Volaris were a great airline. You may want to have a regular relationship.
Top service as usual from Alfie!
As always, Bruce and the DialAFlight team made our trip easy and excellent - thanks again for all the help.
Amazing service, thanks so much!
Oliver Orr as always is a pleasure to work with and goes above and beyond to help us achieve our perfect holiday. His effort and attention doesn't go unnoticed.
Will use you again
Everything worked like clockwork. Charlie Miles and Chris Coulter were extremely helpful which eased my mind about travelling as an elderly person.
Professional, friendly and accommodating. We couldn’t have asked for better service. Thank you so much
All flights arranged by Kylie were good and other than a long wait in Miami they were extremely well organised.
The only issue that I had was no vegetarian meal on the homebound longhaul flight. I do, however, suspect that this was an airline issue rather than DialAFlight.
I had to make a change whilst away and this was dealt with very quickly.
Note that Ibis Styles does not have transport to airport and the buses from airport don't go there. Would stay somewhere else next time.
All was perfect - no delays
Very good hotel choices and the flight connections went smoothly. Ably assisted by our Travel Manager who was only a phone call away for any queries, which were answered promptly and dealt with sympathetically. Will use for future holidays.
The DialAFlight app made checking in very straightforward.
Jarvis is superb. A great ambassador for the company.
Great staff, always available to help with queries. Would definitely use again and recommend
Harriet was very helpful and I got my flights for a good price. The connections worked out well so I didn't have to hang around any airport for too long.
Matthew Price is a magician - he always gets it right
Lee was very helpful and answered my questions promptly.
Never received such 5* service when booking flights before. Hugely impressed, will definitely use again and recommend to friends - in fact already recommended to friends who have booked!
Very happy with the service.
No problems but felt reassured that I could contact Ethan if any arose
Richard is a delight to work with. Have been dealing with DialAFlight for over 30 years in my capacity as Personal Assistant to the Executive Director of International Coffee Organisation and now as Consultant for InterAfrican Coffee Organisation. It has always been a pleasure and a peace of mind!
As always the service was first class for my fourth trip in the last 12 months. No need to look anywhere else for travel arrangements
Thak you Joey - we had a great wildlife adventure!
Had a few complications but all worked out in the end and was very glad for the help with cancelling part of my trip to Peru and rescheduling of my flights.
Des brilliant as always.
Julie is always helpful and gives me so many options to choose from. Great service
Small niggle. Qantas charged us extra for our checked in luggage which we thought was included on our Sydney to Honolulu flight
It's not necessarily the first thing to draw your attention to a holiday destination - but it was the elegant Costa Rican footballers in the 2014 World Cup that got me thinking about a holiday in Central America.
I knew Costa Rica was famous for its geographical diversity - it has active volcanoes alongside misty rainforests - but as soon as we arrived we also discovered a country extremely and justly proud of its status as a world leader in environmental protection.
It thrives on its image of eco-tourism and is an adventure playground with jungle zip-lines, surfing and many national parks.
Most holidaymakers fly to San Jose in the centre of the country and the very first impression on landing is not so green and pleasant, with crowded highways. But the capital is bustling with street life and has a growing number of good places to eat.
Once you escape the city, the true nature of the country soon becomes apparent.
We hired a rugged 4x4 vehicle, which is definitely needed for the potholed roads and is a must if you want to cross shallow rivers to reach secluded beaches.
Our first car journey was to the Arenal volcano, a couple of hours north. It last erupted, without warning, in 1968 and even now you are requested to park thoughtfully, ready for a quick getaway.
We spent the afternoon of the same day on a horseback trek with the volcano as a backdrop. The Ticos, as the locals are known, like to tell you that you can swim in the Pacific Ocean in the morning, cross the country and then be beside the Atlantic before sunset.
The Guanacaste coastal region in particular, in the north-west of the country, boasts fabulous beaches such as Playa Blanca and Playa Hermosa and is the most visited part of Costa Rica. There’s a diverse range of hotels from small beachfront properties to the high-end all-inclusive in Papagayo Gulf and not forgetting the laid back more bohemian resorts of Samara and Nosara where surfing and yoga are the main activities.
The Santa Rosa National Park and Rincon de la Vieja combines tropical forest and surfing - plus about 250 bird species, there are many beautiful mountain lodges so you can spend time exploring the wildlife in this lush area.
The Pacific and the Atlantic are only five hours apart in this part of the world, and both coasts have lovely beaches.
Anyway, not being in a tearing rush to experience both oceans on the same day we decided to head west to the Nicoya Peninsula in Guanacaste, dreaming of deserted beaches and giant rolling Pacific waves.
Self-styled as the 'black hole of happiness', the area around Samara has the laid-back aura of a 1960s hippy community. We did find many beaches, some nameless with rock pools, and some with crocodiles as well as diving gannets, others with surfers seeking giant walls of water. My favourite was the palm-fringed Barrigona, with its romantic, lingering sunset.
Reluctantly escaping the vortex of Samara we headed back to San Jose, handing in the car and our freedom. We spent the night at the boutique Hotel Presidente before joining a tour group heading to Tortuguero National Park, a Caribbean water world of lagoons and canals on the Atlantic coast.
Although our independence was over, it was good to be looked after and to socialise with fellow travellers.
Our charming accommodation at Aninga Lodge was reachable only by boat. As the river was low, it required some of us to get out mid-journey and push.
Our cabin was set among a maze of paths surrounded by greenery. The organised walks further into the rainforest were a joy with sightings of howler monkeys, colourful toucans, sloths and humming birds.
The best way to get even closer to nature is to take another boat ride down the narrow canals where guides point out creatures that tourist eyes would never spot.
Our next lodgings were on the banks of the Rio Pacuare. Pacuare Lodge is undeniably upmarket but also one of the best eco-lodges in the world. It is candlelit, spacious and deeply romantic.
The staff run the zip-lines, very exciting even for a daredevil like me, cook the delicious food and, at the end of your stay, take you on a white-water rafting experience back to civilisation.
Fantastic.
First published in the Mail on Sunday - July 2019
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