Best hotels in Ecuador

There are places on this planet where evolution took a different path entirely, and these volcanic islands in the Pacific represent perhaps the most extraordinary example. To see them properly — the marine iguanas, the flightless cormorants, the penguins that by rights have no business being at the equator — you need to be out on the water, moving between islands with the kind of purpose that a slow vessel simply cannot manage. Enter this sleek American-built mega-yacht, the fastest in the entire island fleet at 25 knots, which means considerably less time in transit and considerably more time snorkelling with sea lions or hiking lava fields at the edge of the world. Launched in 2018 and designed from the outset for private charter, the yacht carries a maximum of 16 guests under the guidance of certified bilingual naturalist guides who know these islands in their bones. Itineraries run for four, five or eight days, each one a masterclass in putting guests exactly where the wildlife is at the right moment. For a destination this singular, the vessel matters.