Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
It would have been helpful to get more information about the trek. We received some great info by Altezza - but only upon arrival.
Fantastic holiday only gripe is there was no transfer from hotel to airport arranged on way back
Everything went smoothly - Freddie did a great job and kept in touch with any updates.
Excellent service from Tristan - really easy to book with him. He is straightforward and responsive. I recommend DialAFlight to anyone who will listen. Takes the uncertainty out of booking a holiday!
Superb service and knowledge. We look forward to booking our next trip through Philippa.
Bailey is the best sorting flights when I want to go to Zimbabwe or the USA and has been for many years,
I was able to contact you while abroad and got a quick response. Excellent service. Thank you
The hotel in Marrakech is not 5 star - barely a 3, poor service and in dire need of upgrading
All went well thanks
Ashley is our go to guy and never fails to impress!
Five stars
Great service, thank you
We've been using DialAFlight for over 20 years and never a problem.
Riley is always helpful when I book a trip. I feel in safe hands
Your part great - BA not so much (cancelled flight on us that we then watched depart!)
Wonderfully organised trip - thank you Matthew
Everything was as expected. Tony always does a good job. I would not recommend the hotel in Harare as it was not up to a five star standard
Again Rob has come up trumps! We have been customers of Rob since 2002 and seldom disappointed. Nobody is perfect! We will continue to use Rob and DialAFlight in future.
I had a bad experience, as I was sitting by the front row and all of a sudden someone comes with his mat and laid it there and started praying, something that was uncomfortable to watch. As people we all have religions and cultural practices but sure we can not go public about it.
I would like to thank Gary Patel for arranging another fantastic trip.
Everything worked perfectly thank you
Hire car boot too small for 4 travellers with 2 large suitcases and 2 carry on bags so we had to pay extra for a larger car at Cape Town airport
As always Theo my travel manager was always there for me right throughout my 19 days of travel through 4 countries. Thank you Theo
I missed my flight (fault of the airline) and one call to DialAFlight and I had an alternative booking scheduled. Thank you. I love travelling through DialAFlight.
Zoe was excellent. Available and ready to help at every step even when I needed to reschedule my flight dates.
It would have been better to keep the shorter connection time at Jo’burg. As it happened we had plenty of time but the Virgin office had closed so we couldn’t change to the earlier flight
We continue to appreciate DialAFlight's efficiency and helpfulness. We look forward to continuing our long relationship with this company.
My first flight was cancelled but Rupert quickly arranged different flights which got me to my final destination on time
Booking through you always gives me confidence that nothing will go wrong during my travel. You are so professional at the same time you make me feel part of a family. Thank you for being there for us.
Natasha Hawkins was first class sorting everything out for our fantastic holiday. Thank you so much. Highly recommend you
A statue on Funchal's quayside of the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has golden boots, hands and groin, the bronze buffed by the touches of adoring fans. I take hold of his right hand and have my photo taken.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player is Madeira's golden boy – the island's airport is named after him and here on the quayside is the CR7 (7 is his shirt number) museum, shop, hotel and café.
You can also have your picture taken inside, where there are models and a computer simulation of the great man, now plying his trade for Juventus in Italy. There are cabinets of fan mail, signed footballs, shirts, boots, medals and trophies. There are also detailed instructions on 'how to score a free kick like Cristiano'. I'm sure it'll come in useful, even to a non-football fan such as myself.
In the museum shop I note that you can buy mini replicas of his golden boot and Ballon d'Or trophies at the knockdown price of €80 per pair. In the hotel my travelling companion Kate is astounded to find that the door handles in the lavatories are shaped like Ronaldo's hands – put your hand in his.
Despite him plainly being the most famous person to come from Madeira, this, we agree, is a step too far.
Until Ronaldo opened his museum of greatness in 2013, the most quirky tourist pastime was being pushed by men in straw hats down the steep streets of Funchal, the capital, in a wicker toboggan.
The Portuguese island, 250 miles north of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, has been named by the Association of British Travel Agents as one of the 12 hot destinations to watch. In its Travel Trends report, it says: 'The island is increasingly gaining a reputation for adventure and activity holidays, with mountain biking, canyoning and climbing in its dramatic landscapes.'
And indeed a short drive from Funchal we find ourselves surrounded by lush tropical mountains and steep-sided valleys. We decide to leave hiking along the island's irrigation canals, known as levadas, for a longer visit and opt to cover the greatest distance in the shortest time with a four-wheel-drive tour.
Our driver, David, is a talking encyclopaedia, barely drawing breath while pointing out the different types of vegetation on the steep terraced fields as he negotiates numerous tunnels and hairpin bends.
'On the right you see bananas, our main crop. On the left sugar cane, from which we make rum. We use the rum in the traditional poncha cocktails. Oh, look at the waterfalls. Winter is the best time to see them; it's too dry in summer.'
We emerge, slightly shaken, on the north coast. Here you really appreciate the rugged beauty of this small volcanic island. Its red cliffs drop straight into the ocean, occasionally giving way to a narrow beach of black sand. We stop to admire the scenery, and in Santana we stop to admire traditional A-frame cottages, some with thatched roofs.
The skywalk, a glass viewing platform at Cabo Girao in the south, is one of the best places to appreciate the dramatic scenery. In the north, less scarily, we have lunch on the terrace of the Quinta do Furao restaurant in Santana, noted for local delicacies such as garlic limpets, beef kebabs barbecued on laurel skewers, black scabbardfish in banana sauce and sweet potato bread. While we eat we admire one of the most stunning views on the island.
We burn off the calories with a walk in the restaurant's vineyard and lush garden, where there is a huge traditional grape press, the site of harvest celebrations in the summer.
Almost every restaurant we visit produces its own wine. The beachside restaurant of Faja dos Padres in the south is famous for its dark vintage that dates from the 15th century – and its inaccessibility. A cable car transports you down a steep cliff into its vineyard and garden. Mario Fernandes, a winemaker, claims that the soothing sound of the waves, and the classical music he plays while working, helps to improve the taste of his wine.
He tells me that Ronaldo's mother recently used the garden to film an advertisement for Madeiran bananas. 'Maybe it was these bananas that helped to make him so famous,' he says. I immediately eat one.
First published in The Times - April 2019
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements