Dave Probert always organises so well
Another easy, hassle free trip. The hotel recommendation was just perfect for our needs. Thanks Eric and the DialAFlight team.
I am always pleased with the wonderful service
The whole trip went well - very happy with your work and organising
Tara was amazingly helpful all the way through. Great experience. So a big thank you to her.
Nicole is brilliant.
As always, a great service with competitive prices. Good customer service. Would not book on the net as DialAFlight took all the stress out and were cheaper!
Three different airports in one day was daunting but thanks to DialAFlight and Gino Lamonby it was painless. Very happy
Jarvis excellent as always.
We found Hotel Mascagni in Rome near the Rome Termini train station an excellent recommendation. Would stay there again
Thanks to you, our trip to Rome and Venice was memorable for all the right reasons. Rest assured, we have no intention to use any other company because you think of everything.
Orlando is a star.
Another well executed holiday ran smoothly.
Felt that we were really looked after by our rep. We had emails and a phone call checking we had successfully completed API and check-in.
Used you for the first time and you delivered what you promised .
Very good communication. Have used DialAFlight before and will definitely use them again.
My advisor even phoned to see if I had managed to check in online! Very kind
Excellent service, and bacon butty on board was so good
Other than the initial glitch with the check in link everything worked wonderfully plus excellent communication.
Michelle Dooler continues to deliver our dream holidays, total legend
The past 3 years have been difficult but Brody at DialAFlight went above and beyond in helping us to get through an unusual time. We had 2 cancelled cruises, through no fault of our own but we managed to get a few days break in Rome and a hotel recommendation which was superb. I would highly recommend this company and particularly Brody (I am sure all your advisors are great) and we will certainly be back to book another holiday.
Everything ran smoothly. Sorrento was excellent but I wouldn't recommend Naples
You delivered again which is good to see.
Very helpful personalised service.
Amelia is fantastically helpful and most professional. She is one in a million
As always, great, friendly service. I always recommend you to friends.
Wonderful.
Very helpful nat all times - have always provided us with what we need for our trips
Absolutely brilliant selection of hotels selected by Trevor. Thank you.
An excellent holiday, with good liaison with Philippa. Lovely hotel in Florence in a super location. If hiring a car, please ask if we want automatic or manual. I was expecting an automatic!
Italians are famous for their love of children, welcoming them into restaurants and cafes as if they were part of their own brood.
We were keen on a destination that would scratch our itch for culture… but not turn its nose up at our two boys, Thomas and Jack. A short summer-time break in Rome proved the perfect match.
We based ourselves at the four-star Hotel Mascagni, a stylish boutique hotel in the Repubblica district of the Eternal City, close to all of the major attractions.
Blissfully, we had adjoining rooms - a double bed in one and twins in the other - and each room had its own bathroom, which gave everyone space.
At breakfast every morning, the staff chatted to the boys, quizzing them about their favourite football teams and encouraging them to try out their Italian on them.
With two days to cram in as much of the city as possible, we rose early with a plan to make the most of the morning before the sun got too hot.
The trouble with Rome is that there is too much to see and do and we got carried away with its irresistible charms.
We did a lot of walking on the first day, taking in the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain and St Peter's Square and, of course, picking up quite a few ice creams along the way - which kept the boys in good spirits.
Rome is not huge but it is hilly, and in the baking August sun little legs can tire. When we returned to the hotel in the evening I discovered that Jack had been stoically enduring the painful consequence of wearing trainers without socks, and we decided to re-think the transport options.
The next day we went everywhere by bus. You never wait long for one and it is easy to navigate your way around the city, and we got a breather and a sit-down in between sight-seeing trips.
There are plenty of other options too; sightseeing buses regularly circle the Eternal City and you can even hire Segways should you desire a more novel way to get around.
High on the list of priorities for the boys was the Colosseum. They had been learning about Romans at school and wanted to visit the scene of all that gory gladiatorial combat.
Hotel staff had advised that we should book tickets in advance to avoid the queues - a tip which saved us hours of waiting in the broiling Italian sun.
The boys immediately made a beeline for the first hawker they saw dressed as a centurion, who promptly demanded 10 euro once Elizabeth had gleefully rattled off some holiday snaps.
I didn't resent it too much though; I shall treasure the memory of seeing how Thomas and Jack were awestruck by this iconic symbol of imperial Rome.
All they'd learned in the classroom about this amphitheatre from 80AD was brought to life here and kept them happy and engrossed for more than two hours of fascinating fun.
Next we took a bus to the church of Santa Maria del Popolo to see two jaw-dropping Caravaggios, which is about as much art as two small boys can take in a day.
While we could have stood and stared at the revered handiwork of this 16th century master for much longer, we quickly realised that there are only so many antiquities that you can squeeze in with children and still expect them to be cheery.
Then Elizabeth and I took a well-earned rest in the shade of a tree in the beautiful park at Villa Borghese.
Rome's answer to New York's Central Park, the third largest park in the city is loved by locals and tourists alike. The elegant 226-acre gardens are perfect for a little respite from the tourist trail and visitors can admire fountains, statues and museums galore.
We almost hired bikes - a popular way of getting around Villa Borghese's landscaped surrounds - but in the end let the boys enjoy four wheels instead.
With energy to burn they loved the idea of hiring pedal-powered go-karts.
Thomas and Jack even took a decidedly local approach to the driving and hurtled around corners at speed, enjoying being in charge of their own set of wheels.
With a little more time, we would have loved to tick off the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel too, although the long queues in unforgiving weather might have been better for an off-season visit.
It isn't easy to shop with two boys either, so we also tried to ignore the city's stylish high fashion boutiques in favour of picking up a few trinkets in the sea of tourist shops instead.
A mini-break with children can be a big ask and not many European tourist cities can pull it off. Rome does though; who can argue with a living history lesson and ice cream in flavours most kids can only dream of back home?
First published in the Mail on Sunday - June 2016
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