Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
Flights were perfect in that the timing was good and Premium Economy on BA was better than expected.
All flights and transfers worked out as planned, and car hire too. Would recommend, no problem!
As a solo traveller knowing that DialAFlight was with me every step of the way made me very confident. The app is very good and was used all the way. All travel went without a hitch.
Stevi Bourke was so helpful. Highly recommended for any future trips.
Really good service with regular updates. Took the stress out of holiday planning.
Unfortunately the vegetarian option for meals on flights, which I thought had been selected when booking were not. Otherwise everything else was as expected from your service.
We had a perfect holiday celebrating my special birthday because of your excellent organisation. Always someone on the other end of a phone to answer all my questions. We will always recommend DialAFlight.
For serious travel I wouldn’t go anywhere else
I had an amazing trip. Nicky was fantastic arranging flights for both myself and my family members. Will definitely be back in touch for our next trip.
Finley was excellent yet again at organising everything for our trip. He goes above and beyond every time.
Jarvis Allen provided great advice and was very helpful in sorting out the best routes and prices for my trip.
All arrangements went very well. Flights no issues all very smooth. Hotels very, very nice indeed, great locations and rooms brilliant. Hire cars and motorhome, cars were great and smooth pick/drop off.
Annabelle and Emily were so helpful and our whole trip went like clockwork. Very grateful for their guidance and patience
All went to plan. Clear itinerary and reassuring. Confident that if I had problems that you would sort it out.
All good as always
Jeremy is a star
Owen made everything very easy. He was informative and checked in with me until the day before I left to confirm that I had a visa etc. Excellent service
Tony was thorough, approachable and informative. He checked I had what I needed and made my trip easy.
All went to plan except for hotel in Sydney where we had paid extra for a river view. However the hotel did give us a complimentary upgrade and the room was excellent. Leah was extremely kind, efficient and patient.
Such friendly personal service. I have booked my flights to Australia with DialAFlight for several years. They always come up with the best options and I deal with a named member of staff
Thank you for your attention and excellent service
Very good service and very efficient as I needed to extend my flight and this was quite straightforward
Totally blown away by your efficiency in setting up our holiday - I knew you were great but this exceeded expectations
Have highly recommended DAF to relatives and friends.
Sebastian is always very helpful. We have dealt with him several times.
Always you make the trip so easy. I always choose DialAFlight
Many thanks to Jordan and his team. I was very pleased with how my itinerary worked out.
Every detail covered and help given when requested. What more can anyone ask?
Excellent service - will travel again soon
You are fabulous and a real pleasure to deal with!
It's a sun-drenched morning at the East Perth Terminal and the Indian Pacific train gleams brightly beyond the cool shadows of the station. Two dozen stainless-steel carriages stretch along the boomerang-shaped platform.
Our coaches, dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s, were built in New South Wales by Commonwealth Engineering, which received a licence for the sleek, bullet-like design from Budd, a metal-fabricating company in Philadelphia.
I know this because John Brinkley, one of three train managers on the 1,860ft-long Indian Pacific (it travels from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean), is on hand to answer any questions. He also points guests towards their carriage for our 2,700-mile journey.
We are departing Perth on a Sunday at 11.55am, and are due to arrive in Sydney on Wednesday at 11.07am.
I'm travelling in gold class for two nights (sleeper cabins and a lounge with free drinks, plus free meals in a smart dining carriage) followed by a night in red (reclining seats and a cafe where you have to pay). There's also platinum class - comfortable cabins with double beds, a swanky dining carriage, and a free cocktail bar.
Brinkley tells me the train hit a camel on the way from Sydney to Perth a couple of days ago. 'There was damage to the loco - we had to repair an air pipe. We blow animal whistles and the horn, but it still happens. Kangaroos keep out of the way generally. Kangaroos are pretty smart.'
We roll out of Perth and into the parched countryside with gum trees, shrubs and orange-tinged soil. After dumping my bag in my cabin, I go to the gold-class lounge to meet my fellow travellers. Many are sitting in burgundy leather armchairs and banquettes drinking Crown lager and glasses of Australian wine, while conversations range from Chinese investment in Hunter Valley coal mines to the quality of the train's gin (deemed top-notch).
It's a jolly train. Meals are substantial: three courses, served in booths separated by frosted-glass partitions.
We stop at Kalgoorlie (population: 31,000) at 10.45pm. Coaches take us past darkened sights including a vast working mine; gold was discovered here in 1893. The town has a frontier feel. A guide points out a Woolworths that has the biggest takings in Australia (gold miners have plenty of cash to spend).
I sleep well, to the rhythm of the tracks, and wake to see copper-gold light illuminating wispy clouds above gum trees and dried-out river beds.By mid-morning, the Indian Pacific draws to a halt at Cook (population: four) and I spot a sign saying: 'If you're crook, come to Cook, Queen City of the Nullarbor.' Crook, of course, is slang for 'ill' in Australia, while the Nullarbor Plain is a region that boasts a wild and rugged landscape. A 297-mile section of track running through it is the world's longest straight stretch. Cook is an outpost of rundown buildings. However, it's a good place to stretch our legs.
Early next morning we pull into Adelaide, and passengers join coach tours of the South Australian city. We are taken to Mount Lofty, though it's shrouded in cloud. We see the Adelaide Oval, where there's a statue of cricket legend Sir Don Bradman.
Back at Adelaide Parklands Terminal I buy a battery-powered beer-bottle cooler that makes train sounds when lifted.
Now I have to switch to red class, towards the front of the train. It comprises 48 seats that look as though they belong in a plane's business-class, but filled with backpackers and retirees.
Our duty manager recommends the breakfasts that he personally cooks. 'I've had phone calls from Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver saying, "I've heard about your breakfasts". I reply, "No, I can't come to work for you. I want the twenty bucks an hour Great Southern Rail is paying me".' Not far out of Adelaide, I glimpse my first and only kangaroos, far in the distance. I also spot an eagle high above.
That evening we reach Broken Hill, a lead and zinc mining town, and I make my way to the Palace Hotel. The venue featured in the 1994 film The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, about the unlikely subject of drag queens in the Outback.
I discover a reception area with bright murals, stuffed birds and cabinets displaying leopard-print high heels. On the wall is an advert for the Broken Heel Festival. Its motto? 'Life in the Outback is never a drag.' Back on the train, we clatter through the night and wake to see cows munching grass in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. I eat our carriage manager's Gordon Ramsay-quality breakfast and sit back as we snake into Sydney's Grand Central station. We're a mere 13 minutes late - not bad when you've just covered 2,700 miles.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - September 2016
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements