KONTIKI WAYRA

This 40-metre expedition yacht was conceived for a particular kind of voyage: small-group cruising along coastlines that most itineraries never reach. Refitted in 2021, she now runs a season dedicated to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, with Panama and El Salvador also within her cruising range. Accommodation is arranged across nine staterooms, each with a double bed, for a maximum of eighteen guests — a deliberately low guest count for a yacht of this volume, and the reason the voyage keeps the feel of a private charter rather than a small ship. Life on board is spread across four separate outdoor lounge areas, so groups can gather or scatter as the day dictates, plus a formal interior lounge for the warmer hours. Dining works both ways — inside or alfresco — and there is a wine cellar to draw from. A quiet corner is given over to spa treatments and a gym, and the hot tub is positioned to make the most of the coastline slipping past. Fourteen crew look after the yacht and her guests, a ratio that shows in the detail of the service. The itinerary is the real substance here. Days are built around uncrowded coastal towns, tropical forest and mangrove systems, empty beaches and protected ecological reserves where the wildlife density is genuinely remarkable. Farm-to-table cooking, wellness and time in the water round out a programme designed to be explored rather than simply observed. For those who want the Central American Pacific at close range — with the comfort of a properly crewed yacht behind them — this is a rare way to see it.