Aqua Nera

Aqua Nera takes her name from the black-water lagoons of the Amazon, and she was built to reach them. Hai Minh Shipyard delivered her in 2020 as a sister to Aqua Mekong, with an exterior by Nauta Design and interiors by the Noor studio, and she works out of Iquitos on the Peruvian stretch of the river, in the country's north-east.

Guests come for one place above all: the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. Twice a day, naturalist guides take guests out by low-emission skiff, by kayak or on foot, and the bicycles are there for visiting riverside communities without a schedule. Back on board, the kitchen is led by the Peruvian chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, whose menus draw about seven-tenths of their ingredients from the region, with native fish and peppers that rarely appear on a yacht.

There are 44 crew for 40 guests, which includes medical staff with an infirmary, something worth knowing this far from a hospital. Twin observation decks at bow and stern, a shaded plunge pool with jets, an outdoor bar, a screening room, a library, a games room, a gym and a spa suite fill the days between excursions.

The twenty suites, roughly 30 square metres apiece, have glass walls facing the river; eight can be linked so that up to six people share one connected space. That makes her unusually practical for extended families who want children close by.

She suits large groups who want nature, guiding and good food more than open-water cruising: a family celebration, a foundation trip, a team that has earned something different. Couples or small parties would be renting far more ship than they need, and people who want the sea, swimming off a beach club or fast tenders full of toys will find the Amazon a very different kind of holiday.