“Very disappointed with Exoticca. I had a lovely trip to Egypt and decided to go on a trip to Guatemala. Had a terrible time with your on the ground travel partner. I got significantly ill and no one seemed to care. Not from Exoticca and not from Maya Sky. No one followed up once I returned home either. You'd think that a woman traveling on her own would receive follow up after getting very ill from the food at the hotel your travel partner booked. But nothing. My conversation with your customer service was long and tedious but I followed up. I was offered a $100 credit on another trip. That's it. I plan to contact ASTA and USA based government agencies that police things like this. Exoticca deflected any responsibility in the final email I was sent. What an incredible joke. I've asked to be put in contact with the grievance redress officer. Very disappointed. I planned to go to Egypt again but I will book directly with Planet Tours in Egypt.”
Hello Lisa,
We are truly sorry to hear about your experience in Guatemala.
We have carefully reviewed the issues you raised, including the challenges on the bus journey and your concerns with the hotel. We are addressing these with our local partners to improve service and support for our travelers.
An expert is already handling your case and is in direct communication with you. For any further questions, please continue to respond to the same thread.
Thank you for your understanding and patience.
Regards,
Exoticca
“the website is terrible. dates of trip didnt match with flights. I called and operator didnt know the city - halifax, i was leaving from and was no help.
Couldnt book optional activities and cant tell if I need early check in and the one i talked to knew even less.”
Hello Truis,
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We are sorry to hear that you are not satisfied with the services provided.
We understand your request to add excursions to your upcoming trip. However, our terms and conditions, which are highlighted at the time of booking, require that excursion requests be made at least 30 days before the departure date.
As your departure is now less than 30 days away, we regret that we cannot accommodate your request. That said, we recommend reaching out to our team at your destination, as many of our travelers are often able to book excursions upon arrival, subject to availability.
Thank you for your understanding, and we wish you an amazing trip ahead!
Regards,
Exoticca
“I have had a most positive experience booking with Florence. She is extremely courteous and helpful. I would hope she will be my agent on my next journey...China? We'll see.”
“Awful/non-existent customer service
Little/no suport when on a trip.
Hit & miss whether the local guide is any good....we went to India and ended up telling the guide about his own country!”
Hi Nigel,
We are sorry to know that your trip to India did not meet your expectations.
Following the call with one of our agents, we have carried out an investigation to understand what happened and to be able to find solutions. Please check your inbox to have all the details about the outcome.
If you need anything else, please let us know.
Regards,
Exoticca
“Be careful of this company's advertisement, they said that they would give me $3000 as a result of my next booking.
While booking new trip, I asked them to use $500 reward I have received from my Greece trip. Agent told me that we will give you 10% discount which is $1290 so pick one. I ended up choosing 10% discount and let $500 expired.
month later, I was given on $1710 reward money instead of $3000. After so many calls, holding on phone, explaining different customer service agents all over again, opening service tickets, still they are saying that we substract $1290 discount form your $3000 reward. How can you take money from something was going to show up as a result of booking?????
I stop promoting this company until I see what are they gong to do with my opent case.
I was stupide to book trip six months in advance to get $3000 reward which is still being offered.
Be careful, be careful, be careful!!
So many better companies out there.”
Hello,
Thank you for your review and we are sorry to hear that you have experienced issues with your booking. We can see that you made a booking during our Mad Money promotion, which after making a booking entitles customers to a $3k reward to be used at 10% of future bookings for the next 3 years.
We can see you also had a $500 booking reward in your account. On your initial booking, your agent has applied 10% discount from your £3k instead of the $500 as it is a higher value.
We apologize if there has been some miscommunication and if you would have preferred to use only the $500.
Your case is already open with our team who are investigating your booking call to determine the issue and as soon as we have more information we will contact you.
We thank you for your patience while we work towards a solution.
Regards,
Exoticca
“Be very careful with this company, they are saying they are giving £3000 credit, but in fact that is not correct.
I rang up and asked for an agent to explain how I could use this credit, if I bought a trip and received the credit, he said I would be able to use it against future trips from exotica.
So I bought a trip to Turkey for £999, when I received the credit online I was then and only then informed I would get 1000 per year and could use it to recieve a 10% discount on future trips, which is not how it is shown online.
The customer service is really difficult to get in touch with and even they had to look up the terms and conditions as they were unaware of these. In my eyes it is misinformation and I correct advertising.
So I would never ever again book with this company.”
Hello Qamar,
Thank you for your review, and we apologize for any issues you have experienced while completing your booking.
Our support team has been in contact with you regarding this matter and has explained the terms and conditions of the promotion. Kindly note that this information is visible in our website and our Terms & Conditions.
We have received your payment dispute and our team is in contact with you for a resolution. Please direct any further communication through the same thread we have been using.
Thank you for your understanding.
Regards,
Exoticca
“I recently had the unfortunate experience of booking a trip to Greece through Exoticca Travel, and I can’t stress enough how disappointing and frustrating it was. Exoticca markets itself as a convenient travel agency, but in reality, they seem to function more like a middleman, selling your booking to local travel agencies and leaving you at their mercy.
