Melissa E.

Please read the Better Business Bureau complaints about this company. There are so many of us who have been scammed. UTO advertises very cheap vacation packages, requires a hefty deposit, claims your trip is protected and will be rescheduled in the event UTO cancels, then wriggles it's way out of having to honor that claim by saying the trip cannot be rescheduled and gives you travel credit (if you're lucky) to apply to far more expensive vacation trips. If you want to cancel, they keep your deposit in its entirety. In the rare event the trip happens to actually occur, expect hundreds of dollars of last minute "fuel surcharges" and "mandatory tips" along with cancelled tours and accommodations that do not meet up with what was advertised. Classic bait and switch.

My specific experience involves breach of contract, where UTO completely changed up the agreement we had made. They put me in a no win situation, where I was given 3 choices that had to be decided in extremely short notice: 1) either required to pay the full remaining amount due for the trip within 10 days of the email notice they sent in February 2023, although our agreement was that the final amount due wasn't until May 2023 and the trip is set for November 2023, 2) I can decline to go on the trip, though they are no longer giving travel credit, but may do so if I can prove a special circumstance that I can't travel in 2023, or 3) cancel and request a refund. I wanted option 3, but was told that I could not get a refund because the terms of the agreement were if I cancelled I owed them $1200. Now, that was a brand NEW cancellation fee they just added in February. The original agreement made in October 2022 was that cancellation would result in a $499 fee. Either way, I'm screwed if I cancel, and my point is that UTO illegally changed the terms of the agreement without my consent.

Now, I really wanted to go on the trip, but it wasn't financially possible for me to conjure up the total amount due on such short notice. Also, I am wary of the reviews made by others who continued to give UTO more and more money, only to be left with emptier pockets than mine and still no vacation to show for it. So options 2 or 3 were the only options reasonably available to me. I have chosen option 2 and will see what happens. At least then my money isn't forfeit and if the business is shut down I might be able to get some of it back. Meanwhile, I'm organizing with the many others who have been scammed by this company. Feel free to reach out to me here via comment or DM. Safe travels, stay UTO free!

Also read some of the reviews on TripAdvisor where UTO responded. The responses are condescending, mean spirited, and unprofessional. Especially a response to a customer named Cara, where UTO basically called her mentally challenged. I have screenshots of that if UTO tries to delete it. At least they were civil with me.

Please stop advertising for UTO Vacation. This travel agency is problematic and engages in bait and switch, breach of contract, and possibly other fraudulent activities. It has recently been suspended by the Better Business Bureau. I love Travelzoo, but continuing to advertise for UTO feeds vulnerable customers to this wolf of a disreputable company that will swindle your money and never take you on any promised vacation.