What 2692 DialAFlight clients thought of South Africa

All very good!

Keep up the good service

I flew as an assisted passenger and all arrangements were spot on! When we phoned to ask a question we were assisted most professionally.

Informative and knowledgeable with a personal touch. Helpful and always responded to emailed queries within an hour or so

Very helpful friendly service, thank you

Dan did an excellent job as always!

Everything went smoothly apart from the flight home. It was delayed 4 hours and because we had no signal out in the bush we were unaware. We couldn’t check in and so had to sit several rows apart.

Thank you very much

Noah’s service is excellent.

Excellent service as usual. Thanks so much. you take all the hassle out of booking a flight. Also it is no more expensive than having all the stress of doing it yourself. Will be in touch very soon

DialAFlight have been there for us each journey. Much appreciated!

I've been using DialAFlight for over 3 years. I speak to a real person within a few rings EVERY time I call. They really do get me the best deals and I usually travel to South Africa. I tell everyone I meet about how fabulous they are - I cannot rave enough about their service. Love 'em!

I would not hesitate to recommend DialAFlight to friends - they have organised several long-haul trips for us including this safari which was AMAZING - we loved it.

Excellent service as always

Usual excellent service from DialAFlight, thank you. Only negative was the chaos at the airports at both ends.

Great service and amazing support network. Really appreciated the pre and post trip communication. Excellent service.

Flights worked to schedule and the only negative is that the food served on BA is awful - but not your fault

Excellent service

Thanks to Hayley and her team!

Personnel all very helpful and well informed

I've dealt with Ashley Homewood for the past five years. Every flight I have booked has been backed by his personal service. Nothing is too much trouble and he's always prompt with his replies to my many questions.

My wife's flight was cancelled whilst in South Africa from Durban to Johannesburg. Michael managed to get her on another flight within hours, great service.

Gino was incredibly helpful. Amazing customer service.

Perfect service

Des Wing is fabulous! He has organised a few trips now for me and they all deliver.

Recommend using London City airport, very smooth and efficient. Landed and out of the airport in 35 minutes!

Very helpful and service was excellent. Will use DialAFlight in future.

Highly satisfied with our trip and always friendly staff - thank you

Super service. Would recommend.

Ashley and his team are amazing!

Wonderful winelands

Touring South Africa, one sip at a time

Helen Atkinson Wood finds herself in a paradise for wine lovers - and also manages some serious eating

We'd come to sample sauvignon, sip shiraz, marvel at malbec, and savour world-class cuisine. But if you ask why we'd travelled to the southern hemisphere when we have all that on our European doorstep, you obviously haven't been to South Africa.

This pilgrimage to the wine-taster's paradise of Franschhoek began not with an aperitif - say a Graham Beck Game Reserve chenin blanc - but with an appetising few days in Cape Town. Our hotel, the Cape Grace, sits alongside the lively marina. From here, you can take a tourist bus ride around the city, a cable-car trip up Table Mountain, and shop at the Waterfront area.

At the Baia restaurant we feasted on seafood bisque, lobster and langoustine - and presented with a bill as cheap as chips.

For something more sedate, the colonial grandeur of Mount Nelson is the place for afternoon tea. However, if I could eat only one meal on the Cape it would be at The Pot Luck Club, the hottest restaurant in town.

From Cape Town, we headed for the open countryside, climbing through Helshoogte Pass with its amazing mountain views. Just 90 minutes later we were in a different country - think Tuscany comes to Cumbria, with some Dutch gable architecture thrown in.

The wine tram disgorges its merry passengers at the Rickety Bridge vineyard

After being hounded out of Europe, it was the Huguenots who brought their distillery skills to this verdant triangle of South Africa, transforming it into one of the World's most beautiful wine valleys. Relais & Chateaux has now captured a corner of Franschhoek and discreetly created the Provencal-style retreat of Le Quartier Francais.

The hotel has a tranquil hidden garden, lavender-lined walkway and Tasting Room restaurant, all set within the charm of a Victorian village square. There is a glorious list of wine estates to visit in this area, all with restaurants and tastings.

La Petite Ferme sits at the back of Franschhoek and has mountain views and a mouthwatering lunch menu. Delaire Graff is a gem of an estate, where you can view the oak-barrelled seasoning process, or visit its famous art collection, including Tretchikoff's Chinese Girl (it's said to be the most reproduced painting in the world), and a diamond showroom on which the Graff fortune is built.

We opted for the hop-on, hopoff Franschhoek tram tour of the vineyards, along with a boisterous party who got ever squiffier as we rumbled from one distinguished estate to the next.

Mont Rochelle cellar

There was Mont Rochelle's chardonnay, fermented in a butterscotch-flavoured barrel, La Couronne's plummy malbec which we partnered with a local cheese platter, and my favourite, Moreson's In My Bed cabernet sauvignon merlot.

Moreson's has a brilliant collection of wines, wittily named around the good-natured naughtiness of their Weimaraner dog. Rather tipsily, we left the tram party to the strains of Chicago's If You Leave Me Now. We needed all our concentration for the task ahead: a night in The Tasting Room at Le Quartier Francais.

Some restaurants are worth making a pilgrimage to - and this is one. Award-winning chef Margot Janse weaves her magic in the kitchen, combining earthy African and sophisticated French to create two audacious flavour combinations.

Janse once considered a career in the theatre - and each of the eight courses, accompanied by a different wine, was drama on a plate. There was texture, humour, sex appeal and surprises with every mouthful. The Eastern Cape marron crayfish, Cape gooseberry and lemon verbena was like leaping into the freezing Atlantic - so tinglingly exhilarating I nearly went to change into my swimwear to eat it.

We finished our trip on the coast at the glamorous Twelve Apostles Hotel and Spa in Camps Bay.

The unabashed luxury of Twelve Apostles was like being treated to a glass of Klein Constantia Vin de Constance - a silky, rich dessert wine much loved by Napoleon. The perfect end to a trip as well.

First published in the Mail on Sunday - November 2016

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