapes and genuine discovery. For a travel advisor who now knows, from personal experience, exactly what that feeling is worth, the search for the next remarkable place is very much underway.
