020·7962·9933
I was in South Africa and had to curtail my trip due to COVID and spoke to the 24 hour help desk. Particular thanks are due to Pauline who amended my travel plans promptly and to Leah my travel manager.
Gavin has been excellent! Plus Callum and Ted.
Good support in difficult times
A usual an excellent service and it's great to have a helpful agent at the end of the phone when flight changes are needed.
I want to thank Bruno for going the extra mile to get me back to the UK before the lockdown in South Africa. He answered all my questions and concerns. I have been using DAF for many years
Thank you so much Stafford for an amazing itinerary, hotels and locations. All jaw dropping good. Also thank you for coming up trumps when BA cancelled our return flight. Unlike some people travelling with other travel companies who were left stranded, you seamlessly re-arranged everything and kept us notified - a fantastic service in trying times!
Jerry was very helpful when we needed to come home early due to Coronavirus. When we need flights we can always rely on him.
The young man who sorted my flight was very helpful. He did a great job and luckily I got back safe during this very difficult time.
Whenever I emailed for information you always responded which was a great help and gave me peace of mind while I was trying to get back home to my family.
DialAFlight are just the best. And Ryan pulls out all the stops for us. Very many thanks
With a very difficult situation all members and especially Niall were brilliant. Flights changed and constantly keeping us informed
Thanks for very efficiently arranging to change my flight back given my decision to cut short my trip
Thanks for the professional and helpful service rendered while out in South Africa at the height of Covid 19, bringing me back safely to my family and friends
Thank you Lincoln, Luke and colleagues for all your help in getting us speedily back to the UK
Jacob was wonderful as were the other members of staff I spoke to in trying to get early flights out of South Africa. They have forged our loyalty for future bookings.
Lucas kept me up to date. Always receive an excellent service from him
So impressed with friendly and efficient service especially during this virus outbreak. App easy to use. Will be my go to booking agent from now on
Stan was an absolute star! Even my wife noticed.
Went above and beyond when our flight was cancelled
You were accessible, helpful and efficient.
Fantastic service especially when flights had to be changed at the last minute. Thank you Chris and Sally
Roger was very helpful when I needed to bring my return flight forward from Cape Town.
Flights to and from George in South Africa went like clockwork with no delays or problems. Your team including Roray were brilliant in every respect especially given the pressure they are under due to CV. DAF are our new travel agent!
Fab support and advice from Mason while we were in South Africa awaiting lockdown due to Corona Virus.
I always recommend you to my friends
Devina and her colleagues were very professional. I appreciated Devina leaving me a voicemail a week before my flight wishing me a good trip. I will recommend your company to family and friends. I hope you and yours stay corona-free!
Shane was able to help me in changing my flight home. Very efficient
Under present situation I would like to express my gratitude to Rosie on your help line and Isaac on your day team. They have been exceptional. I tried to get help from insurance, British embassy, local agents to get info about when and how to get home from Cape Town. No-one would answer the phone or sent a message saying they would get back in 48 hours. Our flights were booked for the 25th March and Rosie changed our flights for no extra cost. She was helpful, unflappable, calming and friendly and answered the phone immediately.
All fine despite last minute re-arrangement.
You were so helpful in the current crisis. I was anxious about getting home from South Africa but I felt I could rely on you to help me.
South Africa is one of the most remarkable places you’ll ever visit and with the pound strong against the rand, now is the perfect time to see this beautiful and rewarding rainbow nation.
As a South African and animal lover, it’s always the wildlife that draws me back to my home. This time I’m on the hunt for the Big Five: lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and rhino.
And there is no better place to spot all these in their natural environment than at Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve - a National Geographic 'Unique Lodge of the World'.
Adjacent to the Kruger National Park, the animals are free to roam the non-fenced boundary between the national park and 65,000 hectares of the Sabi Sands. I plan to drive from Joburg’s O.R. Tambo airport to Sabi Sabi before heading to the Drakensburg Mountains, a World Heritage site, and on to Durban, where I grew up.
The reserve does do its own transfers and has a landing strip for guests but what I enjoy most about SA is the vast landscape and the interesting sites along the way, so I’ve chosen the five-hour drive.
LUXURY LODGING
I’ll be staying at Sabi’s Earth Lodge, which is simply out of this world. When I arrive, welcomed by a cool drink and a smiling member of staff, I can see exactly why. It’s surrounded by lush vegetation and is chiselled into the landscape to make it invisible from afar.
It also has the wildlife and on my first morning at sunrise I'm lucky enough to watch a large herd of elephant making its way through the camp.
The lodge has 13 luxurious suites, each with a plunge pool and stone bath. It’s late afternoon when I arrive and I’ve missed the usual departure of 3.30pm for an afternoon drive, but my ranger Justin and his tracker Petro still offer to take me for some sundowners where we can hopefully catch sight of some wildlife.
We drive barely a few miles before we come across a herd of elephants and in no time we’re surrounded. As they rumble past, manoeuvring their trunks through the trees, my heart feels like it’s going to burst.
I was lucky enough to grow up in South Africa and have spent time in the bush before but I’ve never been quite so close to a herd as large as this.
But my main request for Justin and Petro is that they find me a leopard and a few days later, I’m lucky enough to spend a good hour with one.
Maxabeni is a powerful and confident young male leopard who allows us to follow him. Watching his sleek body move through the vegetation makes me realise just how powerful and nimble these cats are. And they’re smart, adapting and using their environment to hunt.
Justin explains that Maxabeni had become so comfortable with the safari vehicles that he had learned to use them as cover before pouncing on unsuspecting impala.
RELAX AND REFUEL
Sabi Sabi knows how to feed its guests. As soon as you wake, you’re given a selection of pastries and yoghurts, before being taken on a morning drive. While out you stop for hot drinks and rusks – a twice-baked bread, popular with South Africans – before returning to the lodge for a full breakfast.
You get a few hours to relax before lunch is served - followed shortly by afternoon tea.
At around 3.30pm you’re taken for a drive before returning to dinner – usually six courses
Be prepared to put on weight! After four days my waistline is screaming to leave, but I want to stay longer. There's nothing like going to bed with the sound of lions reverberating through the night.
And as I wave goodbye to Justin and Petro, I feel I’m leaving old friends. I drive to a hotel in the Drakensburg Mountains – a four-hour trip – but stop at Joburg along the way, the perfect place to stop for lazy lunches and curio shopping.
FINAL DESTINATION
Driving through the long, winding roads makes you realise how vast the country is and you get the chance to glimpse the lives of locals. Villages are bustling with schoolchildren who dance and wave at you.
I’m staying at Cathedral Peak Hotel, perfect to relax for a weekend with its golf course and swimming pool. It’s a splendid base for hiking, off-road biking or horse riding.
After a few days in the mountains I head to Durban for some sun and surf. The combination of centres has made for one wildly brilliantly trip.
Amazingly, it is simple old-fashioned service that sets us apart from other travel firms. And yes, we really do answer the phone within 5 seconds!
Check out the reviews on Trustpilot and the word ‘service’ appears again and again. And you’ll find many reviews from customers saying they wasted hours trying to plan a holiday themselves before calling us - often on the advice of a friend - only to find we could offer numerous options not available online, which also saved them money.
Our team of 300 travel managers has been arranging tailor-made holidays for almost 40 years and we believe no one does it better. Judge for yourself.
Not quite what you're looking for? We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements
Airport Lounges from £25
Once you’re through security leave the crowds, kids and chaos behind you with a visit to one of our comfortable airport lounges.
All offer complimentary food, drinks, wifi and newspapers with some also including Fastrack through security. Prices from £25.
Use our speedy private transfer service to avoid the stress of finding your way out of the airport terminal and looking for a taxi or bus on arrival.
With our meet and greet service, our driver will meet you in the arrivals hall. They will monitor flight arrival times giving you peace of mind that someone will be waiting for you with a name board even if your flight is late.
They will then assist you with your luggage and organise a private transfer directly to your hotel - there’s no waiting around for other passengers for shared transfers!
So no queues, no delays and less stress.
Let us extend the personalised service of your booking into your holiday with great prices on business class flights ready to add a touch of class to your trip.
Take the stress out of travelling with a host of wonderful perks on offer from priority check-in and premium lounge access to chauffeur service and fine in-flight dining, plus the supreme comfort of a fully-reclining seat.
Call us to see how much you could save on Business Class flights.
All customers can take advantage of exclusive premium rates we’ve negotiated for our portfolio of business clients. We’ll maintain your preferred airline loyalty programmes and you’ll have 24/7 support wherever you are in the world.
