Not your fault, but the 13 hour delay at Heathrow on our return was awful and not well managed by BA at all.
I love DialAFlight. Kylie is the best travel agent I have ever had. Her attention to detail and her willingness to go the extra mile for us has ensured that all our travel plans have been hugely successful.
Peter was exceptional. He helped us rearrange our plans and our trip to Barbados was fantastic .
Riley is a credit to your team. Many thanks have recommended him to other people.
Everything went to plan.
Excellent service as always. Thanks Neil
Reggie did a great job for us. Everything worked extremely well.
Dominic's customer service is excellent
The new Terminal 2 at Manchester is one of the best terminals in the UK
I have always dealt with Drew and he has always delivered the service. Very happy
Great communication and support throughout.
The only thing that could be improved was Lufthansa cancelling our original flights. Other than that, the package holiday was just what we expected.
Good communication all the way
Lily saved our holiday and was absolutely amazing. She did an excellent job
Everything was excellent with the trip. Hotel choices were really good and all the arrangements were seamless.
Everything smooth as silk
I dealt with Sean who was truly fabulous as always.
As ever my go to travel company yet again delivered a first class service. Keep up the great work DialAFlight
No problems at all. You made it very easy
Golf bag on return trip was damaged as was in with usual luggage. It arrived on the conveyor belt and not separately.
Already have recommended you to friends
Always recommended you. Kylie and her team are brilliant!
I was not made aware that I needed to fill in an online immigration form for Barbados, which caused a little moment of stress at the airport, after a long flight. Just a small niggle but otherwise excellent service.
Excellent service
Kylie Budinger is just brilliant - everything you could want in a travel consultant
Not sure why, but we never got the booked seats going out, and were split up although still in Premium Economy. Virgin gave us £40 each duty free items for the mistake. Flight back much better. DialAFlight info and follow up good by Vinnie.
DialAFlight never let me down.
As always, Max was brilliant! He went that extra mile to ensure everything was beyond our expectations.
Blue Orchid and Coral Mist (where we stayed the first night) were gems, as long as you aren't too worried about the plumbing and breakfasts which one doesn't really need as each room has its own kitchen. Staff were very helpful and its situation on beach was beautiful. The quality of British Airways food was poor.
We booked a last minute trip to Barbados all based on Danny Sharma’s recommendations. He gave us a great experience
They look like wind-up toys. Marching one after another, with clockwork regularity, a stream of baby turtles, miniature flippers whirring into life, emerge from their sandy nest.
Nothing draws the crowds quite like these hatchlings. Word spreads quickly among the dinner guests at Sandals Barbados resort, and soon a sizeable gathering is crouched on the beach.
Sadly, it doesn’t quite play out like Planet Earth. As more and more turtles try to escape into the moonless night many lose their bearings and veer towards the hotel lights. There is a lot of cooing among the frocks and the golf shoes, as we all trip over ourselves in the dark trying not to tread on them.
Sandals staff wisely usher the crowds from the beach as the survivors are packed into boxes, ready to be released when the sea is quieter. Ninety-two, someone counted. 'We always know when the babies have hatched,' I was told. 'It’s the only time the buffet is ever empty.'
Escaping to Barbados for a week or two is the stuff of dreams, so excitement levels are understandably high. The attentive all-inclusive service, fabulous food and comprehensive luxury is enough to keep many within the hotel grounds for their entire stay.
The soft sand of the adjoining Dover Beach is a wonderful place to relax and there are innumerable activities to burn off the calories, from yoga at sunrise to lessons with tennis pros.
COASTAL CRUISE
For those looking to explore the island's platinum west coast, a catamaran is a must.
The boat is crewed by larger-than-life characters such as Brian ‘deAction Man’ Talma, who serve up a sumptuous spread of jerk chicken, flying fish and exquisite rum cake, while doubling up as ocean guides. We stop for a spot of snorkelling with hawksbills and green leatherbacks – fully-grown relatives of the babies I saw hatching at the hotel, and dive down to submerged wrecks moored to the sea bed.
The shoreline is fanned by palms guarding the palatial villas of the rich and famous.
There is little rising beyond the tree line: the island is effectively a large slab of coral dangling from the south-eastern tip of the Antiles. The flat topography makes it ideal for agriculture, sugar production in particular, which was especially appealing to the British who colonised Barbados in 1627 and didn’t let it go until independence more than 300 years later.
Getting around is relatively straightforward – even strapped into the back of a jeep on one of the island’s eccentric safari tours. The mood is certainly buoyant – there’s something about bouncing around uncontrollably that makes people inexplicably happy.
The tour highlight is Bathsheba on the east coast. Atlantic-facing, the turbulent waters favoured by local surfers have churned up huge coral boulders, which sit shrouded in sea mist like guardians to an ancient kingdom. It is a world away from the raked sands of the west coast villas and offers the luxury of isolation and a landscape of breathtaking beauty.
FRIDAY FISH FRY
Friday night and nearby Oistin’s fish market is heaving. The resort runs a free shuttle bus to this island institution, where row upon row of food outlets serve everything from ‘dolphin’ (not the porpoise but a fish called mahi-mahi) to lobster, all grilled or fried in delicious spices.
Hundreds turn out to eat and dance to the carnivalesque soca music, performed live in the centre of the market.
Barbados is fertile ground for musicians: they crop up here like sugar cane, moving with effortless rhythm, emanating sounds as sweet as molasses. After a rum punch or two I’m soon swaying along awkwardly to the upbeat vocals of raw Rhianna hopefuls.
Next morning, with a sore head, I find myself in the capital Bridgetown, listening to a stout, elderly gentleman and gazing longingly at the shade afforded by his wide-brimmed fedora.
You are standing, says Maurice Greenidge – eminent local historian and my guide to the city – on sacred ground; 1652 is the year, and on this spot rum was born. Barbados loves rum.
I scan the colourful facades of the old harbour market. Carlisle bay sweeps away to the former British garrison. Bright colours blur with the sound of car horns; music is beating underneath it all, and the heat settling down from above.
It is easy to while away the time here at a luxury all-inclusive resort. But venture beyond and you will quickly realise that life in Barbados offers so much more, paradise included.
First published in the Mail Online - May 2017
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