Aqua Expeditions Launches Aqua Lares in East Africa and Seychelles for 2026
Aqua Expeditions has launched the Aqua Lares, a 15-suite expedition yacht offering intimate itineraries through the Seychelles, Aldabra Atoll, Zanzibar, and Tanzania starting February 2026.
While the cruise industry’s biggest names compete to build larger and larger ships, a small luxury operator called Aqua Expeditions has taken the opposite approach—and it just launched the most intimate East Africa cruise offering in the market.
The company’s newest vessel, the Aqua Lares, welcomed its first passengers on February 8, 2026, opening what the line describes as a year-round season of five- to 11-night voyages through some of the Indian Ocean’s most remote and biologically rich waters. According to Travel Market Report, the 253-foot yacht carries a maximum of 30 guests across 15 cabins—and a crew of 33, including three dedicated naturalist guides.
That crew-to-guest ratio of more than one-to-one is rare at any price point. In East Africa expedition cruising, it is nearly unheard of.
Where the Aqua Lares Goes
The itineraries are built around access. The Aqua Lares calls at the Seychelles’ inner and outer islands, the Aldabra Atoll (a UNESCO World Heritage site home to more than 150,000 giant tortoises—the world’s largest population), Zanzibar, and coastal Tanzania. Select departures extend to Madagascar.
The critical differentiator is Aldabra. The atoll is among the most isolated ecosystems on Earth, and its pier infrastructure is simply not built for mass-market ships. The Aqua Lares, with its shallow draft and fleet of five dedicated tenders—three Zodiacs and two Rafnar boats—can access coral atolls and anchorages that would be impossible for vessels carrying thousands of passengers. African Banks, described as generally inaccessible to larger cruise ships, is one such stop on the itinerary.
This is what expedition cruising is supposed to look like: going somewhere that requires a purpose-built ship and a crew with specialized knowledge to get you there safely.
The Ship Itself
Aqua Lares is no bare-bones research vessel. The ship was designed with a distinctly European luxury aesthetic. Its 15 cabins include 12 suites and three twin cabins, with the three Owner’s Suites offering up to 710 square feet of space. Public spaces include a panoramic sun deck, indoor and outdoor dining areas, a cinema, a spa with sauna and massage room, a gym, and two Jacuzzis.
A boutique and full water sports equipment—kayaks, paddleboards, snorkeling and diving gear, and mountain bikes for shore excursions—round out the offerings. The ship operates on the November-to-April seasonal schedule that aligns with optimal weather windows in the region.
Rates start at $9,000 per person based on double occupancy. For the caliber of access and the intimacy of the experience, that figure positions Aqua Lares firmly in the ultra-luxury segment—but it is not entirely out of reach for the serious expedition traveler who has watched Antarctic and Arctic small-ship cruising prices climb steadily over the past decade.
Why This Matters for Cruise Enthusiasts
The launch of the Aqua Lares represents something genuinely different from the mainstream cruise news cycle. There are no loyalty points programs, no private island beach clubs, and no 6,000-passenger embarkation lines. What Aqua Expeditions is selling is scarcity—of both guests and destinations.
Aqua Expeditions founder Francesco Galli Zugaro has said that East Africa has held personal significance for him since childhood, and that philosophy is woven into the itinerary design. The company already operates in the Amazon and Galapagos, regions where small-ship access is the primary draw. East Africa is a logical extension of that model.
For mainstream cruise enthusiasts curious about the other end of the market, the Aqua Lares is worth watching. It represents a growing segment of cruise travel that prioritizes depth of experience over breadth of amenity—and the demand for that kind of product has never been stronger.
Offline bookings for 2026 and 2027 sailings are currently open. Online bookings are expected to open September 1, 2026.
Source: Aqua Expeditions Expands into East Africa with New Vessel – Travel Market Report