Exoticca is an online travel company that packages multi-country and multi-city tours to more than 60 destinations, from a Nile cruise through Egypt to a Silk Road route across Uzbekistan. It isn’t a beach-holiday operator like TUI or Jet2holidays. Its whole business is built around trips that are hard to arrange yourself: several cities, sometimes several countries, joined up by flights, transfers and local guides. This guide covers what’s actually included, whether Exoticca’s reviews hold up, how the deposits and cancellation terms work, and how it compares with the rest of the UK package holiday market.
If you’re ready to browse, see Exoticca’s current trips to check prices and dates for your preferred destination.
What does an Exoticca package include?
An Exoticca package bundles return flights, hotels across every stop on the itinerary, transfers between cities and a run of guided tours and excursions into one price. Most trips include at least some meals, and many run in small groups with a local guide rather than a large coach party. Exoticca doesn’t fly its own aircraft. It books flights through what it calls SmartFare technology, sourcing fares from a mix of airlines depending on the route, and it works with local ground operators in each country to run the excursions and transfers on the ground.
| What you get | Exoticca | DIY booking |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | ✓ Sourced across a mix of airlines by route | Book each leg separately |
| Hotels | ✓ Every stop on the itinerary included | Research and book each city yourself |
| Guided tours and excursions | ✓ Included, run by local ground operators | Book locally, often £50-150pp per excursion |
| Transfers between cities | ✓ Included and pre-arranged | Arrange internal flights or trains yourself |
| ATOL and ABTA | ✓ Both, ATOL 11248 and ABTA Y6417 | No (unless credit card) |
| Price match | ✓ Best Price Guarantee, 24-hour claim window | N/A |
Piecing together a multi-country trip yourself is possible, but it takes real planning: booking internal flights or trains between three or four cities, vetting local guides in each place, and working out transfer logistics from scratch. Exoticca’s real value is in doing that legwork for you, not in undercutting a simple flight-and-hotel booking, which is why it makes more sense for a complex, multi-stop itinerary than a single-city break.
Where can you go with Exoticca?
Exoticca runs more than 300 itineraries across over 60 countries, spanning Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Its catalogue leans towards multi-stop, long-haul trips you won’t easily find packaged elsewhere: an Egypt tour might cover Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and a Nile cruise in one price, while a Peru itinerary can run from Lima to Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Trips range from short four to eight-day breaks around Europe, such as the Azores, the Baltics or Portugal, up to full multi-country tours lasting three to four weeks through South America or southern Africa. Prices span a wide range too: an eight-day trip to Turkey starts from around £700, while a 29-day, four-country South American tour starts from around £4,650.
Jordan is one of the newer additions to Exoticca’s Middle East range, and it shows the pattern behind most of its trips: a handful of headline sights joined up by transfers and a local guide, rather than a single-resort stay. A typical itinerary pairs Petra with a night in a Wadi Rum desert camp and a stop at the Dead Sea, where the water is salty enough that you float rather than swim, alongside time in the capital, Amman.
It’s usually sold as an add-on to an Egypt tour or as a standalone week, depending on how much time you have. Independent travellers to Jordan can buy a Jordan Pass, which bundles the standard 40 JOD single-entry visa fee with entry to Petra and several other sites, so it’s worth checking whether an Exoticca price already reflects that kind of saving before assuming a package must work out more expensive. UK passport holders otherwise need a visa arranged in advance or on arrival, one of the few countries on Exoticca’s Middle East roster where that’s the case.
Is Exoticca actually any good?
The review record here is solid rather than outstanding. Exoticca rates 4.3 out of 5, “Excellent”, on Trustpilot from around 34,000 reviews, and the company replies to 99% of negative reviews, typically within 48 hours. Which? hasn’t published a score for Exoticca in its 2026 holiday research, so there’s no independent survey benchmark to weigh against the Trustpilot figure, unlike TUI, Jet2holidays or easyJet Holidays. Reading through recent reviews, the recurring theme is itinerary pacing: several travellers flagged days that felt rushed or over-packed with sightseeing on the longer multi-country tours, so it’s worth reading the day-by-day plan closely before booking rather than assuming every day includes guided activities.
“A 4.3 on Trustpilot from 34,000 reviews is a solid score, but it’s a notch below Mercury Holidays’ 4.7 in this same comparison. The pattern I’d watch for in the reviews is pacing: several travellers said days felt rushed or over-packed with sightseeing on the longer multi-country tours. Read the day-by-day plan before you book, not just the headline nights.”
Kate Acaster, Chief Editor, Flight Tribe
The wider Silk Road route usually threads together Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, each with its own cluster of mosques, madrasas and mausoleums built between the 14th and 17th centuries. It’s not a part of the world most UK travellers would attempt to piece together independently, given the internal transport involved between four separate cities, which is exactly the kind of trip Exoticca is built around. Visas aren’t the obstacle here, UK passport holders can enter Uzbekistan visa-free for stays of up to 30 days, but coordinating trains, guides and hotels across four cities without a package is still a proper undertaking.
Book Exoticca if you want a single price covering flights, hotels, transfers and guided excursions across several countries, and you’d rather not spend hours planning the logistics yourself.
Be aware that cancellation terms are stricter than most rivals in this comparison, and some reviewers say certain days on longer itineraries feel more rushed than the marketing suggests.
Who runs Exoticca?
Exoticca was founded in Barcelona in 2013, built around the idea that complex, multi-stop trips were one of the least digitised parts of the travel industry. The UK arm, Exoticca Travel UK Limited, is registered in Enfield, Middlesex, and is a subsidiary of the Barcelona-based parent company Pangealand, S.L. It has grown from a Spain-only operator into a global business, with North America and Europe, including the UK, now its biggest markets.
Deposits, price guarantee and cancellation terms
Exoticca doesn’t publish a fixed deposit figure. How much you pay upfront depends on the trip, though any booking made 70 days or less before departure has to be paid in full at the time of booking. There’s also a £39 handling fee added to every booking, which isn’t refundable even if you cancel.
| Time before departure | Cancellation charge |
|---|---|
| 60 days or more | 60% of total booking cost |
| 59 days or fewer | 75% of total booking cost |
That’s a stricter scale than most operators in this comparison. TUI, Jet2holidays and easyJet Holidays only take your deposit if you cancel more than two months out, while Exoticca takes 60% of the full price at the same point. If there’s a chance you’ll need to cancel, it’s worth paying for optional Flex cover, advertised from £149 per person, which lets you cancel up to 30 days before departure for a refund as non-refundable travel credit. Flex Plus costs more but adds the option of a cash refund instead of credit. Both have to be bought at least 60 days before you travel, and neither fee is refundable even if you never use it.
Exoticca’s Best Price Guarantee promises to match a cheaper, exact-match itinerary found elsewhere, with claims reviewed within 24 hours. The catch is that the refund comes as non-refundable travel credit for a future trip rather than cash, so it’s a saving on your next booking rather than money back on this one.
Exoticca vs the competition
| Company | Trip type | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Exoticca | Multi-country escorted tours worldwide | Complex, multi-stop itineraries that are hard to book yourself |
| Mercury Holidays | Beach holidays, escorted tours and river cruises | A wider mix of trip types alongside standard beach holidays |
| Virgin Holidays | Long-haul, single destination | One long-haul trip on Virgin Atlantic’s own aircraft |
| British Airways Holidays | Long-haul, single destination | Avios earning and BA’s own aircraft on one trip |
Exoticca doesn’t compete directly with TUI, Jet2holidays or easyJet Holidays, since none of them offer the kind of multi-country touring Exoticca specialises in. Its closest actual peer is Mercury Holidays, which also runs escorted tours and river cruises and carries the same dual ABTA and ATOL protection. The difference is reach: Mercury sticks mostly to Europe plus a handful of long-haul beach destinations, while Exoticca’s whole catalogue is built around multi-country, multi-city touring across more than 60 countries. For a single long-haul destination on the operator’s own aircraft instead, Virgin Holidays and British Airways Holidays are the better fit. For the fuller breakdown of deposits and cancellation terms across UK package operators, see our package holidays comparison.
Exoticca vs booking separately
For a multi-country trip, Exoticca is usually the easier route. Piecing together flights between three or four cities, vetting local guides in each place and organising transfers yourself is possible, but it eats into planning time and rarely comes out much cheaper once you account for the guided excursions bundled into the price. For a single-city break or a simple beach fortnight, Exoticca isn’t the right tool. That’s what TUI, Jet2holidays and easyJet Holidays do better, usually at a lower deposit and with a more forgiving cancellation policy.
How to get the best price on Exoticca
Exoticca runs regular flash sales, some cutting up to 60% off headline prices on its Latin America and Asia routes, so it’s worth checking current deals before you commit to a specific date. Because full payment is due 70 days before departure, booking early keeps your upfront cost to a deposit for longer. Its refer-a-friend scheme can also knock money off a future trip for both of you, and if you do spot the same itinerary cheaper elsewhere, remember the Best Price Guarantee only gives you 24 hours to claim it. Browse current Exoticca trips to see live prices and departure dates.
| Detail | Exoticca |
|---|---|
| ATOL licence | 11248 |
| ABTA membership | Y6417 |
| Destinations | 300+ itineraries across 60+ countries |
| Deposit | Varies by trip; full payment required inside 70 days of departure |
| Cancellation charge | 60% of cost 60+ days out, rising to 75% inside 60 days |
| Founded | 2013, Barcelona |
Related guides
Package holidays: the UK operator comparison: deposits, cancellation terms and protection across every major UK package holiday company.
Mercury Holidays: the complete UK guide: the closest peer to Exoticca for escorted tours, compared in full.
What’s actually included: the inclusions that vary most between providers, and where the hidden costs hide.
Frequently asked questions
Is Exoticca ATOL and ABTA protected?
Yes, both. Flight-inclusive packages carry ATOL protection under licence 11248, and Exoticca Travel UK Limited is also an ABTA member, number Y6417.
What kind of holidays does Exoticca sell?
Multi-country and multi-city guided tours to more than 60 countries, not single-resort beach holidays like TUI or Jet2holidays.
How much deposit does Exoticca need?
There’s no fixed deposit figure, it varies by trip, though any booking made 70 days or less before departure must be paid in full.
What happens if you cancel an Exoticca booking?
Cancelling 60 days or more before departure loses 60% of the total cost, and cancelling within 60 days loses 75%, unless you’ve bought optional Flex cover.
Does Exoticca have a price guarantee?
Yes, its Best Price Guarantee matches a cheaper exact-match itinerary within 24 hours of your claim, though the refund comes as non-refundable travel credit rather than cash.
Is Exoticca actually any good?
The review evidence is solid: Trustpilot rates it 4.3 out of 5 “Excellent” from around 34,000 reviews, though Which? hasn’t published a score for it.
How does Exoticca compare with other UK package operators?
It doesn’t compete directly with beach-holiday operators like TUI or Jet2holidays. Its closest peer is Mercury Holidays, though Exoticca’s whole catalogue is built around multi-country touring rather than standard beach breaks.
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
How Kate works
Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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