While had a good time in Argentina and at FALLS our trip ended with lots of frustratios in RIO.(Except our flight from Beunos Aires to Iguazu Falls was delayed more than five & half hours & we checked in hotel around 4am.)
After very good service at Beunos Aires by MANUELA, we had no personal or phone service at RIO. Only text msg. Service.

If there is a contest for worst hotel in the area,

B & B HOTELS will qualify for or may be a winner!
There were no phones in the rooms. WHATSAPP msg. Service only which sometimes were ignored. After our request for 2 beds we wound up with one KING BED which was without BLANKET/COMFORTER. Initial WhatsApp msg. Request for blanket was ignored.
There were no cups in the rooms. SAFE BOX was not secured. Any one can carry it with valuable items. Refrigerator was without minibar.
BATHROOM
NO towel racks and bars. Cheap plastic toilet seat. Smallest sink you can buy. Cheap hand soap, body wash & shampoo are all one same quality with different labels. No conditioner. Toilet paper holder was loose.
When asked about the star rating of B&B, the response was with good reviews( or FAKE REVIES?) & star rating was not known by EXOTICCA agent by WhatsApp msg.

Finally, we don't know how many stars hotel we stayed in RIO but the experience was like staying in cheap HOSTEL!
Our group fellow travellers shared the same worst experience.

NOTE: On March 16 2025, there were no elevator service in the morning. Our room no.704. Most people were using stairs ( some with luggage for chkout.) including ourselves with bed knees!
YES, only good thing about B&B HOTELS that it is close to the beach.

I had a wonderful experience. Great value for the money. Our guide Tiago was amazing

I enjoyed the whole Costa Rica experience with Exxotica.

Our trip to Peru was informative and enjoyable, although different than our previous experiences with Exoticca. Our flight was delayed 5 hours which I blame the airlines; United; and the fact that we had connecting flights; but our driver was there at 3:30am to pick us up. We missed our first night in Lima but luckily our town tour was in the afternoon. The Lima hotel was convenient and comfortable, we were able to walk to a view of the Pacific Coast. We were not with a designated group l, we met a lot of people but never travelled with them throughout our tour; which is different than our other experiences. Our short flight to Cusco was easy; make sure you bring your passport. We travelled this trip with carry on suitcases only and it made a huge difference with the amount of flights we had. The buses were fine, due to the small group size it wasn't large but comfortable, no wifi available. The train to Machu Pichu was very good, we didn't upgrade; there was no need as all the cars were the same, save your money. Be prepared for all weather, dollar store ponchos are perfect when it starts to rain, it covered my backpack as well. This trip is not for the short of breath; due to the elevation a lot of people had difficulty breathing and the terrain was challenging. Our hotel in Urubumba was nice; very hard bed; beautiful grounds the only place to eat but the food was good. We did the full day of the Sacred Valley and very happy that we did, saw a random parade of the Peruvian people; authentic celebrations; and our tour guide Juan Lazo was more than happy to stop our bus so we could experience this tradition. We toured a textile shop with llamas, and Alpaca. They did demonstration of weaving and the prices and quality of their products were excellent, I'd suggest buying your scarf, table runner, sweater,etc from them; I saw similar at triple the price at the airport. We had a buffet lunch included with this upgrade and it was fantastic at a beautiful hotel. We finally arrived at our hotel in Cusco, but it was probably the worst hotel we've experienced with the charm category in all four trips we've gone on. We were told not to walk around outside, the restaurant was understaffed, the food was adequate for dinner but the included breakfast was terrible, very limited choice; toast. Back to the airport to fly back to Lima; ask to sit together on this flight or you'll be sitting separately from your travel companion. We had free time in Lima, our flight home the next day was very late; 11:55pm; our hotel graciously gave us late check our for a reasonable cost.
Overall we enjoyed our trip to Peru, we've already booked our next tour with Exoticca!

This was my first trip with Exoticca, was lucky to have Sara as our guide, she is very knowledgeable about Italian history, we learned a lot from her lectures. She was also very patient and took care of everyone's needs.

This company is great. I was leary at first with the name and how adorable the prices were, surely it's a scam site I thought. But quite the contrary it was wonderful. The entire tour went so smooth. When we met up with a larger group a few days in the tour guide was very attentive. She stayed with us the entire time and updated us every day of the itinerary. "Follow the leader" was great! We did the 11 days adventrue tour in Italy so when we departed from the 11 day group all the transfers back to our other destination were very comfortable. The drivers were all very nice. The hotels were all very clean and comfortable also. 10 out 10 would travel with this company again!