While the tours we participated in were indeed fantastic, allowing us to see historic sites in Greece, the accommodation arrangements were nothing short of disastrous. Imagine staying in hotel rooms straight out of a 1960s horror movie, with no viable way to rectify the situation unless you wanted to scramble for alternative accommodations and transportation on your own – precisely the problem you are trying to avoid by using a travel agency.
The most egregious issue occurred in Mykonos. Our final destination was supposed to be a hotel right on the beach, a highlight of our trip. We were looking forward to this as the grand finale of our Greek adventure. However, upon arrival, we discovered that Exoticca had moved us to a hotel two miles inland, completely removing us from the beachside experience we had been promised. This not only ruined the whole point of our stay but also forced us to spend over $100 to get to the beach on our own.
When we contacted Exoticca to address the issue, their response was disheartening. They informed us that it was within their contractual rights to move us to another hotel as long as it was considered a “like hotel.” Despite this being part of their policy, they failed to acknowledge that moving us inland fundamentally altered the experience we had been promised. Their offered compensation was a $100 rebooking credit for future travel with Exoticca, which is laughable considering the circumstances.
To make matters worse, it became apparent that by moving us to the inland hotel, the travel agencies involved saved $2,800. This substantial savings was obviously at our expense, making it clear that this was not an oversight but a deliberate cost-cutting measure at the cost of our vacation experience.
Despite our attempts to argue that Exoticca had broken their end of the bargain by not providing us with a comparable hotel, we were met with dismissive responses. It was clear that once they had your money, they had no real incentive to ensure your satisfaction.
The whole purpose of visiting Mykonos is to enjoy its famous beaches, and Exoticca’s failure to deliver on this crucial aspect of our trip left us feeling completely let down. It was a disappointing end to what could have been a memorable vacation.
In conclusion, if you value your travel experiences and want to ensure your trip goes as planned, I strongly advise you to avoid Exoticca Travel. Their business model might seem appealing at first, but their lack of accountability and disregard for customer satisfaction will leave you regretting your choice. Save yourself the trouble and book directly with reliable travel services or agencies.”
Hi Nicolette,
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We are sorry to know that your trip did not live up to your expectations and that you are not satisfied with the services provided by Exoticca.
We would like to carry out an investigation to be able to provide you with a suitable response, so we would need your booking number.
Please, share your booking details so we can take a look at it.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Exoticca
“I have bought a tour to Turkey for 11 days for August 2024 . I paid in full for 3 people £2997. On 5 th July I asked to add carry on luggage for round trip . I paid an additional £98 . Then in the next few days when I ask for fly credentials they say you have only paid for one way , you need to pay another £96 for 20 kg checked in luggage . . I said I paid for round trip . Then I booked two packages not included in original itinerary . They cancelled my trip on 17 th July saying I have not paid my full amount . I said I paid for the trip , if you neeed to cancel you could cancel the additional package . I doubt if this company is not a scam company . They have my £3090 with out trying to talk to me inspite of me calling them on 18 th July . They are cheating people and where one department does not talk to the other .”
Hi Munmun,
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We have been checking our records and it seems that your booking was cancelled by mistake. Please allow us to apologize and please be assured that we have taken the necessary measures to ensure that this situation does not happen again.
We can see that, to solve this problem, a new booking was made and you were able to attend to your trip on 20th August as expected.
We have also tried to call you but, unfortunately, we could not reach you. Please check your inbox so you can confirm that the trip went ahead correctly.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
Exoticca
Posted 6 months ago
Hi Munmun,
Thank you for sharing your feedback.
We have been checking our records and it seems that your booking was cancelled by mistake. Please allow us to apologize and please be assured that we have taken the necessary measures to ensure that this situation does not happen again.
After being in contact with you, we wanted to thank you for confirming that, finally, we were able to find a solution and that finally you could travel. We would also like to thank you as you expressed that you enjoyed the trip to Turkey, and we are glad to hear that.
If we can assist you with anything else, don't hesitate to contact us.
Regards,
Exoticca
“This company are not scammers.
Some people may have had issues but complaining about having to take your luggage down yourself is a bit much!
I have done five trips with them... Brazil & Argentina, Costa Rica, Cambodia & Vietnam, Namibia and just a couple of weeks ago to Japan.
I have found them helpful, especially when the friend I was supposed to go to Costa Rica with pulled out, and great value. The trip to Japan was great. It was self guided with passes and tickets given on arrival and included tours too
If you expect to be taken everywhere by coach and have a tour guide with you all the time then book with another company. Read the itinerary and what is included properly and make your decision.
I wouldn't have used them for so many trips if they weren't good.
We had the same guide all the way through in Namibia because there is no other way than road to get around and the roads are rough! Some amazing hotels included and our guide was great.
In my opinion Exoticca is a company that offers great value for money.
It is most certainly not a scam.”
Hi,
We appreciate your feedback and are delighted to know you enjoyed our curated experiences. Your satisfaction is our top priority, and we look forward to serving you again soon.
Regards,
Exoticca
“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.”
