Words and photographs by Christopher P. Hill
June 22, 2026

A former Soviet icebreaker might seem an unlikely vessel for the Seychelles, but Aqua Expeditions’ latest superyacht takes boutique cruising in the Indian Ocean to another level, with excursions that bring guests face-to-face with giant tortoises, rare birds, and teeming marine life.

Damien Alphonse, a marine guide aboard Aqua Lares; boulders at Anse Source d’Argent beach on La Digue. — *Left to right:* Damien Alphonse, a marine guide aboard *Aqua Lares*; boulders at Anse Source d’Argent beach on La Digue.

Poor little turtle. Having emerged from his sandy nest just minutes earlier, the hatchling now flailed his flippers against a low wall of tidal rock at the sea’s edge. To him, it might as well have been a mountain. Like a pint-size Sisyphus, he struggled upward again and again, only to lose his footing and slide back down. It wasn’t looking good—most of his nestmates were already safely in the water. But when I reached out to give him a nudge, an on looking ranger solemnly shook her head. “We must let nature take its course.” What became of the little turtle, I’ll never know. Cousin Island was just one of the day’s stops aboard the Aqua Lares, and it was time to move on. But I like to think he made it.

My own challenges at the outset of this trip were comparatively trivial. When I’d landed five days earlier in Mahé, the biggest island in the Seychelles archipelago, my luggage was nowhere to be found. The airline had apparently left it behind in Mumbai, and wouldn’t be able to deliver it for a couple of days. Brisk laundry service and an impressive array of in-room toiletries (dental floss! Marvis toothpaste!) tided me over for my first night at Cheval Blanc Seychelles, a gorgeous all-villa resort on Mahé’s quiet southeastern coast, but the prospect of spending the next six days at sea with a single change of clothes was daunting. Fortunately for me, Cheval Blanc isn’t the kind of place to leave its guests in the lurch. On learning of my situation, the resort’s general manager graciously arranged a car to take me shopping before I joined the Aqua Lares. Which was how I found myself boarding the sleek, six-deck superyacht carrying a paper bag stuffed with bargain-bin clothes.

No one batted an eye. If I had expected a whiff of haughtiness onboard, I found myself instead in the company of 14 other engaging, companionable passengers, not to mention an amiable crew of 32. No Triangle of Sadness, this. Among my cruise mates were a young French couple, an unassuming South African financier and his wife, and an assortment of North Americans, including a retired couple from Virginia who had already spent a week aboard, cruising the Seychelles’ outer islands. The crew was even more diverse, hailing from 20 different countries. “We’re like a floating United Nations,” said Rico Wessels, the yacht’s South African cruise director.

Whether it was the paradisiacal setting or a happy bit of kismet, we quickly gelled—and good thing, too, given the small group activities and communal meals that lay ahead on our inner-island sailing. For all Aqua Lares’s superyacht accoutrements (onboard spa, helideck, et al.), it also helped that the atmosphere onboard was relaxed and informal, right down to a no-shoes policy—though we all made good use of the octopus-embroidered blue velvet slippers waiting in our cabins.

*Left to right:* A villa bedroom at the Jean-Michel Gathy–designed Cheval Blanc Seychelles; a spiral staircase leads down to the resort’s Vivamento restaurant.

It’s a formula that has worked well for Aqua Expeditions, the Singapore-based boutique cruise line that owns and operates the vessel. Beginning in 2007 with a single riverboat on the Peruvian Amazon, its fleet has grown to six vessels, all with a focus on small-scale, design-forward expedition cruising and off-the-map itineraries. Last year, high-end cruise company Ponant Explorations acquired a majority stake in Aqua Expeditions, bringing it into the fold of French luxury goods titan François Pinault’s Groupe Artémis, whose holdings also include Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci, and Christie’s auction house. But Aqua Expeditions continues to operate independently, with its Italian-American founder, Francesco Galli Zugaro, and his wife, Birgit, firmly at the helm.

