“I recently booked a trip through Exoticca, and overall, it was a great experience. The itinerary was well-organized, covering both major attractions and some lesser-known spots that were real highlights. The customer service was responsive and helpful, which made the planning process a lot smoother. The accommodations exceeded my expectations, and the local guides were knowledgeable and friendly. There were a few minor hiccups, but nothing that seriously impacted the trip. I would recommend Exoticca for a well-planned, enjoyable vacation.”
Hi
We are honored by your wonderful review. Your satisfaction is our ultimate goal, and we are thrilled that we hit the mark for you. We can’t wait to serve you again soon!
Regards,
Exoticca
“I have found Exoticca extremely helpful, especially the help I neede recently to change my upcoming trip. Reginald and Carly were brilliant, they did exactly what I neede and were helpful, proffesional and overall great at their jobs, you are STARS, thankyou, Wendy.”
Hi Wendy,
We are so grateful for your kind words and 5-star rating! Our team works hard to ensure every customer has a memorable experience. If there’s anything else we can do to make your next holiday even better, please let us know.
Regards,
Exoticca
“Everything including transportation, time that was indicated on schedule with tours, and hotel reservations were exactly what they have stated in the itinerary. No mishaps. All was excellent except the tour guide. She did what was expected no more and no less. She could have made it so it would have been little more lively and fun instead of just reading off the script. Also giving some extra information as what we could do with few hours of time for the people who arrive too early (due to the flight)or leaving little late on the last day would been nice. I had to google it to find out about the yellow and red tram system and sharing that information would have been extremely helpful. But overall Exotica delivered what was promised. I’m taking Costa Rica vacation coming December and looking forward to it.”
Hi Kim,
Your feedback made our day!
We are ecstatic to hear that you had a great time on your trip with Exoticca. We can’t wait to welcome you back for another fantastic experience.
If you need anything else, just let us know.
Regards,
Exoticca
“DON’T USE!!!
Exoticca, in two different reply’s online, that anyone can view, said they will get in touch with me. I received not one call.
I’ve used Exotica twice. Italy was my worse experience ever. You had to pay to go to every hotel by taxi yourself and find every place on your own. No transfers to hotels or airports. Guides don’t show up. Exoticca was called by everyone waiting for the guide at the Colleseum to show up. My phone bill was so high from calling. They told us he was there. They told us to look at two different place to find them. We had around 15 people that we didn’t know, calling and looking everywhere that we did. Exoticca told me he did not show up. We paid again so we can see the Coliseum, because we wouldn’t be back. They would not refund that excursion either.
Just went to Switzerland. My husband had a detached retina. We did not have travel insurance. We booked an excursion with Exoticca to take on the seventh day for almost $400. My guide told me that Exotica canceled my flight for my husband and my excursion. Exotica called me a liar saying that he can’t possibly know that. They got the money back, and will give me zero in return. This is an awful, awful company. Please go with Gate one or smarttours. I travel the world. I’ve used many companies that I book myself, through their company. I’ve never had such irresponsible business owners as this one. They lost me who booked four trips with them. I’m warning you. They also make u take your luggage into the hotel and into your room yourself and when you’re leaving do the same thing bring your luggage to the lobby and then outside yourself. We went to seven different hotels and had to do this each day. Everyone said that their backs were hurting badly by the end of the trip. I don’t want to say “I told you so”. I’m not a disgruntled client, I just want my money back for an excursion that wasn’t used, and I was told it was canceled and call or text Exoticca to get my money back.
EXOTICCA said it never canceled my husbands flight or his excursion. The airplane trip from Lisbon to Newark had someone sitting next to me. This proved they did cancel my husband’s flight and lied to me. They are good at lying.”
Hi Serri,
Many thanks for sharing your feedback.
Please allow us to apologize for the inconveniences you encountered during your trip.
According to our records, we can see that one of our agents called you last May regarding this matter. An investigation was carried out and the outcome was shared with you via email on June 4th.
If you still have any questions, doubts or additional comments regarding this case, please reply to the last email of the thread sent on July 10th.
If you need anything else, do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards,
Exoticca
“Taxim square, mayday.
In the problems, you shine. Or not.
Our lovely guide told you that taxim square would kick off, 4 days out, but you ignored his advice. We walked 40 minutes through teargas and god knows what, tugging our suitcases. As soon as there was an issue, you were nowhere in sight. Exoticca, never again!”
Hi,
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
Please allow us to apologize for any inconvenience that you encountered during your trip. At Exoticca we strive for customer satisfaction, and we are sorry to hear that this is not the case.
We would like to study your case so please, share your booking number so we can start an investigation.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Exoticca
“I gave them a trip deposit over $1500, and long after confirming my reservations, they canceled everything and refused to refund a penny, even though they provided absolutely nothing in return for my deposit.”
“I would have liked to have given no stars, without a doubt the worst company I have travelled with. After I had paid for the trip I struggled to make contact with the company and when things went wrong when travelling the “help desk” was as much use as a chocolate teapot!!!”
“First of all gave us wrong itinerary for trip in Jordan and Turkey and still haven't sent it. Also our trip includes flight from Jordan to Beirut then on to Turkey. We feel it is not safe to fly to Beirut. Gov say no Travel to Beirut but company brush aside our concerns. We feel unsafe going there. Does anyone know if it is allowed to have stop over in Beirut”
“I would regard this company as scammers be very careful if you book with them. I booked thinking that I would be covered by the laws on change of mind if bought on line. I booked at 9pm and cancelled first thing the next morning. They took £1600 from me and gave me nothing back. It’s in their terms and conditions so no comeback. I was heartbroken that’s a lot of money for me!! They would easily be able to resell the flights. Totally unacceptable. I looked at trustpilot and reviews seemed ok . Don’t know how! Then I looked further and found all the really bad reviews. This company should be stopped!!”
“My wife and I took a three week tour of Madagacar with Exoticca in December 2023 We were both angry and upset that what should have been an amazing trip was blighted by a number a significant issues which put our health and well-being at risk.
Journey times
We wereaware that the roads in Madagascar are in a very poor condition when we decided to take the trip. However, it would be reasonable for us to expect some degree of accuracy in the journey timings given in the itinerary. In fact, what we discovered was that these timings were systematic underestimates, such that all journeys were 25% longer in duration than indicated in the tour literature. This left our pleasant and helpful local guides, who must have been well aware of this, in the invidious position of having to lie to us from the start of the trip.
As an example, the journey from Antsirabe to Morondava was listed in the itinerary as “between 8 and 10 hours”. In fact, the outward journey took 13 hours and the return journey 12! Had we been made aware of the actual trip durations we probably would not have booked the holiday in the first place – and I know that this is true of many other people on the trip. On returning I took a look at some similar trips offered by other companies who cover the same journey and all estimate that trip to take 12 hours. I bitterly regret not doing the same research before we booked with Exoticca, but I didn’t realise it would be necessary to check the accuracy of journey times from a reputable tour company. This is simple dishonesty.
Meals
Not only were the journey times listed in the itinerary wildly inaccurate, they also allowed no provision for us to buy adequate food during the trip. Once again, nowhere in the trip itinerary was it explained that there would be no meal stops but rather stops at service stations to make use of the limited toilet facilities with the opportunity to buy snacks and crisps only.
Vehicle condition
Whilst our driver was magnificent, the vehicle he was piloting certainly was not. The coach provided had no air conditioning – or if it did, it was not working. At one point the guides asked us to shut the windows to allow them to turn the air conditioning on which we duly did. We realised fairly quickly that the temperature inside the coach was rising to an unbearable level and then it was back to opening all the windows and letting in the hot air again. If you are going to transport people on a coach for 12 hours I think it would be reasonable to expect that air conditioning be provided.
Journey health risks
Collect together a group of holiday makers and put them in an inadequately ventilated coach for a ridiculous number of hours each day in a very hot country. Provide no opportunity to buy adequate nutrition and offer toilet facilities – whilst better than afforded to the vast majority of the population – which are frequently dirty and without handwashing opportunities. It is no wonder I think that 19 of the 20 people in our party experienced some form of gastro enteritis during the trip.
No Relief Driver
It is completely unacceptable that anyone should be in charge of a vehicle driving 20 people with no adequate break for up to 13 hours at a stretch. Our driver was superhuman – but he needed to be given the demands placed upon him and he should never have been put in that position. Nor should we as passengers have been put at risk in that way!
Lack of contingency planning and risk assessment
I was unfortunate enough to get the worst case of gastro-enteritis amongst our group. I became dehydrated and delirious and was unable to stand . As we were near a city our group were able to divert to allow me to see a doctor. What particularly concerned me was that the guides seemed to have no plan of action for this scenario. In fact they said to my wife “I don’t know what we would have done if we’d been out in the country somewhere”. This was less than reassuring! I considered myself fortunate that I was able to reach a doctor but have no faith that the outcome would have been as good had my illness occurred further away from a city. It also seemed that they had no plan for splitting the group in this situation, so the rest of the party were left kicking their heels in a hotel for two hours before some of them rightly rebelled and demanded that they continue on with their long and arduous journey. It was only because we were able to pay the doctor to drive us to the hotel in his own car that we were able to re-join the party.
Excursion descriptions
We visited Isalo National Park – a trip rated as “active” in the itinerary – which should have meant we would be required to “walk for a few hours on comfortable terrain”. In fact the ground conditions were quite difficult. The path certainly wasn’t level and definitely could not be described as comfortable. We were being asked to walk on a narrow slippery path up a rocky ravine. This wasn’t an issue for me – I was able to undertake the walk but my wife struggled and was very disappointed to have to stop halfway and wait for the rest of the party to return. She was not alone in having to do so. One lady was unfortunate enough to fall and fracture her ankle!
We all understand accidents will happen. However, by failing to provide an accurate description of conditions Exoticca are preventing people from making appropriate decisions for their own protection. Given the isolated nature of this National Park I have to wonder whether any contingency plans are in place should someone injure themselves more seriously to the point where they are unable to walk or perhaps suffer a head injury. I worry that occurring out here so far from medical assistance any such accident might well prove life threatening.
If you're considering travelling with Exoticca I would say think again - they are cheap - but this is at the expense of your health and safety.
we have submitted a complaint to ABTA”
“Sold booking for £3200. Errors in booking made by exoticca, informed by us same day but refuse to correct unless pay them more money.
Will not cancel either. Now seen on other reviews that there is a law stating can cancel within 1rdays of booking. Exoticca deny this but I will be looking into the law & if correct start legal proceedings against this company.
DO NOT TRUST them!!
It's been most stressful experience since day booked so definitely not the relaxing organised trip we expected.”
“Absolutely scammers!
Took £3200 for paid trip all paid, now want extra £200 for change a name (that was their mistake).
Exotica online email and phone service people are unwell, blame their customers but coincidentally can't provide any proof (I know why - because it doesn't exist).
DO NOT TRUST them.
First time trip with them as usually book and arrange everything tour/trip/travel/Hotel wise independently - will definitely be last.
I really can't emphasise enough how bad they are. Please save yourself the money and avoid this scamming company. We are going through ABTA now but it's a lot of unnecessary stress that wouldn't be necessary if decent travel company”
“We booked in October 2023 to go in the Egypt pyramid nile cruise in March 2024. Paid a first instalment of £1,800. However we have decided not to go. They tell us they keep the instalment we paid as a deposit and a penalty. Surely not the full amount? I ask them how much is the deposit? No answer. I ask can we use the instalment towards a different holiday? No answer. I've emailed again twice this request? No answer. In 3 weeks time if we don't pay the outstanding amount, they cancel the holiday and keep our instalment of £1,618. This is all one big joke!”
“xoticca is basically a travel broker. Having just come back from Costa Rica we would never use them again. There is no one on the ground if things go wrong. When we complained about the safety of one of the hotels we were told that reviews on such platforms as booking.com had given good ratings. Is this how they chose their hotels? One of ours had an open building site with huge glass shards in the ground outside our room. We travelled with friends but they were put in different trips, hotels and transport. We would never use this company again. We are well travelled and have done independent trips, volunteering and used other travel companies. This was shocking!”
“I travelled to Morocco this month with them - it was the best trip of my life! No negatives whatsoever. Just that a lot of time you is spent on this transferring between cities but then you cover so much ground in your trip…”
“Due to unexpected circumstances I had to cancel the holiday a few days after booking. Exotica terms and conditions state that they retain 70% of the deposit for cancellations. (This in itself is remarkable). However under English law there is a 14 day cooling off period for online contracts etc. Every attempt to contact the firm met with no response. (Online form, phone, emails and Signed For letters). Eventually I contacted my credit card company for a refund and provided the evidence required. The credit card company gave me a balance adjustment for what Exoticca had received from me.
Exoticca failed to honour their duty to provide a full refund as required by the law.”
“This is a worse trip in my experience. I do not recommended. Worst organization of tours, no hotel pickups, every time it's up to half an hour walk each way for a 2 hour tour. Flight schedule is also terrible. "Short flight " from trip description became 12 hour disaster spent at airport. In short, DO NOT use them, EVER”
“I am booked to go to Turkey with Exoticca this Saturday. My hotel in Istanbul has been changed at a few day’s notice. Terms and conditions state it must be of comparable standard. However the replacement hotel is on a motorway nowhere near the city centre. The traveling time to the old city has more than tripled to 1.5hrs. The recent reviews of the replacement hotel are really dire at 1star. Exoticca say there is nothing they can do.
I shall post again following the holiday.”
“Just finished 11 days in Turkey, the wonders of Anatolia. The long hours of travelling on the coach from one town to another is too much. The night mare started when the tour company told our tour guide that the tour will stop immediately because exoticca did not pay the tour company in Turkey. The tour campany said that we need to sort it out with exoticca to sort the problem. We called exoticca and money was sent to the tour company. We don't need this.”
