About us
A New Way Of Seeing The World
Two Words, One Motion
Anakata was built from the roots – ana for “up” or "through" and kata for "down" or "against" — words older than any map you've seen of these islands that suggest motion through opposing forces. Land and sea. Water and fire. That’s how we live and breathe Galápagos.
Where Exploration Was Redefined
Our first expeditions begin where exploration itself was redefined: the Galápagos Islands. Here, wildlife moves without fear of you, cold currents from the far south meet warm equatorial ones, and a landscape still looks like the one Darwin stepped onto in 1835. It is not a place you visit so much as a place you're let into.
These expeditions aren't simply trips. They are stories that only happen once. Each voyage is shaped by the meeting of place, guide, weather, and guest. Our custom-designed yachts serve as mobile basecamps — intimate, design-forward, and fluid — built to put you inside a landscape still being born, rather than looking at the islands from afar. The same volcanic hotspot that raised the oldest islands some four million years ago is still building new ones today.
Explore ExpeditionsOur Story
A Way of Looking, Inherited
Before there was a brand, there was a relationship. In the early 1980s, Anakata's founding family saw in Galápagos something few had yet learned to see: that the archipelago isn't a destination to be consumed, it's an ecosystem to be respected. Since then, the family has dedicated deep care to the islands, built extensive relationships with the people who call these islands home, and found ways to connect the islands to the world.
That relationship became a way of life— built vessel by vessel, decade by decade, until it was recognized by some of the most selective institutions in global luxury travel.
Today, the third generation of that same family is building Anakata, carrying the same instinct to the most remote corners of the planet.
We didn't inherit a business. We inherited a way of looking.
The Timeline
Generation One
the origin
In the 1980s, Anakata's founding family saw something in Galápagos that few had yet learned to see: that the archipelago is not a destination to be consumed, but an ecosystem to be respected. They started with a land-based hotel. It didn't take long to see its limits. From the shore, guests could reach only a small part of the islands. The outer islands, the early-morning landings and most of the wildlife were too far away to reach properly. The family's answer was to take guests to sea. They built the first expedition yachts of their kind in Galápagos. The yachts were small and comfortable, and they sailed at night so guests woke up at a new island each morning. Three yachts launched the idea: Eric, Letty and Flamingo. They turned a visit into a true expedition and set the standard for travel in the islands.
Generation Two
The deepening
The second generation began by improving what they had inherited. The original yachts were upgraded, and then three new ships joined the fleet. With them came a new idea in Galápagos: premium luxury expedition. The experience on board became fully luxurious, but the expedition stayed at its center. Every comfort was designed to support time in the islands, not to replace it. The family also launched sustainability initiatives across the archipelago, so that the way they operated gave back to the ecosystem their guests came to see. The model made them pioneers. Others soon followed. It also took the family's influence beyond its own fleet. Santiago Dunn led Ecoventura for 30 years and brought Silversea here, and he built strategic alliances with other companies to advance sustainability in the islands.
Generation Three
The next chapter
Anakata is not a new family entering Galápagos. It is the third generation of the same family, and once again the fleet is being built from scratch — the way the first one was. Bespoke vessels, a broader geographic ambition: the details are new, the instinct underneath them isn't. Same philosophy, same water, carried now to the farthest corners of the planet.
Deep Discovery
Our journeys are about transcending the known to attain a new perspective on life.
Anakata is not a vacation. It’s a pursuit. A passage.
Sustainability
& Conservation
Respect for this ecosystem was never a marketing position. It's a partnership. Through the Anakata Galápagos Conservation Fund, managed by Fundación Jocotoco, every voyage will give back to the islands.
Meet Our Founders
Santiago Dunn
Co-Founder, CEO
Santiago Dunn is a recognized leader and pioneer in luxury expedition travel, with nearly three decades of experience transforming the industry. As former CEO and President of Ecoventura, a Galápagos-based yacht operator affiliated with Relais & Châteaux, he oversaw the company’s evolution from traditional expeditions into a leading ultra-luxury platform, personally designing and building a bespoke fleet of yachts that set new standards for travel in the Galápagos.
From 2012 to 2018, Santiago also successfully introduced the Silversea brand to the region, repositioning Silver Galápagos as the fleet’s highest-rated ship. In 2022, Santiago orchestrated Ecoventura’s landmark sale to Abercrombie & Kent, later becoming CEO of A&K South America, where he expanded the group's regional cruise and lodging offerings.
Santiago Dunn Bustamante
Co-Founder, Director of Commercial Strategy & Sustainability
Santiago Dunn Bustamante spent much of his childhood in the Galápagos Islands, watching his father transform the region's yachting industry and lead conservation work alongside the Galápagos National Park and the World Wildlife Fund — an inheritance that shaped how he sees the world before he had the language for it.
He went on to earn a degree in Business Administration with specializations in Finance and Sustainability Management from American University, graduating in 2021. He spent several years in New York in the financial services industry. In 2025, he returned to the water that raised him, to help build Anakata, and, quietly, toward the other corners of Ecuador the world hasn't met yet.
The most profound journeys shouldn’t just serve you, they should change how you see the world.
Santiago Dunn
Continue the Story
A once-in-a-lifetime expedition.
Inaugural Sailing: Fall 2027
