Interview with Aqua Expeditions Founder Francesco Galli Zugaro

Published 13th of October 2025 | By Claire Benktander

From the Amazon to the Galapagos, Aqua Expeditions founder Francesco Galli Zugaro's pioneering cruise line operates river cruises and yacht charters in some of the most remote destinations on Earth, on small ships of a maximum of 40 guests that he personally commissioned and designed. And now, with launch of new ship Aqua Lares built for both the tropical islands of the Seychelles and harsh Arctic landscapes, we delve into his inspiration for the project and what's to come for Aqua Expeditions...

What are you most excited for about the new launch of Aqua Lares?

I think what gets me personally excited and out of bed every morning is the fact that we're taking guests, which is up until today a total of 40,000, to completely to new biodiversity hotspots, from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean and as far as Aldabra.

I think to be able to see these difficult places in the comfort of a 60 or 70-metre global explorer on a FIT (Fully Independent Traveller) cabin basis is very unique - and to do that at the Aqua level is something that's not been available in the market until today. So we have some guests who prefer, well, they tend to say they like ships that are 100, 200 guests, then they try us.

For you, what's the main selling point of having ships with 40 guests or fewer?

I think the key advantage is the fact that the ship design and guest experience is all being designed to cater to a small group of maximum 40 guests on all our ships. But also, it's group size. When you're catering to four to five couples max per guide, it gives you an opportunity to really build something that's customised to their interest, whether they are divers, snorkellers, hikers, bikers, whatever they want to do.

And secondly, you'll be able to create this environment on board where everybody has a sense of community and sense of unity because they are going to be able to mingle amongst themselves. By the end of the week, they've all had a chance to either had a meal together, and go on an excursion together, and this creates a very unique kind of ambience on board that grows into people travelling in the future together. And I don't want to break that kind of ethos by going with a larger ship. I think you can create incredible experiences with larger ships, but Aqua is known for not going above 40 guests, with one guide for every ten couples, and that makes it very special.

View all Aqua Expeditions cruises

Francesco Galli Zugaro, Founder of Aqua Expeditions

Which special activities for guests will Aqua Lares offer in the Seychelles and the Arctic?

Obviously we have got diving, snorkelling, and all the water-based activities seeing the incredible marine life in East Africa, including the giant tortoises and the Aldabra, which is unique - it's a blue zone and biodiversity hotspot in a UNESCO World Heritage site, as is Zanzibar's Stone Town. So you have cultural flora and fauna within these expeditions, in a place that's difficult to access. In the Arctic Circle on the other hand, you've got this frozen world of the Arctic, which is teeming with wildlife from polar bears to walruses to deer, Arctic foxes, whales, and orcas, in this pool of the world that's as difficult to access, accessing it on a polar ice class icebreaker.

To be able to seek and get close to 200 miles south of the North Pole without having to foot the bill of chartering a yacht on your own is unique. So I think to make this accessible to our FIT and for our guests to be able to book individual cabins is rare. It's fantastic.

So what else is happening at Aqua? What else should travellers be excited about?

There's lots going on at Aqua. We've got these enriched sailings with Explorers Club - these experts from around the world hosting curated departures on different ships around East Africa, Indonesia, the Mekong and the Amazon. So there's always something happening. What we won't do is sacrifice our core values, which is world class guides and world class with a sense of a private yacht - and I think that's what I think people will come on board thinking, and realise that the decor has been curated to make them feel like they're embarking a private vessel.

I think that's quite different - a lot of our guests are not cruising guests - they've never been on big ship, but then they see our ships and realise they can just book a cabin and go, and are going to have this private yacht experience.

So what led you originally to founding Aqua Expeditions? What was the inspiration?

A hard question to answer in 10 seconds! Okay, I mean, obviously it's appealing to this whole sense of adventure that is innate in me and this whole sense of exploration that supports my interests in travelling the world. And so 20 years ago, when I decided to leave the curtain business that I ran and start my own I wanted to take this leap of faith, as an entrepreneur, and develop something unique by taking guests to these remote parts of the world, but without sacrificing any future comforts.

And over the last 18 years, we built a brand, which is extremely difficult. It's not easy to build a brand and build a brand value proposition that you can maintain and have trusted partners like our travel agents and tour operators, as well as our guests that support us and support our growth. Even though we've had many difficult days, it's not been an easy task, but today, we're still true to that calling, which is to allow our guests to discover this incredible world we live in, one place at a time, keeping it authentic and local with local crew, with local food and drink, and creating these unique experiences for them to have memories for a lifetime. I think that's what drives my passion.

So what are your ambitions for Aqua Expeditions generally, but also for the UK market?

With the UK as our second biggest market we will continuously invest to make sure that we have solid partnerships with our partners here. And that we make sure that we're on the ground, listening, building all those relationships, and making sure there we are top of mind. As far as my vision, it's to consistently deliver world class experiences, one every three years, and staying true and not letting and myself get distracted with all the noise out there.

There is a lived interest for small ship expeditions, but then again, there's different definitions of small, from the 5,000 to 1,000, but we're staying true to that niche of no more than 40 guests. And we welcome all the additional exposure that expedition is getting, as long as we don't lose sense of that true sense of adventure, which is what's embedded in our offering, and that I don't want to change at all.

What's your favourite part of being the founder of Aqua?

I think the one that the aspect that I personally love about this is obviously that kind of entrepreneurial mindset, but still being able to develop and scout new destinations, build itineraries, and figure out how to finance, how to build or buy these ships. I think that is a challenge that I really welcome that once it becomes operational, I have incredible managers that can take over and manage the day to day and continue delivering incredible experiences.

But I think bringing it to market is the most challenging - the fact is that today we're showcasing two years worth of work in order to get us here, which is permits, licenses, ships, crewing, finance, all that, that's what I truly enjoy, is building all that out, in order to then package it up and give it to our team to market, and I think that's kind of what I really, really enjoy now.

What's your favourite destination that Aqua offers?

Obviously, all of them have a special place in my heart, but the Galapagos is where I first started, but not with my business, but with another business I ran. So I I fell in love with the Galapagos because of that. Peru and the Amazon is the first destination we launched and still today our biggest business - we have two ships there.

So that always recall, and remember our route there, but then we did Asia and finally we have come back to Africa - high end travel really started in Africa, these safaris which are an incredible product, and I think it's pretty cool to be able to bring the first explorer yacht to East Africa. We're the first one there on the market that's going to go delivering scheduled itineraries. So it's nice to be a first and set the benchmark, it's very special.

Meet the Author

Claire is Marketing Manager at Mundy Adventures, having worked with the company for two years and in travel for over 8 years. Her most recent adventure was a cruise on Seabourn Venture and she has also sailed with Ponant. Her favourite adventure destination is Sweden however she's also enjoyed adventures in South America, the Galapagos, Australia, Northern Europe, Southern Africa, and the Far East. When she’s not travelling she loves walking, skiing, camping and weekends away in the countryside.

More about Claire

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