Aqua Expeditions: the back story

About Aqua Expeditions: the back story

By the ULTIMATE the world’s cruise lines Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Francesco Galli Zugaro founded Aqua Expeditions in 2007 in the Peruvian Amazon. Its six vessels carry as few as 16 guests, with a crew-to-guest ratio of about one to one, celebrated chefs and twice-daily excursions; since joining PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP it has grown to the Seychelles and the Arctic.

From the Amazon

Aqua Expeditions began in 2007 in the Peruvian Amazon, where its founder, Francesco Galli Zugaro, set out to bring luxury small-ship travel to South America. Aria Amazon made her debut in 2011 and still sails the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve; in 2021 the state-of-the-art Aqua Nera joined her.

To the Mekong and the spice islands

Aqua Mekong launched in October 2014 to sail between Cambodia and Vietnam, with interiors by Noor Design and the only private fleet of tender boats on the river. Then came the company’s first ocean yacht, Aqua Blu, a ship with a long seafaring history, refitted in 2019 under the Dutch yacht designer Cor D. Rover, sailing seven- and twelve-night voyages to Komodo, the Spice Islands and Raja Ampat.

Small ships, one crew member for every guest, and the world’s most remote rivers and reefs.

Full circle in the Galápagos

Before Aqua, Galli Zugaro spent much of his career in the Galápagos, so Aqua Mare closed a circle: a 50-metre yacht built in 1998 by CRN in Italy, refitted in 2021 and carrying just 16 guests, with an Owner’s Suite of 80 m² that Aqua calls the largest of its kind in the archipelago.

East Africa and the Arctic

PONANT EXPLORATIONS GROUP took a majority stake in Aqua, and the company has since expanded with Aqua Lares, a 30-guest superyacht sailing the Seychelles and Tanzania and, in summer, Svalbard and the Norwegian Arctic from Longyearbyen.

The table

Food is a reason to sail. Pedro Miguel Schiaffino cooks Peruvian and Amazonian dishes on Aqua Nera and Aria Amazon and Ecuadorian produce on Aqua Mare; Benjamin Cross brings the flavours of the East Indonesian spice route to Aqua Blu; David Thompson consults on Aqua Mekong; and Karime López cooks for Aqua Lares.

Our advice: these are tiny ships that fill early. Choose the river ships for wildlife and culture with comfort, Aqua Mare for the most private Galápagos, and Aqua Lares if you want the Seychelles’ outer islands by superyacht.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Aqua Expeditions: the back story before you go.