Aqua Lares’s own improbable story is reflected in her sturdy exterior. First rolled out of a Dutch shipyard in 1974, she was built as an icebreaking tug for Soviet service; squint, and you can still make out her original name, Gigant, faintly impressed in Cyrillic on the steel plates of her massive black hull. Almost three decades later, the 77-meter ship was acquired by Swiss race-car driver–turned–yacht builder René Herzog and refitted as a pleasure cruiser, before undergoing an even more ambitious transformation following her purchase in 2016 by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Thankfully, you don’t have to be a billionaire to enjoy the vessel’s latest incarnation. Designed to be booked by the cabin—a rare offering among superyachts, though charters can be organized too—Aqua Lares launched in February following an extensive interiors refit. Able to accommodate up to 30 passengers, she has everything an “affluent explorer”—as Galli Zugaro describes his clientele—might need, starting with revitalized cabins and social spaces conceived in collaboration with Milan-based studio Hot Lab: think custom furnishings by Poltrona Frau and Minotti, textured Dedar fabrics in tones of greige and marine blue, gleaming wood veneers accented by African artifacts, vintage prints, and original lithographs of antique maps.

My cabin, one of 15, was a roomy 25 square meters, fitted with two large porthole windows, a cushy double bed, and plenty of desk and closet space. One deck (and several price points) up, the largest of the suites spanned the beamy width of the yacht. The belowdecks spa contained a treatment room, sauna, and U-shaped jet pool; another jacuzzi pool on the aft main deck came with a waterfall feature. Elsewhere, there were numerous areas for lounging and sunbathing, and even a cinema, where the South African financier and I spent our first night watching an Ernest Shackleton documentary on plush, adjustable seats as the staff plied us with beer and popcorn.

Aqua Lares is well equipped for adventure, whether in the equatorial waters of the western Indian Ocean (some itineraries take guests as far as Zanzibar) or the colder climes of the Norwegian Arctic, where the yacht will spend the summer months. She carries paddleboards, kayaks, and diving equipment alongside a mini-fleet of Zodiacs and Rafnar tenders, all easily accessed via the aft swim platform.

Beach time on Grande Soeur; one of Aqua Lares’s cabins. — *Left to right:* Beach time on Grande Soeur; one of *Aqua Lares*’s cabins.

Winding down the day with a drink on Aqua Lares’s heli deck; the bar in the yacht’s dining salon. — *Left to right:* Winding down the day with a drink on *Aqua Lares*’s heli deck; the bar in the onboard dining salon.

Aqua Lares’s rugged bow; the yacht’s alfresco dining area. — *Left to right:* *Aqua Lares*’s rugged bow; the yacht’s alfresco dining area.

Most days, we boarded the Zodiacs after an early breakfast, then again in the afternoon to dive or snorkel around the nearby reefs. Clustered some 1,600 kilometers off the eastern coast of Africa, the Seychelles’ 43 granitic inner islands harbor a vivid array of sea life. Even the Virginians, who’d spent the previous week diving among the pristine coral atolls and cays of the far flung outer islands—home to just two percent of the country’s 100,000 population—seemed impressed.

Each session began with a briefing on the shaded dining terrace. Damien Alphonse, one of the ship’s three local marine guides, led with hand-drawn whiteboard diagrams of the day’s sites—minor masterpieces featuring sea turtles, shark fins, and coral gardens. Piratical earrings and dreadlocks spilling from beneath a bandanna gave him the look of a modern-day Jack Sparrow, with a playful demeanor to match. But his knowledge of the local marine life was encyclopedic. “We will see some amazing fish, yes?” he promised after each briefing.

He wasn’t wrong. In the channels around Ave Maria, a rocky outcrop off La Digue, the snorkelers among us floated above underwater canyons and crevices, amid clouds of neon fusiliers and shimmering shoals of squid. An eagle ray here, a moray eel there. The shallow reefs around St. Pierre offered a similar spectacle, each kick of our fins carrying us over multicolored corals and fish. Even more remarkable was the southern tip of Marianne Island, where granite walls plunged straight into the sea. As we rode the current, Damien pointed to a stingray rippling its fins against the sand. Several hawksbill turtles passed by in succession; then a reef shark, and another, and another. Who knew what else might come gliding out of the depths.

Back on board, the service left us wanting for nothing. Warm smiles, chilled towels, and refreshing drinks awaited after every outing, as did immaculately made-up cabins. Our wine preferences were unfailingly remembered. And lo, I was reunited with my lost luggage on the second afternoon, after one of the ship’s tenders was dispatched to Mahé to retrieve it from the airline. When I remarked it was just as well we weren’t on an outer-island cruise, Rico smiled. “Even then, we’d have found a way.”

Mealtimes were sociable affairs, enjoyed either alfresco or in the main-deck dining salon around communal, marquetry inlaid tables set with dishware from Bali’s Gaya Ceramic. Each course was introduced by our Venezuelan-Italian chef, Marko Sterlicchi: a tangy gazpacho made with heirloom tomatoes, say, or grilled king prawns with smoked butter. The daily-changing menu never disappointed, especially on barbecue night, when we feasted on wagyu rubbed with Zanzibar spices—cumin, vanilla, cloves, cinnamon—and grilled to perfection in an egg-shaped kamado cooker.

Adam “Koko” Richards, one of Aqua Lares’s Seychellois marine guides; a lunchtime serving of lasagna layered with ragù and ricotta. — *Left to right:* Adam “Koko” Richards, one of *Aqua Lares*’s Seychellois marine guides; a lunchtime serving of lasagna layered with ragù and ricotta.

Raising Aqua Lares’s flag; the sitting area of one of the yacht’s suites. — *Left to right:* Raising *Aqua Lares*’s flag; the sitting area of one of the yacht’s suites.

*Left to right:* An old copra factory near the 19th-century Grann Kaz plantation house on La Digue; a juice stand near La Digue’s Anse Source d’Argent.

While billed as a “floating safari,” our itinerary also included a variety of interesting shore excursions. Not far from Anse Source d’Argent beach on La Digue, where granite boulders the size of houses edge turquoise coves, I traded some sunbathing for a glimpse of local history. Grann Kaz, according to a sign out front, was one of the oldest surviving planter’s houses in the Seychelles, first built by corsair-turned–plantation owner Jean-François Hodoul in 1818. Now a national monument and museum, the thatch-roofed timber residence harks back to a time when the islands’ colonial economy—first French, then British—rested on the humble coconut. Indeed, copra, the dried flesh of the coconut, remained the main foreign-exchange earner until the early 1970s, when Mahé’s airport first opened and tourism took off. Grann Kaz is a time capsule of that era, its wide veranda leading to rooms filled with Creole furnishings, period artifacts, and vintage photographs. Across the lawn, an old ox-driven copra mill creaks to life for tour groups.

Another day, after anchoring off Praslin Island, we headed out by Zodiac to the jetty at Baie Sainte Anne, where vans waited to shuttle us to the UNESCO-listed nature reserve of Vallée de Mai. Under a towering canopy of endemic coco-de-mer palms, the forest felt primeval; visiting in 1881, British general Charles George Gordon (of Khartoum fame) reportedly declared this to be the original Garden of Eden, and the nut of the coco-de-mer its forbidden fruit. You can see his point. The tree’s huge double lobed seed—today the Seychelles’ unofficial national emblem—is remarkably suggestive of a woman’s buttocks. Even more pornographic are the pollen-bearing catkins of the male trees—unmistakably phallic appendages that dangle up to a meter in length. Local legend says the palms make passionate love on stormy nights. Perhaps that explained the mildly scandalized expression worn by the green gecko I spotted clinging to a trunk.

