“I began booking The Island Peaks & Coastal Charm trip to Madeira online but decided to switch to a telephone call as I had a couple of questions.... I spoke to Katerina who was absolutely brilliant. All booked with everything as I wanted... and a great price! This will be our No 11 Exoticca trip, which speaks for itself!”
“Melanie was very informative, helpful and made booking the holiday an easy and enjoyable experience. She went above and beyond to make sure we had flights that suited.”
“This was my second time using Exoticca and I can’t rate them high enough. I am already planning on booking my next trip. Everything is so well organised and of a very high standard. Brilliant for families, couples, friends or solo travellers 5 star and more Stress free travel”
“The air transport by Wizz air both outward and inward was excellent. Only 10 minutes late arriving in Tirana from Luton and 15 minutes early on return. Airport transfer by taxi was efficient both on entry and exit.
We knew from the itinerary that the tour would be intensive and full-on. The many highlights of Albania were visited on only 6 days with two days arriving and departing. The number of places and sights visited was extensive, but once at a destination there was no rush and a very thorough exploration and explanation of the sites was undertaken. The party was 26 people; the coach was very modern with wonderful air conditioning. The day of arrival in Tirana it was 41 degrees and every subsequent day the maximum temperature was between 33 and 35 degrees. The pace of the tour in these extreme temperatures had to be tolerated, but inevitably on several occasions the high temperatures made people overly hot. However, plenty of rest stops and refreshment breaks were built into the tour programme. We never travelled more than 2 hours in the coach without a break.
The guide was excellent and led the tour with authority and efficiency. He explained everything in intimate detail at every stop. Albanian history was covered throughout the tour. Despite all the stops, no one was ever late or caused any issue. The bus driver too played his part in the efficient running of the tour.
For the money, this tour is fantastic value and highly recommended as an introduction to Albania.
The following are comments that would improve the experience, but would mean extending and upgrading the tour and would cost more money.
The accommodation category was “superior”. Only 2 of the 5 hotels used can claim to be that: The Mozart in Shkoder and Hotel Colombo in Beret. These were truly 5 star. The room in The Mozart beat the Colombo, but the public areas, including swimming pool, at The Colombo beat the Mozart. The other three hotels could be classed as adequate at perhaps 3 stars. The breakfasts at the two 5-star hotels provided a wonderful selection. Two of the other hotels breakfasts were adequate, but the hotel Bella Visit in Saranda delivered a poor breakfast quality and choice which should be upgraded.
Because the tour was so cram packed with sites/sights, arrival at the hotels in the evening was usually quite late, with limited time to relax and have dinner. Then an 8.30 start every morning led to no free time to explore the place where we were staying. So, another extended tour with a more relaxed schedule and more free time during the day for self-exploration, might be worth considering, but obviously at a higher cost.
We had an issue with on-line check-in in for our Luton flight and had to pay for check-in at the airport. Upon our return Exoticca, without hesitation, refunded the check-in fee and provided compensation in the form of future travel credit. The is the mark of a very good company. But, like many modern companies, they do not appear to be accessible by telephone, which is a drawback. However, on-line communications were promptly replied to.
To summarise: truly EXELLENT value for money. The tour did exactly what was advertised with no compromises.”
“This will be the second time we have travelled with Exoticca and we find the info and booking process very easy. Our last trip to South Africa was great and for this trip, we actually booked via phone with Vin and he was very professional and made the booking so easy.”
“First time I have used Exotticca and I found the company very competitive in price and what it has to offer. If I needed to ask any questions before we travelled they responded to them straight away. We booked to go to Uganda to do the Gorilla trekking. The itinerary once we were there was exactly as what was advertised. The lodges that we stayed at were beautiful with staff who couldn't do enough for you. The safari/tour company they used in Uganda were fabulous and we had the most azing tour guide Joseph. The experiences that this tour offered was incredible and the trip far exceeded anything I had imagined. Perfect from beginning to end.”
“I have just booked a trip to China which I thought was very good value for money as I normally travel independently. Spoke to Melanie who was extremely helpful went through everything and didn't pressure me at all. Would recommend.”
“My third trip with Exoticca overall a great trip at a price I could afford although there was some lack of coordination of itinerary when travelling between countries…. I was supposed to be picked up for a river cruise in Zimbabwe when still mid air from Cape Town. Once I spotted this and contacted customer service I was able to do the cruise on a different day but this meant losing the opportunity to fit in a visit to a village that I had hoped to do independently. I was disappointed that this village culture visit was not offered within the Exoticca/Partners offering as I think it would have been popular.
Some flights were obviously booked for their budget price but it meant I lost valuable time doing what I really wanted to do or the routing was not the most direct.
I am an experienced solo traveller and this trip suits my pocket and independence , however I should note some of the independent travel elements of this offering might not suit someone solo who prefers to be with a group at all times, i.e. I was the only person from the wider group of fellow travellers in my guest house in Victoria Falls which was a taxi ride out of town.
Anyway thank you Exoticca you made this experience possible for me and I would recommend you to others…. Expect to hear from me again soon too!”
“Our fourth trip with Exoticca. Turkey proved just as enjoyable as anticipated. Great hotels, commendable organisation, a whirlwind of activity and all at such a great price. Holidays for people who want to see the world and not just lie on a beach for a week.
PS. My one criticism ... is it just me who gets really impatient at having to stand around for 15 minutes listening to a guide give a lecture rather than actually experiencing the places of interest themselves ?”
“Two week China trip went smooth. Guides excellent and helpful. Saw all tourist sights and some others off the track. Hotels were top rate.Would recommend to anyone. Good value.”
“We had an incredible trip to Egypt our tour guide from Luxor to Aswan, nicknamed Magic, was superb, very knowledgeable and funny! He made this experience 5 stars for us.
More information could of been provided in advance for the local transfers and logistics as this would of made us more reassured, rather than being just told to meet the rep at the airport. But once we got there everything went extremely smoothly.
When dealing with the heat, as we went in summer, more advice could of been given in advance e.g. to take salt/ rehydration tablets on the trip (or have these be provided by the cruise) as a few of us on the tour experienced heat exhaustion. That being said the tour guides were extremely helpful when we were on location and looked after us.”
“Well organised escorted trip with excellent guides who were happy to impart their knowledge to us. A packed agenda with a couple of early starts to beat the heat. Transfers all organised. It was wonderful. My first but certainly not my last trip with Exoticca.”
“Would like to say a huge thank you to Kevin our Guide in Guilin , he went above and beyond helping us with our broken suitcase , and resolved the problem for us .”
“Great trip. Great guide {Mentor) and driver. Good company on the trip. As a solo traveller I did not feel left out. Water on the coach would have been good-it was extremely hot. Only downer was the two beach events-I did not go to Albania for that when there are so many wonderful sites, but at least they gave a bit of downtime. My eleventh trip with Exoticca, twelfth already booked.”
“I always find booking with Exoticca very satisfying. I especially like dealing with a real person on the telephone helpful. This time I was contacted directly by one of your specialist staff after showing that interest in a particular escorted tour destination. Mary was professional but did not pressure me into booking. However, because of her product knowledge and ability to answer my questions and concerns I did go ahead with the business booking.
This will be my 4th tour with your Company. The 3 I have been on were superb - that’s an understatement! Thank you Exoticca for helping make my dreams come true.”
“Customer service were friendly and efficient in helping me book my trip. They identified the best price and helped me get the most convenient flight times.”
