Exoticca  Reviews 31,003

Fantastic value for dollar! Knowledgeable guides, helpful hotel staff, fantastic excursions to really get a sense of the country, customs, people and perspectives. Some layover times were long (5 hours), the buffet meals aren’t “authentic” cuisine, presumably to accommodate different palates. Some “glitches” with the hotels re simple accommodations ie needing to ask for toilet paper upon arrival. All in all, though, exceedingly well organized, great staff, easy to navigate re driver pickups at airport and throughout the journey. Have done 3 trips with Exoticca (2 as a solo), always felt very safe. Have already booked my next 3 trips with Exoticca and recommended them to all my friends and family.

This was mine and my husband’s first trip to Portugal and our first trip with Exoticca. It was fantastic.
Portugal is beautiful!
Our tour guide, Anton had incredibly in-depth knowledge of all of the areas we visited. He was always interesting, personable, knowledgeable and timely. He did a fantastic job keeping us on schedule while not rushing us or speeding through things he wanted us to know about the areas we were visiting.

Jordan and Egypt
- Customer service was non-existent. No person to person contact. Weeks to get a response online.
- Excessive up charge on all tours that can be bought for half the price at the locations.
- No accountability for the quality of the tours as the contract out to local operators once the sale is made.
- Massive confusion on the round with itinerary provided by Exoticca not matching the delivery at the location.
- This is not a budget cost. The cost of Exoticca was similar to what I paid for a far superior experience with Eldertreks.
- All the travellers on my tour had a "beef" and lots of dissatisfaction. One promised to go public with her dissatisfaction.
- The guide only gave us 40 minutes to tour the Valley of The Kings in Egypt which is a crime. We were short on time because he took us to an alabaster vendor which was not on the itinerary.
- Stay away from Exoticca

I told travel agent Michael up front that I don't have passport for one passenger. I have applied for the passport. Now I am getting nasty messages from Exoticca saying I will be fined if I don't update passenger information immediately. Michael said that I owed 50% of the cost up front and charged me $2500. I am not sure what math is used where 50% of $4000 is $2500. You have no one that answers the phone for customer support and Michael does not answer his email either. Sent a message a day ago to cancel the trip for a full refund of the deposit as I have no confidence that your company can or will perform. Have heard absolutely nothing

The first representative I spoke with had a terrible connection. It sounded like she was talking in a shell and it was not understandable so I had to call back. The second representative had a better connection. His English wasn't great that he was very helpful and very friendly and ultimately we were able to accomplish the purchase, although not at the price that I believed was advertised on the website

He answered my questions.
He was a little short but probably had a call waiting.

Although he didn't respond to my texts from the prior day.

Everything was very easy to customize and book.

I booked a trip to Egypt for March 2026. My flight has been cancelled and cannot get anyone to call me back or help me. I’ve messages through Facebook, what’s app and filled out the help form. I’ve received no replies.

Great tour to Portugal! I like the Exoticca style - well balanced guided tour and free time. The tour's coverage of attractions are pretty good, except a disappointment of missing Pena Castle.

Poor organization/communication/service. Went to Peru in September, great itinerary on paper. Reality was different. Exoticca advertised "approximately 2 and 1/2 hours at Machu Picchu". In reality, we were there less than one hour. Our timed entrance ticket was for 3:15 and the site closes at 5. So already nowhere near 2 1/2 hours. But it gets worse. The bus we were on (after waiting hours in Machu Picchu town at bottom of mountain) arrived at the site at 3:30, but we could not enter the site until our entire group (strangers but on the same Exoticca tour) had arrived. Exoticca put the group on different buses to get up the hill so we had to wait for 2 other buses to arrive. Then everybody's kid had to go the restroom (you have to pay). Soooo, we entered the site at 4 pm ( looked at my phone to be sure). The guide said he could rush the tour but we couldn't see everything, and we had to start heading back to the exit around 4:45. So if this is to be the highlight of your trip...big disappointment. Exoticca had to know the site closes at 5. And which people were booked to enter at the same time but split them up anyway. The group was also split between multiple hotels as well (not upgrades, just the basic rate) so that a great deal of time was spent herding the group to numerous stops in a van. There is a great disparity between the hotels even at the same rate. Some good, some not so good. I guess they have to spread the people around to meet their quote to the various hotels, but this was awful when you are the last hotel stop and have to sit in traffic while being ferried around the city. At one point on the trip I waited 7 hours for my luggage to arrive from previous hotel which was NOT 7 hours away. No clue why the luggage went in a separate vehicle because there was room in the van we rode in. The luggage van would have had to make the same number of stops as we did in the first van, not very efficient use of time in a place like Cusco and Lima. Crazy thought - since there were 2 vans hired - couldn't the people ride with their own luggage?? Trying to get an answer from Exoticca was impossible, they pointed to Condor as their local agent and they could not help. I've now booked another trip with Exoticca but my outbound flight was cancelled 2 weeks ago. Exoticca "Customer Service" (funny name for a group that won't answer the phone for hours, won't/can't help if they do, and won't answer emails) cannot advise if/when I will get a new flight, their Chat Bot can;t help and won't connect me to a human when requested to do so. Website tells me to fill out a form and send in, which I did with no response for 2 weeks now. "government shutdown" is being used as an excuse on their automated phone line, but this "service" is pretty much the same as I received on prior booking inquiries. Just another excuse.

Morocco good destination to travel I travel I didn’t expect that I can meet this lovely guide Filali Abdelali was best very knowledgeable very professional very patient with people I can wait to return back and meet with Filali again he made our trip very comfortable and we well recommend to loot of travelers I now tank you so much from deep of my heart I’m leaving Morocco and keep thinking of you Mr Filali 5 stars rate you are best

Grand tour and Kasbah in Morocco 10 days. I really enjoyed this tour most especially having filali Abdelali as our tour manager!! Morocco is a special country that I hope to visit again in the future.

Grand your and kasbah in Morocco we have lovely time on tour with Filali Abxelali his excellent guide very knowledgeable, considerate, always available with extraordinary attention to detail - - all while maintaining a tight schedule.
Definitely well recommend thanks Mr Filali

I was sent an email to review my passport information. During the review, I realize that my birthdate was incorrect. And I have had the hardest time correcting this information. I tried reaching out to you through the WhatsApp app and also by email and also by Facebook messenger. And I have never gotten any responses. And I can’t figure out a phone number to call if I live in the United States. So I’m very disappointed in the difficulty and being able to change/update my birthdate For my trip.

Very Disappointed – Exoticca Failed to Inform Us About Visa Requirements and We Lost Over $6,000

I am writing this review with deep disappointment after many years of traveling with Exoticca. My family and I have joined several of their tours in the past — Vietnam, Egypt, Jordan, Ecuador, and more — and we never had any issues. Exoticca always informed us clearly if a visa was required for any destination.

However, for our recent trip to Kenya, Exoticca failed to notify us that we needed to obtain our own visa. We are retired and not very comfortable with technology, and we rely heavily on Exoticca’s guidance, just as we have done many times before. This time, we were never told by email or by any clear communication that a visa was required.

When we arrived at the airport, we were shocked to be denied boarding because we did not have visas. This was extremely stressful and heartbreaking. After paying almost $8,000 for the trip, Exoticca refunded only about 25%, and we ended up losing more than $6,000 because of their lack of communication.

Exoticca later pointed to a small line hidden in their website’s terms and conditions. This is not fair or professional. Important information like visa requirements must be clearly communicated directly by email, especially when customers rely on the agency’s guidance.

Exoticca has chosen to ignore their legal obligation under Canadian law.

Under s.36(e)(i) of Ontario Regulation 26/5 under Canada Travel Industry Act, 2002, s.o. 2002, c.30, Schedule D it states:

(e)  in the case of proposed travel outside Canada, advise the customer,
• (i)  about typical information and travel documents, such as passports, visas and affidavits, that will be needed for each person for whom travel services are being purchased,

This experience has caused us financial loss, emotional stress, and a loss of trust in a company we have used many times. I hope Exoticca recognizes how unfair this situation is and compensates us for the amount we lost, as this mistake was not ours. It is their legal responsibility to inform travelers of essential entry requirements, as they have always done in the past.

I am sharing this experience so other travelers — especially seniors or those not familiar with technology — are aware of how easily something like this can happen, and how costly it can be.

Carin is very nice and professional staff. She listened my problem and tried to help me. She kept her promises to call me back after she talked to her manager the next day.

We’ve used them to book 4 trips with very minimal issues which were quickly and easily addressed.

Great website and staff. I've travelled several times with Exotica and everything has been as advertised. Any small issues or queries are quickly resolved. I would recommend to family and friends.