The valley is also a key breeding ground for the Seychelles black parrot, whose numbers, we’re told, have rebounded in recent decades. With vast tracts of land and sea under protection, and a robust Nature Reserves and Conservancy Act in effect since 2022, the country appears to take environmental steward ship unusually seriously. Our next stop, Cousin Island, was a case in point. By the time it was abandoned as a coconut plantation in the 1960s, the 29-hectare island was a mess. Invasive rats had decimated its seabird colonies. Since then, Cousin has been rehabilitated by BirdLife International and designated a special reserve. It’s now among the Indian Ocean’s most celebrated conservation success stories, with restored native forests providing important habitat for bridled terns, white-tailed tropicbirds, noddys, magpie-robins, and particularly the Seychelles warbler, a tiny songbird brought back from the verge of extinction.

To prevent the introduction of invasive species or other contaminants, we were ferried across by the island’s own boats, landing right on the beach. One of the eight rangers stationed here year-round guided us through the forest, the sandy ground littered with the husks of fruit from a hardy coastal tree known as bwa sousouri—“bat wood”—in Seychellois Creole. That fruit contributes to the diet of the 40 or so Aldabra giant tortoises that live on Cousin. We encountered one: a 250-kilo male named Gandalf, thought to be 145 years old. He resembled a dusty gray Mini Cooper stuck in low gear.

The island felt at once wild and tame. With no predators to worry them, tropicbirds nested in scrapes on the ground, barely turning their heads as we passed. The chicks were similarly unruffled—adorable white fluff balls that stared back at us complacently from between the roots of trees. The mosquitoes were especially friendly. As for the turtle hatchling, he was one of dozens that had emerged from the sand as we looked on, paddling instinctively toward the sea. Some would make it; some wouldn’t. We could only watch.

Each evening of the voyage, we gathered for sundowners on a different deck. On the final night before returning to Mahé, it was the turn of the helipad, where we watched another vivid sunset wash the western horizon in an ombre of purple and gold, even as a full moon rose to the east over Praslin’s Anse Georgette. Unexpectedly, two members of the service crew, Andrea and Tayla, treated us to a rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” their voices carrying sweetly across the darkening sea. Were the turtles listening?

A giant tortoise on the island of Grande Soeur; inside one of the yacht’s suites. — *Left to right:* A giant tortoise on the island of Grande Soeur; inside one of *Aqua Lares*’s suites.

Smooth Sailing

Aqua Lares returns to the Indian Ocean in November, after spending the summer season in the Norwegian Arctic. The yacht’s five-night cruises in the Seychelles’ inner islands start at US$9,000 per person based on double occupancy, including meals, house wines and beer, laundry service, and excursions.

Spending at least one night on land ahead of embarkation day is recommended, if only for a taste of Creole culture. On Mahé’s quieter southeast coast, about 40 minutes from the compact capital, Victoria, Cheval Blanc Seychelles (from US$2,200 a night) is the island’s newest splurge-worthy stay, opened in late 2024 along the powdery curve of Anse Intendance. Designed by Belgian architect Jean-Michel Gathy, the resort’s 52 sprawling, butler serviced villas combine indoor outdoor living spaces with private pools, framed by dense tropical greenery or sweeping ocean views; sleek white and neutral interiors are decorated with textile works by Malagasy artist Joël Andrianomearisoa.

Tucked amid palm trees and granite boulders, the hillside spa offers luxe face and body treatments by Guerlain. Closer to the water, a fitness studio and pirate-themed kids’ club sit alongside tennis courts and a surf simulator. All but one of the five restaurants are housed in the Main Lodge, the resort’s social heart. Options include French fine dining, Italian coastal cuisine, and, at Mizumi, which occupies a colonial-style bungalow beside a wetland lake, creative Japanese fare.

This article originally appeared in the June/July 2026 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“The Life Aquatic”). Buy a single issue or subscribe here.

Exploring the Seychelles with the Aqua Lares Superyacht