Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromJudith G

  Date: 10/04/2022

  1 star
  My daughter and I booked a 11 night trip to ******. It was a total nightmare. We flew out of ************* through ****** and then into Athens. Our flight was one hour late and we arrived at 1:30 am. The transfer agent was not at the airport to pick us up. We tried calling the emergency number and no one answered. We took a 60 Euro taxi ride to the hotel on our trip itinerary only to be told they didn't have a reservation for us! They sent us to another hotel in a very BAD area and we finally got to bed at 3:30 am. We made several calls and what's app messages to Exoticca with no response. We went to dinner that night and my purse was stolen by a very organized pack of thieves. I again tried to contact Exoticca with no response. I had no passport, no money, no drivers license, no cell phone! Talk about TRIP DISRUPTION! The whole trip was ruined. I filed a police report with the help of the restaurant employees and went to the US embassy the following day to get an emergency passport. Still no communication from Exoticca! We did not hear from any of the local transfer agents the entire time we were in ******. I've spent hours and thousands of dollars trying to get my life back after this disastrous trip. Exoticca still hasn't contacted me.

• Review fromPranay S.

  Date: 09/28/2022

  1 star
  Although we've not yet taken our trip, we're extremely disappointed in our experience thus far. We booked our trip in mid 2021 for travel in Nov 2022. At the time of booking, there were not flight options availed as we were approx.. 1.5 years from traveling, this is understandable. We were told that we could cancel our booking 60 days before departure (due to COVID, etc.. for a full refund). We were also told that we would have an option to select our flight schedule (maybe for additional charges) if the flight schedule did not suit us.Well, exactly 59 days before our trip, Exoticca booked our flights with over 30+ hours on our return journey (normally takes between 18 - 22 hours). When we inquired to change our flights for extra charges, they flat out refused to do so, stating that their policy had changed and there was nothing they could do. The only option they provided was for us to cancel our existing booking (70% penalty) and re-book.We even offered to pay a bit extra (their current online was showing other flights for $150-$200 more), but they still refused to do anything!If the experience is bad so far, I'm not sure what it'll be when the trip actually starts!

• Review fromjanice f

  Date: 09/26/2022

  1 star
  Exoticca is the worst travel agency I have ever dealt with. The service is unacceptable with clearly a bunch of people who doesn't care about their clients. This trip to ************/Zanzibar is starting off on the wrong path with total disappointments. We asked for upgraded flights and were told at the time of booking this would be an option to us when the agent is booking the flight. This obviously wasn't offered to us and we were booked in economy, which will be onerous to sit on a 15 hour flight. My friend has accessibility issues and this will definitely be an uncomfortable for her. Secondly the hotels provided to us are being changed 2 weeks before our scheduled flights and now they are saying that we can't change the hotel under no circumstance. Even if I want to pay for the upgraded lodge. When asked for a manager's assistance this is not possible according CSR as he/she can't assist in this matter. I am under the assumption is that is a small company with no customer service skills who just takes money and promises the moon. Quite frustrated and disappointed that we chose this company to travel on "once in a lifetime adventure".*****

• Review fromTanesha H.

  Date: 09/23/2022

  1 star
  We booked a dream vacation from ***** to ******** to ********. Exottica gave us a hotel in ************ instead of *****. I literally had to call 7 times to get it changed. We also asked for non-stop flights when available. We received the worst, cheapest flights even after explaining we would pay extra. We had 9 flights to go 3 places, all with long layovers, some with layovers as long as 6 hours. The arrival/departure in ***** was perfect. ******** was really bad. 1st, we were never told about a tourist **** and was detained until we paid the amount in ******. 2nd, the information given to us about who would pick us up was incorrect. We were told that the company severed ties with Exottica and couldnt help us. The person who picked us up didnt speak English and had no clue what to do with us. I called the emergency Exottica number to no avail. It was poorly executed and very frustrating. They picked us up 5 hours early on departure. ******** was wonderful and so was the arrival/departure. We travel a lot but I couldnt recommend this company.

• Review fromMary Faith N

  Date: 09/11/2022

  1 star
  Worst company I ever used! From the very start they were horrible. **************** was mostly unavailable and didn't answer any questions. When we finally got our booking two weeks before the trip, we saw that they booked us to leave from ****** (**********) and return to LaGuardia (********) with a long stop over in **************. I complained to no avail. I can't tell you how inconvenient this was for us. When we got to ****, things definitely didn't improve. We never saw anyone from Exoticca since they subbed the trip out to a local contractor called ******. We never say the same guide or drive twice. No one could give us any information on the trip. We didn't get times of the activities until late the night before. The planning was terrible. They had us arriving at our hotels at 1:30 or 2:00 am with a 5am pick up for our activities. Who does that? There were so many missed opportunities (such as stopping for ten minutes at a great vista) because the "team" of driver and guide only wanted to get us to our drop off location as quickly as possible so they could go to the next group. The activities were short and there was a lot of free time. I like a nice mix of structured tours and free time but this was too much!Too many things to list but I will say this is the worst trip I was ever on. Stay far away! There are so many better companies for the same price.

• Review fromLunda R

  Date: 09/07/2022

  1 star
  I booked a trip for 2 to ******. Flight was to leave from *********** ******* stated we would travel before noon on September 27th, 2022. Our actual flight now leaves at 7:40 pm and we arrive after midnight a day later. We miss a whole day, will get to our hotel around 3:00 am & have to get up the next day by 8:00 am to start our busy in ******. I called to have our flight changed to leave in the morning as stated & have not heated a word back. We leave in 20 days. Very dissatisfied with their customer **************** accommodations.