020·7962·9933
Everything went brilliantly. Gino did a good job and a very memorable trip
Cody was great
Thank you so much - it was our first trip to Australia and the airline were absolutely great.
Hotels were excellent everything went like clockwork had a great time
Always fab service
Lucy was excellent as were others I dealt with. Really made the holiday trouble free and a great experience. Being able to email after the initial calls was particularly helpful and much easier than calling.
Great service and super advice regarding transit assistance through Dubai.
Fantastic
Thank you Hayley. Great service once again.
Found the app very informative
Can't praise my experience with DialAFlight any higher, you are truly amazing! My long flight to Oz which was completely tailored to my needs was hassle free and plain sailing. I had nothing to do but follow your simple guidance. Thank you so much for being true to your word.
Great service every time.
No hesitation in using DialAFlight again.
Excellent all round service. Had to call service desk owing to automated check-in failure against my passport. Immediate contact with advisor, who calmed situation and suggested actual check-in at airport would work, which was the case.
Lincoln's advice was very helpful
We were not able to pre book our seats, other than that all went brilliantly.
Enjoy the personal touch
Ross was very helpful throughout
Everything went really well - a big thank you to Brian who is amazing and wouldn’t use anyone else.
Excellent service.
Matilda understood our needs and kept us informed all the time. The travel arrangements went very smoothly at each leg without any hitch and the prices were very, very competitive.
Lucas found me an overnight stop at the airport for half the normal price. It was great, perfect for me, no luggage, good bed and shower and right in the airport - magic!
As always a fantastic service gives peace of mind when booking long haul flights. Thank you Ryan
Excellent as always
We have always been happy with our bookings with you and have used you several times.
Excellent serv ice as always with added extras such as airport transfers added without being asked
Helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend.
Another trip and another great level of service from Sally and Harry
Always book with DialAFlight for longhaul. Beats other deals hands down.
Jenson has been the best travel adviser to me for years and never fails to deliver. I recommend to all my friends. Would never go anywhere else out of choice
The Great Ocean Road. Its name alone sounds leagues cooler than any of the world's bucket-list road trips. And that's before you've even begun to appreciate the vast beaches, towering limestone cliffs, and sparkling eucalyptus forests that make this Australian coast road so special.
The highway hugs the underbelly of the state of Victoria, linking Melbourne to the east with the old port city of Warrnambool to the west, threading through a series of seaside towns.
Once settlements for gold rush diggers, these ports now throng with wetsuit-clad holidaymakers in summer (Nov to Feb) and have their own wild charm in winter.
Coaches 'do' The Road in a day, but I opt for a small group tour, which spreads the journey over a night or two and is happy to go off-piste.
'Our tours are all about the detours,' says our guide Jeremy, a walking library of stories, anecdotes and Aboriginal folklore.
Jeremy scoots around Melbourne to collect me and the Scots – a 60-something couple from Aberdeen who are nearing the end of a six-week visit to Oz. And then we're off.
Our first stop is Geelong. It was the old mayor of this port city who, in 1918, decided to build a tourist route to rival California's Big Sur. He enlisted 3,000 ex-servicemen and set them to work, ignoring the government's fear that such a road 'would encourage invaders'. (The country was still licking its war wounds).
HARD YAKKA
For 15 years the soldiers toiled away with their picks and shovels, hacking into the craggy hillside.
Hard yakka, as the Aussies would say. Peering down sheer cliff faces, I imagine such a soothing ocean-scape must have offered better post-traumatic rehabilitation than any therapist.
My neck aches from looking out of the window as we travel west towards Torquay, birthplace of surfing brand Quiksilver. We're here over Easter, prime surf season, and the annual Rip Curl championships – the longest running surf contest in the world – are in full swing.
Jeremy slows down the van to let a woman cross the road, her salty hair dripping on to her face, and tanned arms holding a surfboard. 'That's Stephanie Gilmore,' he says casually. 'Six-time world champion Australian surfer.'
I get the impression that such a sighting is commonplace so I give a breezy nod, but my inner surfer is dancing with excitement. Onwards to Anglesea, where I see my first kangaroo over on the local golf course.
These animals are so robust, Jeremy says, that 'they do little more than blink when hit by a golf ball'.
A few minutes further on is Kennett River, where I stand with my arms outstretched holding handfuls of sunflower seeds as four iridescent parrots land on my head and shoulders. 'Would you like a turn?' Jeremy asks the Scots, but they're too busy oohing and aahing over a koala snoozing in the nook of a tree above us.
Next is Lorne, with its strip of surf shops, second-hand bookshops and organic juice cafes.
A young hipster in Ray-Bans and bare feet strums Van Morrison on his guitar while overlooking the sands where children trip over the cords of their boogie boards.
Their professional counter-parts, meanwhile, sit straddling surfboards well out to sea, bobbing nonchalantly on the swell, waiting for a wave worth riding. Engrossed in watching them, I trip on a cockatoo taking a stroll along the promenade, its little yellow mohican perfectly coiffed.
APOLLO BAY
We spend the night at Beacon Point Ocean View Villas, luxury cabins in the hills above Apollo Bay, and feast on fresh fish at Chris's Restaurant with a front row view of the waves in the dusk.
The next morning we reach the legendary Twelve Apostles – a cluster of giant limestone stacks protruding from the water, their bottoms nibbled by the waves.
The Twelve Apostles provide stark evidence that the coastline of Australia must be eroding at a rate of knots. An arch called London Bridge, sculpted over the centuries, collapsed so suddenly a few years ago that a group of tourists found themselves stranded on the seaward side and had to be helicoptered to safety.
Our final stop is Loch Ard Gorge, where the wreck of the Loch Ard ship was tossed ashore by a fearsome storm in the winter of 1878. Jeremy takes out an old wooden chest from the van – inside which are black-and-white photographs of the only two survivors of the disaster, a newspaper article about the wreckage, and a handful of rusty spoons from the ship.
Turning these barnacle-clad utensils in my hand, I muse that over two days, my notion that Australia offers little by way of history has sunk faster than the vessel itself.
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.
