What 6854 DialAFlight clients thought of Europe

Very helpful staff

As always, great, friendly service. I always recommend you to friends.

I was so impressed that you bothered and took the time to phone me a few days before departure to ensure that everything was fine.

Polite and kept me informed till the moment I got on the flight

Wonderful.

First class organisation as always - thank you to Vinny.

Prompt answering phone call. Friendly, helpful and very reassuring. Nothing too much trouble, goes out of the way to be helpful. All staff excellent and offer fantastic customer service

Excellent service. Phone answered within seconds - NO ansaphone saying high volume of calls etc. Problem with hire car company resolved within about 15 minutes while abroad, absolutely brilliant. Will definitely use again.

Thomas is fantastic and super efficient.

Excellent service - very proactive. Never had to chase them

We appreciate the prompt and efficient service plus the fact that we have a named travel manager who is available to answer any queries.

Will use your service again

Very helpful nat all times - have always provided us with what we need for our trips

Always excellent especially Nadia

Could not have been better. Very happy with everything from initial phone call to the last minute check to see if I was still fine with everything.

A Big thank you to Jonathan, excellent seats and service.

Another trouble free, well organised trip by the lovely people at DialAFlight so thank you

Kylie always really good from start to finish

Libby and Raphael were great throughout the booking process and when we needed to change the destination they were very helpful and accommodating. When we arrived everything was smooth from transfers to checking in.

Gino and Amy were so helpful! We had to move flights and at one point thought we couldn’t go. The holiday was fab and I will continue to book through DialAFlight. Thanks guys!

Once again an excellent service from Bobby and the DialAFlight team, everything went as planned.

You are the best

Debbie especially has been so helpful and patient as we have moved flights twice after initial booking. Other team members have also been very helpful looking at car hire and answering questions. Would definitely recommend

We have always dealt with Tara, who is not only excellent but also so charming and helpful.

Once again Guy Foskin came up trumps - even arranging an upgrade. Excellent service. My go to holiday company.

Your staff are understanding, friendly, professional and gave me confidence.

Perfect trip, thanks very much for your very knowledgeable advice and guidance.

Brilliant service, thank you

Very well looked after by Stacey, Marshall and Niall. Eleven flights from 5 different airports across Europe, all delivered with absolute ease and clarity. Superb customer service. Will absolutely recommend and will be back. 10/10

Have now used Simon Pitman several times to book holidays and they have all been great. He is very knowledgeable about the places we are going to and the hotels are always superb for quality and service

Colourful Kefalonia

Martin Ogden makes his very own Odyssey to the idyllic haven of Kefalonia - the setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin

'Over there,' said our driver gesturing to a smudge of land barely discernible in the gathering dusk, 'is Ithaca: the home of brave Ulysses.'

He put the stress on 'brave' as if there might have been another Ulysses around who had less of an appetite for man-to-man combat.

Nikos, our driver, was a man of the classics, it appeared. 'According to legend, Ulysses spent ten years fighting the Trojans in the Trojan War and then it took him ten years to get home after the war.

'This journey home is the story of The Odyssey.'

Assos is another of the untouched villages you will find in Kefalonia

We were on Kefalonia, the sixth largest of the Greek islands, which sits between Ithaca and Zakynthos - far to the south of Corfu.

Unlike Corfu and other tourist-savvy islands such as Rhodes and Crete, Kefalonia still has the look of a place surprised to find itself in the holiday business.

If Ithaca has Ulysses, Kefalonia has heroes of a more recent vintage. The island was the setting for Louis de Bernière's modern classic Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

Picture perfect: The village of Agia Efimia on Kefalonia, the sixth largest of the Greek islands

FIT FOR THE BIG SCREEN

And, surprisingly - as Holly-wood almost never seems to shoot films in their authentic setting - this was where Penelope Cruz, Nicolas Cage and Christian Bale came to star in the film of the book when it was made here in 2001.

The locals are ambivalent about the film, as it makes narrative capital out of the two worst events to affect the island in living memory.

The ill-fated occupation by the Germans during the Second World War (which resulted in the massacre of more than 5,000 Italian troops as portrayed in Captain Corelli's Mandolin); and the terrible earthquake which destroyed large parts of the island in August 1953, killing 600 people and making thousands homeless.

Driving across the island today, however, there is little to suggest recent troubles.

Kefalonia radiates a quiet contentment, perfect for someone who has arrived, like us, searching for utter peace and quiet. What quickly endeared us to Kefalonia was that this was a 'real' place where the locals clearly have a life beyond tourism.

The famous beach Myrtos lies at the feet of two mountains

The capital, Argostoli, for example, is charming, with a substantial fruit market near the harbour. Of particular interest in the harbour are the turtles, who have become something of a tourist attraction. Another endearing factor, to me, is that there are few sights thought of as mandatory. Our only outing was to take a drive round the island to the harbour town of Fiskardo, 30 miles north of Argostoli.

FAVOURED BY THE STARS

It has become popular with the rich and famous as the perfect place to tie up their luxury yachts as they make their way around the Mediterranean.

We had a fabulous lunch at a harbourside restaurant where our waiter confided that Tom Hanks and his wife were on a yacht nearby and were expected to arrive for lunch imminently.

We strung out dessert as long as we possibly could, but Mr Hanks didn't put in an appearance (or perhaps he is so good at disguises that we didn't recognise him).

Fiskado's handsome Venetian buildings are an impressive sight

Fiskardo is one of the few villages on Kefalonia that were left undamaged by the 1953 earthquake: its handsome Venetian buildings are an impressive sight.

What was also impressive is that while the place is probably the nearest thing that Kefalonia has to a major resort, it didn't really feel like a tourist honey pot -it certainly wasn't crowded.

And, best of all perhaps, the excellent meal was very reasonably priced.

The island has only recently begun seeking to attract tourists and doesn't seem to have been alerted to the possibilities of ripping off visitors.

We took our trip to Fiskardo in the evening when the heat was tempered by a cooling breeze from the sea.

Close to our apartment were plenty of good tavernas and bars where we could enjoy a reasonably priced meal in the evening.

It may have taken Ulysses 20 years to return to Ithaca - we shall be heading back to Kefalonia much sooner than that.

First published in the Mail Online - April 2018

More articles below...

For more inspiration, read what travel writers have to say...

The fabulous new Montenegro

A new-found clamour for glamour awaited Jeff Mills in this chic little Balkan country