My husband and I went on a tour of Italy from Rome Northward, Florance, Venice, ending in Milan along with Lake Como and Lugano, Switzerland. We saw Rome for 2 days before heading to Florence and spending a couple of hours in Orvieto and Assisi along the way. I really loved the hour and a half we spent in Orvieto and Assisi and would love to spend a couple of days there in the future. We then spent a two or three days in Florence before heading to Venice, seeing I think Bologna and Pavlova briefly along the way. We spent a couple of days in Venice (wish we had 1 more day in Venice) and then more than half of our tour group went home, and the other half - my husband and I included - headed to Milan for an optional 'self-guided' tour along with 2 other couples. Everyone who went to Milan spent two days where we visited the iconic Duomo Cathedral and shopped at the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. For the 'self-guided' tour, we were given all tickets, directions via the Exoticca appt and through Whatsapp as to what to do, where to meet the local guide, directions for bus tour for full-day excursion to Lake Como, Bellagio and Lugano, Switzerland. Again, when back at the hotel for Airport return in the morning, our driver was there to pick us up at 3am to very early flight back to US. Would have loved to get a little better hotels than what we were promised (4-start) but they were actually better than what some of the reviews stated.

We couldn't be happier with this awesome trip we had to Italy with Exoticca and its tour guides.

Looking forward to our next trip by Exoticca. Will be look to book something soon. Thank you!

This was a disastrous trip with them to Greece and Turkey. They subcontract all their tours who babuzzle travellers into buying extra 3x's more expensive extra excursions otherwise you get left without transportation back to the hotels (which most are quite far away from the centre of action ie. Istanbul). The reps are inexperienced and for the most part unreachable. They were subcontractors who again combined 3 groups together 65 people on the first day - terrible sooo much wasted time we almost missed our transfer flight to Greece as there was no confirmation or pick up time sent to us! The hotels were substandard in I Stan up
La Quinta had to request multiple times cleaners and amenities - see hotel review!
Long drives in Turkey to each and every location for short times at highlights, no chance to go back and always waiting in lines or for other people! Free time limited and rest time minimal except in the buses or ferries - but due to extremely large groups and extended travels times due to distances from things (hotel
Into the city and between cities) leaving times were FAR TOO EARLY! In Santorini got put in a dungeon room in the basement with no natural
Light and wasn't even hotel from original booking which we did manage to get changed to - El Greco way better than deadalus - 6 pools vs 1, weight room vs. None, unobstructed view vs. View of pharmacy in dangerous corner of street, open air restaurant va. Basement restaurant respectively! Also deadalus had awful staff rock hard beds pillows and headboards and at 5.1ft my feet were hanging over the bed (see hotel
Review)! Tour company in Greece also put several groups together including air Canada vacations to maximize profits. Hotel in Athens great location but very sketchy area to the point that the concierge came running out to tell us to stick to the main road - also old outdated with small elevators and dangerous stairs - I was called to help a lady who fell down them and sprain her ankle as I am a healthcare professional, I almost fell down them myself!
It should be noted I have complained twice since the trip and in multiple emails and what's app conversations with no reply from Exoticca - once you pay they don't care! I have been given credits but cannot use them unless I book with them again - highly unlikely!

The guides were very attentive i lived the machu pichu excursion

I am speaking from my personal experience, so if you find what I am writing here offensive in any way, my apologies to you in advance. Nevertheless, I must be honest with you, and I do this only after having shown forth a LOT of patience with this company, which has been given more than adequate time to respond to us and make things right. But our patience has grown thin. This should not, needless to say, come as a surprise to them when they read this.

My wife and I trusted Exoticca with our time, money, and high hopes for a trip to Morocco in late May 2022. The gentleman who booked this trip for us was friendly and a delight to work with; we have no qualms with him. However, when we received the airline reservations approximately two months in advance of the trip, they booked us on Air Canada for what was apparently the least expensive ticketing. We were to depart from Las Vegas and travel through Montreal and Lisbon en route to Casablanca.

I let Exoticca know immediately that the layover in Lisbon was very short, in fact, too short to make the connecting flight to Casablanca. After a very, very long hold time, and having to endure the repetitively annoying music in the meantime while waiting for a representative, I emphasized my concern that we would not be able to make the connecting flight if the flight from Montreal was even a little late. The rep tried to assure me that there would be no problems. I was, of course, skeptical of his "reassurance," having heard such things before. But he told me that they would get it changed and email me with the new itinerary. When the email came without either an itinerary change or an explanation, I called again and waited on another long hold, only to explain my concern once more to another rep, who tried to assure me that we'd be OK in making the connection in Lisbon. I couldn't help but get the distinct feeling as she spoke that I was getting an earful of hot air and fluff, despite sounding sincere and genuine. She likewise told me that we would hear back very shortly with an adjusted itinerary, but the email once again came back unchanged, just as if my concern had been completely disregarded and my time wasted.

I attempted other calls to Exoticca, but each time the hold time seemed to get longer and longer. I gave up trying to contact them and just went with the itinerary they had provided. We left Las Vegas on time and waited for eight hours at the airport in Montreal. The flight from Montreal was delayed, causing us to run like crazy to the departure gate for Casablanca, only to be firmly told that the gate had closed and we would not be permitted to board. Our greatest fear was realized. Fortunately, for the most part, the airline agents in Lisbon tried to be helpful. Nevertheless, we were then redirected from counter to counter to counter by airline and airport reps, who weren't able to do much for us. But after several hours, we finally managed to book a flight on a different airline.

As expected, our bags were not present upon our arrival in Casablanca. The lady at the desk that handled such situations had apparently become tired of dealing with angry Western visitors and would not let us make a claim. In desperation, we went to the Swissport office, where the gentleman tried his best to assist us. But we were not able to file an official claim. Our tour guide patiently waited for us and tried to assist us the best he could, but we left the airport without our luggage and didn't have it the entire 11 days of the trip, forcing us to wash clothes every night. Repeated efforts to get our bags resulted in continual disappointment. To make matters worse, we learned from fellow trip members that we could have been booked directly from Montreal to Casablanca without that unnecessary and unfortunate layover in Lisbon. We were the only trip members to have to change flights there. Imagine that!

Despite this major setback, we did our best to enjoy our time in the country. We had a great tour group and guide, and were able to see many fun and interesting sites. So, why am I writing all this if we managed to have a decent time? Well, it certainly is not to thank Exoticca, who contracted with a decent in-country travel group. Days after our return, we were contacted by the Exoticca Customer Car Team. I responded to their email by stating that I was displeased with some aspects of the trip and asked to be contacted by the team. "Julie" replied that they were "so sorry to hear that some aspects of this tour did not meet" our expectations. After a couple of failed attempts to reach me while I was at work, I told her by email that I'd make myself available at a certain time that would be convenient for both of us. She apparently ignored my emails and attempted to call again two weeks later, again thanking me for my initial review and noting that she was still not able to reach me successfully. She even asked me to let her know if I'd like for her to contact me either by phone or email, as she said she'd be very grateful for further feedback, which, as she stated, would be "a very useful tool to assist in improving our service and products in the future."

I never heard from her again. Another rep, "Ivan," called me a month later and informed me that Julie had been taken off my case "for personal reasons," which I now believe was BS – the case was simply passed on to him because Exoticca didn't know how to (or simply didn't want to) deal with my issue. I was never mean, threatening, or vulgar in any of my interactions, either by phone or email. "Ivan" and I seemed to have a helpful conversation, wherein I was able to explain my situation. We agreed that he would call me back one week later at a designated time and that he would be able to make things right. Well over a month later, that call still has not come.

It's apparent to me that Exoticca, while providing a great menu of very desirable-looking tours, is horribly unresponsive and not really interested in assisting travelers if there's an issue of any kind. Be forewarned… and a word to the wise: They book the trip and hope like hell the contracted company in country does its job, because they certainly aren't doing theirs, and they're not going to help you if things go south! They don't want to hear any complaints about their service (or lack thereof)… nothing negative. They will simply stop communicating with you if that's the case. I gave them opportunity after opportunity to redeem themselves.

I wanted so much to disregard all the negative reviews I had read online before I signed up for this trip. Nevertheless, I made the fateful decision to disregard those reviews and give Exoticca a chance to prove those reviews were simply untrue and biased. At this point, I can no longer do that and feel that I must make my feelings very clear. The sad part in all of this is that I had wanted so badly to give them another chance and take advantage of other seemingly fun deals, but heaven help us if something were to go wrong… they wouldn't be there to care in the least. Trying to contact them by phone has also been a nightmare, with very long wait times and reps that will tell you what you want to hear, but will not follow through with what they promise. I have always been better off booking with reputable companies like Gate 1 Travel, where I've never gotten any of this. The various tours Exoticca offers are quite tempting, and they'll likely be good once you're in country; however, just pray nothing goes wrong!

Cheaper is not always better, and that is the case with Exoticca. Customer Service and promptness to issues is basically non-existent, as most airline and hotel matters are only handled by their Travel Operations (Ops) Dept. which you cannot contact direct and seems to be sorely understaffed. Travel Ops apparently books the cheapest airline tickets they can find, with no regard to timing or itineraries and the fares do not typically include any checked baggage. Rather than a more direct route from Los Angeles to Lima, Exoticca booked us to route through Miami with a 7.5 hour layover and while we were all supposed to be traveling together, Exoticca booked my (young adult) daughter on a separate flight from us that dumped her into Lima by herself at 1:00am; then expected me to pay extra to have a room available for her upon arrival. Additionally, they initially had my daughter booked in a different Amazonian jungle lodge than us which was several kilometers up river and it took me numerous phone calls, online customer service form submissions and emails over the course of several weeks before Exoticca finally got her rebooked into the same lodge as us (I never was able to get them to change her flight to ours though). Once in Peru, I discovered there were direct 58-min flights from Cusco to Puerto Maldonado (PM) available, yet Exoticca routed us on flights from Cusco to Lima (with another exceptionally long layover) to Puerto Maldonado that wasted 7 hours and caused us to miss a portion of the activities listed on our itinerary, and when I contacted Exoticca to inquire about modifying our remaining itinerary to allow for more time in PM to make up for the time lost and missed itinerary activities, was advised I would have to purchase new airline tickets from PM to Lima, as the ones we had were nonrefundable. Not surprisingly, we met several other people throughout our travels in Peru who also expressed their displeasure with Exoticca, primarily due to their flight itineraries, and indicated they would never use them again either. I will give kudos to the local Peruvian Travel Company that Exoticca contracts within country though, Condor Travel, as their guides were informative and transfers were always comfortable.