[dropcap size=big]W[/dropcap]ith his father in the aviation industry and stepfather the previous bureau chief for Time magazine, Francesco Galli Zugaro was well-heeled even as a child. He grew up in 14 countries across Europe, the Middle East and South America – more continents than some people have travelled to.

(RELATED: The Peak finds out how Zugaro’s company took sail.)

His work as CEO of Aqua Expeditions, which he founded in 2007, has brought him to Ecuador, Peru, and now he is discovering Asia while being based in Singapore. Ask him how many countries he has been to, and he will tell you that he has lost count. “The bucket list gets longer the more I travel, and thankfully so – otherwise I would be bored by now,” the intense businessman says quite nonchalantly. Incidentally, he has just returned from a four-week exploratory trip to Africa, and will soon be going on a family vacation – with his wife and three teenage children – to the Maldives.

So where does one go when he has been everywhere? You’ve checked off most items on people’s bucket list – so what’s on yours right now?
Papua New Guinea. Congo. Uganda – to see the source of the White Nile. Atlas mountains of the Marrakech. Northern Argentina, where Douglas and Kris Tompkins – the people behind the brands North Face, Esprit and Patagonia – recently bought 324,000ha of cattle farms and created a conservation area where a lot of native species like gazelles and even the jaguar have been reintroduced. Within it, they have built three lodges and you can trek from lodge to lodge, or go by hovercraft or speedboat. That is a place I have been wanting to go but haven’t had a chance.

You are used to making special requests happen for high net worth individuals, members of royalty and other VIPs. Do you make any special requests when you travel?
I used to ask for interconnecting cabins for my children – and now I ask them to please not give me interconnecting cabins! Having children has changed only one aspect of the way I travel. If it were just me and my wife, I would wing it on my own but, with my children, I would always get a good guide. The last time we were in Rome, the guide presented the history of the city so well – in a fun way which I wouldn’t have been able to, even though I lived the city and walked past the sites a thousand times – and the children just absorbed all of it. So wherever I go with my children, I religiously engage a good guide – even if not for the entire trip, then for at least two, three afternoons.

How do you go about finding a reliable guide who can give you insider information?
That is my business – I should know who the best are! I am in a society, which is kind of a secret society. The society has just 19 of the leading hospitality operator owners in different parts of the world – from Africa to Istanbul. We cater only to direct consumers and we grow very slowly and organically, only as we find the right people whom we believe are the most passionate and have the right insider access. Through them, I get the right resources and access in the different cities.

How often do you sail with your cruise ships in the different parts of the world?
All the time. This is a very hands-on business and, even though Peru is a 36-hour flight from here, I was on Aqua Amazon six weeks ago. And since October 2014 when we launched Aqua Mekong, I have been on 20 trips. Our clients seek soft adventure: what I call nine-to-five adventures where you spend the day exploring with world-class guides but always come back to sophisticated dining, an excellent beverage programme, and a luxurious room with a hot shower. We train our own guides and I explore every itinerary by myself, spending weeks up and down the rivers and tributaries, and also visiting the local markets and attractions.

In the hospitality trade, can you ever travel without thinking about work?
Impossible! I am always looking for opportunities. That said, outside of work, I travel with my family four to five times a year and they are usually nice long breaks that are adventure-focused. On my own, I rough it out on hardcore exploratory trips – such as going through a jungle on a speedboat with just a cook and a photographer – but for my family, they are more structured. Some of the most memorable ones include gorillatrekking in Rwanda with my wife, and to the Galapagos where the animals no longer have an instinctive fear of people. You literally walk over birds nesting on the ground and swim with penguins by one bank and hammerheads by another. Taking our children there is special – partly also because that is where I cut my teeth in the industry. Some people say that you shouldn’t take your children travelling when they are too young, for they will not remember, but I believe that it is worth it as long as they enjoy that moment.

Do you seek out good eats on your travels?
I have to. In this industry, your product encompasses all lifestyle components of our guests, so I have to have a personal interest. I personally picked our chefs – for the Mekong, our chef is David Thompson, and he spends a week on the boat every four or five weeks.

What are some interesting culinary discoveries you have made?
In Ho Chi Minh, there is a Japanese guy who makes the most amazing burrata in the world. The place is called 4P’s and it serves the best burrata I have had in my life – and I am Italian so I know what I’m talking about. He makes an amazing dough, he makes his own tomato sauce, and he brings out the pizza to the table, grabs a burrata and puts it in the middle, then cuts it so that the cheese just melts into the pizza, and he throws some slabs of prosciutto on. I bring my guests (from Aqua Mekong) there and I tell them, yes, we are in Vietnam and we are having pizza but, trust me, you are not going to have a pizza like this anywhere else!

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