Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
First class service from start to finish
Emily Aird sorts our travel and once again, on this trip to Croatia, she did an amazing job. The hotel she found for us was perfect. I literally have nothing but good things to say about it. I needed this break and I am so grateful.
Brilliant agents
We have used DialAFlight on a few occasions. Gary found us an amazing holiday in Thailand, Tammy found us a lovely holiday in Rome & Milan. All hotels were really lovely and very central to everything. I would like to thank the team for all their help
Great personal service, happy to recommend as always. Next booking coming soon
Superb service as always
Always great to work with DialAFlight
My first time using DialAFlight and Jed took time to get to know what we wanted. On another note I asked if he could do us a trip to Egypt which was a bit complicated but he managed so we’ve booked another one. Jed has been very professional and helpful
The staff at DialAFlight are so helpful, particularly George Burke
One hiccup with the excusrions that was listed as a 9.20am pick up. It was actually a 12.45 pick up which meant we had to rearrange our evening which we were only made aware of the day prior.
Fabulous trip
Brilliant, and very reassuring to know I can contact you and get a quick response if I am worried about anything.
Excellent as usual
Really great service all round
Hotel food was very average .. although nice location. Hotel transfer was non existent. You guys excellent as ever
First class as always.
You did everything well. BA on the other hand was less than impressive. A shame for a national carrier but not unusual.
Tony, as always, did a good job
Cameron is a super star
Perfect hotel choices by Travis. Efficient, friendly and knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend
Kennedy is a star
Massive thank you to DialAFlight for making everything so easy and efficient. Can’t recommend enough
Always helpful and efficient
Great support from my adviser
Thankyou so much and we are looking forward to speaking with you to help us book more flights in the future.
Thank you Troy
Another excellent trip organised for us by DialAFlight.
As always, 1st class service, thank you Vinnie
You get the greatest service from these guys. Particular mention for Claire Doherty who I’ve dealt with on and off for many years and one of her team members Jenson. They are always at the end of a phone or an email if you need them - and I have needed them a few times. They never make you feel like your question is silly or that you’re a pest!
Excellent all round service, thank you Louie
You've heard of parachuting and paragliding and quite probably parascending… but I have just discovered a new and very rewarding experience and it's called paradoring.
It involves driving around Spain and staying in luxurious accommodation in stunning, historic and elegant hotels.
There are 94 paradors in Spain, in extraordinary natural settings, full of history and culture, and including former palaces, ancient convents and medieval castles.
I was familiar with the south of Spain but had never explored the north and the central plains around Madrid, so this was my chance.
You can fly to any of the big cities, pick up a hire car, and plan a parador to parador route of your choice. I began in Santander, on the north coast, and managed to fit in eight on a round trip.
First stop was the parador at Fuente De, in a dramatic setting in the beautiful Picos de Europa mountain range with a backdrop of towering limestone peaks. A nearby cable-car will take you to the top where the views are awesome.
This is great walking country, but it's even better at the wheel of a car and the next day I headed south over the 6,000-ft San Glorio pass in search of parador number two, driving for several memorable hours on roller-coaster, winding, but perfectly maintained mountain roads, where you hardly see another car.
I hadn't planned to stop at Leon, but one look at the parador 'Hostal San Marcos' in the heart of the city and I quickly changed my mind. This former 16th century monastery has been converted into a living museum. If you can tear yourself away from these superb surroundings it's worth taking a tour around the impressive cathedral, which has some of world's best stained glass windows.
Still heading south, my next stop was at the beautiful old town of Salamanca, with its architecturally perfect square. It also has a fascinating Art Nouveau and Art Deco museum rolled into one. The parador here is comparatively new, has been refurbished throughout and is in a great spot on a hill across from the city.
Next was the charming walled town of Avila, where a former 16th century palace would be home for the night. Walking the sandstone ramparts and walls is memorable experience.
The parador at Toledo was also on a hill overlooking the old city, with views across the Tagus River. The huge cathedral is truly mind-blowing and the alcazar is something special.
I was close to Madrid now and took a train into the capital - 30 minutes later I was at the Prado museum.
Visits to several other art galleries dotted along the wide tree-lined avenues followed, before indulging in a boyhood fantasy with a tour of Real Madrid's famous Bernabeu Stadium, alongside hundreds of gelled hair Ronaldo and Bale clones.
I headed back to Toledo for the car and then on to Alcala de Henares and the next parador. This was a super luxury ultra-modern conversion of the magnificent 17th century St Thomas Convent.
After another superb dinner - all paradors are renowned for their imaginative local cuisine - and good night's sleep, I skirted Madrid and headed back north to Segovia and the penultimate parador. This was in another stunning location with great views of the city and its iconic aquaduct and alcazar, said to have inspired Walt Disney's trademark castles.
The drive up to my final stop at Argomaniz was across more picturesque countryside and along quiet roads. Argomaniz is a tiny village with the superb parador dominating the landscape - and I had a good reason for staying there. My teenage fantasies didn't only revolve around Real Madrid - I had always been fascinated by nearby Pamplona's bull-running festival and had promised myself to take part one day.
But as the years went by I had decided that, at my age, it was probably better to do the run without any bulls chasing me along the narrow cobbled streets.
So after a night at Argomaniz I drove the short distance to Pamplona and, with a dog-eared copy of Ernest Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon in my pocket, proceeded to run the course from corral to bullring without the risk of being skewered by a raging bull's horn.
After Pamplona I drove up to the pretty north coast, visiting elegant San Sebastian then stylish Bilbao for the must-see Guggenheim Museum experience, before hugging the scenic seaside roads back to Santander.
Taking a road trip and staying at these historic and beautiful paradors is a great way to experience the real Spain and one that will leave you wanting to go back time and again.
And bearing in mind the quality on offer, the great food and the fabulous locations, the Government-owned paradors also represent great value.
First published in the Mail Online - March 2016
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements