The hotel in Bangkok wasn't as good as we had hoped
Howard and team were fantastic as usual
DialAFlight came up trumps with our holiday in Bali with stopovers at Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Hotels were excellent and we were even upgraded in Bali. Many thanks to Philippa for organising a perfect holiday. Will definitely use again.
Philippa was great - very helpful!
Perfect, thank you.
Everything was beyond our expectations.
We had a fantastic holiday in Japan and DialAFlight played a key part in making it a success. Flight and hotel bookings were clearly communicated via the app which took away any stress associated with our busy schedule.
Sebastian once again was a complete star. So impressed with your professionalism. Look forward to booking our next trip very soon!
Thank you again for all the help arranging my flights.
Excellent service as usual! I continue to recommend you to everyone I meet
Thank you Les. It was seamless
Keep up the good work
The organisation through Tamarind in India was excellent however when we were not met in Delhi by the Tamarind representative we called your 24 hour helpline and they were able to make contact with Tamarind and connect us to them.
Thanks again - it was a beautiful hotel with stunning views from our balcony.
Perfect service by Stan - friendly and helpful
All went smoothly and incredibly good service from Ewan. Will certainly use again. Much appreciated
A very good trip well organised and provided by DAF
Always excellent service from Kelly
One of the best companies around - staff can't do enough for you
Your service level has always been good. My last Swiss Air flight return from Bangkok via Zurich to London was an awful experience.
It was very clear and straightforward from the DialAFlight team. I was also very pleased to have a quick reminder call on the Friday before my departure to ask me about preparedness e.g. visa status.
We had a very enjoyable holiday.
Wonderful
Matthew was very helpful from the start of booking till the end of the journey
Excellent service, recommendations for hotels were spot on. Flights, transfers, hotels and arrangements were all very smooth.
Always use your company for my flights and recommend anyone looking to book flights to try you first.
This was not an issue with DialAFlight, but on our trip to Japan, we booked a beach hotel for the last four days of the trip. We planned to relax in the hotel swimming pool and on the beach. However, when we arrived, we were told that the pool and beaches were closed despite 36 degrees. The Japanese swimming season finishes on the 27th of August for the season no matter the weather, and pools and public beaches close. (We did break the rules and snuck a swim in the sea! But obviously couldn't use the hotel pool).
We have used DialAFlight for 18 years and enjoyed multiple trips per year. Never an issue, always a hassle free enjoyable time. I know we are safe and all of our bookings are handled expertly. Happy to recommend to anyone.
Joe Orton always incredibly helpful.
Everything went very smoothly. Thank you very much for organising the holiday and making it so easy. We really appreciate the excellent customer service - nothing was too much trouble and the two weeks were problem free.
Vietnam is tricky to pin down. It's colourful but austere; hard-working but playful. And it's impossible to ignore the war that has left an indelible mark, culturally and historically.
This long, slim country of incredible natural beauty has a coastline groaning with inviting sandy stretches and tropical islands off the south-west and southern tip.
'War tourism' is part of the experience, and Americans make up the greatest proportion of Western visitors. But the country has been rebuilt, the trees replanted and the Vietnamese look to the future, not the past. It has one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies and has set its sights on officially becoming a developed nation during the course of 2020. The atmosphere is vibrant and the welcome is smiling.
In the capital Hanoi, where my trip begins, the foggy city is brightened by sprays of peach blossom and kumquat trees.
There's plenty to see – and not nearly enough time to take it all in. Walking solemnly past Ho Chi Minh's body in a glass box guarded by four uniformed men is strange. Visiting the Hanoi Hilton prison, where communists and then GIs were interned, is horrifying.
The late Senator John McCain's jumpsuit, kit and parachute are on show. He was shot down flying a Skyhawk in 1967 and imprisoned in Vietnam until 1973.
There are pictures of GIs eating Thanksgiving dinner, playing pool or cards, smiling. A former PoW, who was held here for nearly six years, told me these photographs were set-ups. This was no holiday camp.
But for many years McCain, who died in 2018, had made a habit of returning to Vietnam and staying in the same room at the Metropole Hotel. On one of my visits a few years ago, I even saw him in the hotel bar.
This wonderful colonial hotel, with its prettily lit outdoor pool, is in the heart of the old city just a short walk from his former prison.
Hanoi is the place to try street food – and it's cheap. The '36 streets and 36 wares' in the Old Quarter, which dates from the 11th century, brim with markets and delicious-smelling brews.
Pop-up food stalls line the pavements. People sit on tiny stools eating from bowls.
We travel further south, to Hue and Hoi An on the central coast. In Hue, you can see the remnants of Vietnam's past when emperors ruled and grand palaces such as the former Imperial Citadel – a Unesco World Heritage Site – and mausoleums were built in their honour. The Tu Duc and Khai Dinh tombs from the Nguyen dynasty are ornate, elaborate and dripping in gold.
At the Tu Duc tomb, there's a large stone tablet with the lament of the emperor, who had 150 concubines yet never managed to produce an heir.
Hoi An is relaxed and bars are filled with gap-yearers. This is the place to have a suit whipped up.
Then it was on to Ho Chi Minh City, still commonly known as Saigon. This sophisticated city is home to millions of scooters that navigate the streets like dancing ants.
There's more war tourism here – from the harrowing War Remnants museum, which focuses on the grisly effects of Agent Orange and the Cu Chi tunnels outside the city.
The prospect of crawling on my hands and knees in the dark puts me off going inside. Just being at the entrance to this extraordinary network system, 124 miles in length, used by the Viet Cong during the war, gives me the shivers.
Back in town you can wander hassle-free, day or night. The market is hot, sticky and heady. In the surrounding streets, you can have a pedicure for a few pounds.
But Saigon also does high-end pampering beautifully. The Park Hyatt has city glamour. The wonderful swimming pool, three floors up and surrounded by trees, is long enough to do decent laps.
If you want to feel the sand between your perfectly manicured toes, Saigon is any easy jumping-off point for islands off the South and South-West coast such as Con Dao and Phu Quoc.
At Con Dao the Six Senses resort is perched discreetly on a mile-long beach. Con Dao was once a prison island, set up by the French in 1861, and you can still visit the great, eerie buildings in the main town.
You can walk, run, swim, cycle, do all manner of water sports and even learn how to cook the fragrant Vietnamese delicacies we've been enjoying.
Relaxation is the theme. By the end of the week, I feel well-nourished in mind and body – and more than ready to sing the praises of this captivating country.
First published in the Daily Mail - January 2020
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