Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
Excellent service ..
Larry was amazing to work with. We had a wonderful holiday and his recommendation for a hotel was absolutely PERFECT! Will only book trips through him in the future!
We arrived at Kalamata airport but there was no transport waiting for us. We called the hotel and over an hour later a different car was dispatched to take us to the hotel. Not the ideal start to the holiday.
Always great service from your company and staff
Nicole, our travel manager for many years did a magnificent job. She booked the flights, the hotels, the car hire and gave the best advice regarding our trip to Tuscany.
Always delighted with DialAFlight. The rapid telephone answering is wonderful, the agents speak clearly and are always polite, enthusiastic and helpful.
Taylor delivered another five star experience
Very kind and easy to talk to. Confirmation email clearly understood. DialAFlight much easier to use than booking online with airline.
As usual first class support from Darryll Hansford
The DialAFlight team sorted out our trip amazingly efficiently and it all went without a hitch. Thank you.
My travel plans went extremely well thanks to Peter Smith
Much appreciated
Brilliant customer service
Damian is an absolute star. He finds me last minute tickets and organises family holidays. We are super happy with his very professional services.
Dealt with a lovely travel representative called Michael.
Todd was EXCEPTIONAL from start to finish. He gave lots of help when deciding the destination, taking into account all our requirements and the communication was excellent! Cannot wait to book our next holiday with you
I upgraded on SAS airlines by the bidding process! I wouldn’t bother!
Ferries from Corfu to Paxos are unreliable. Our return ferry was cancelled the night before. We were put on a later ferry and just made the flight. It might be worth noting and suggesting an extra night in Corfu at the end of the holiday.
Another faultless booking by Jerry
So reassuring to have the back up and support. Ian responded so quickly to my last minute (day before I flew) queries. It made a huge difference to have the personal support.
Phone answered quickly. Staff very friendly and helpful. An extremely knowledgeable and professional company. Takes the stress out of booking a flight
Superb trip Gordon.
Most organisations under deliver on their promises but not DialAFlight. Excellent service, thank you.
Des is wonderful.
Jake’s the BEST
Absolutely brilliant sorting out complex changes and golf bags to Norway, supporting with check in and full telephone support and guidance. We love the calm and helpful way all your staff respond to us stressed travellers! Thoroughly recommend your excellent service.
Great trip with very professional support
Hotel was fabulous. Great place. All really smooth
Great help as usual
Hotel choice was excellent
A statue on Funchal's quayside of the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has golden boots, hands and groin, the bronze buffed by the touches of adoring fans. I take hold of his right hand and have my photo taken.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player is Madeira's golden boy – the island's airport is named after him and here on the quayside is the CR7 (7 is his shirt number) museum, shop, hotel and café.
You can also have your picture taken inside, where there are models and a computer simulation of the great man, now plying his trade for Juventus in Italy. There are cabinets of fan mail, signed footballs, shirts, boots, medals and trophies. There are also detailed instructions on 'how to score a free kick like Cristiano'. I'm sure it'll come in useful, even to a non-football fan such as myself.
In the museum shop I note that you can buy mini replicas of his golden boot and Ballon d'Or trophies at the knockdown price of €80 per pair. In the hotel my travelling companion Kate is astounded to find that the door handles in the lavatories are shaped like Ronaldo's hands – put your hand in his.
Despite him plainly being the most famous person to come from Madeira, this, we agree, is a step too far.
Until Ronaldo opened his museum of greatness in 2013, the most quirky tourist pastime was being pushed by men in straw hats down the steep streets of Funchal, the capital, in a wicker toboggan.
The Portuguese island, 250 miles north of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic, has been named by the Association of British Travel Agents as one of the 12 hot destinations to watch. In its Travel Trends report, it says: 'The island is increasingly gaining a reputation for adventure and activity holidays, with mountain biking, canyoning and climbing in its dramatic landscapes.'
And indeed a short drive from Funchal we find ourselves surrounded by lush tropical mountains and steep-sided valleys. We decide to leave hiking along the island's irrigation canals, known as levadas, for a longer visit and opt to cover the greatest distance in the shortest time with a four-wheel-drive tour.
Our driver, David, is a talking encyclopaedia, barely drawing breath while pointing out the different types of vegetation on the steep terraced fields as he negotiates numerous tunnels and hairpin bends.
'On the right you see bananas, our main crop. On the left sugar cane, from which we make rum. We use the rum in the traditional poncha cocktails. Oh, look at the waterfalls. Winter is the best time to see them; it's too dry in summer.'
We emerge, slightly shaken, on the north coast. Here you really appreciate the rugged beauty of this small volcanic island. Its red cliffs drop straight into the ocean, occasionally giving way to a narrow beach of black sand. We stop to admire the scenery, and in Santana we stop to admire traditional A-frame cottages, some with thatched roofs.
The skywalk, a glass viewing platform at Cabo Girao in the south, is one of the best places to appreciate the dramatic scenery. In the north, less scarily, we have lunch on the terrace of the Quinta do Furao restaurant in Santana, noted for local delicacies such as garlic limpets, beef kebabs barbecued on laurel skewers, black scabbardfish in banana sauce and sweet potato bread. While we eat we admire one of the most stunning views on the island.
We burn off the calories with a walk in the restaurant's vineyard and lush garden, where there is a huge traditional grape press, the site of harvest celebrations in the summer.
Almost every restaurant we visit produces its own wine. The beachside restaurant of Faja dos Padres in the south is famous for its dark vintage that dates from the 15th century – and its inaccessibility. A cable car transports you down a steep cliff into its vineyard and garden. Mario Fernandes, a winemaker, claims that the soothing sound of the waves, and the classical music he plays while working, helps to improve the taste of his wine.
He tells me that Ronaldo's mother recently used the garden to film an advertisement for Madeiran bananas. 'Maybe it was these bananas that helped to make him so famous,' he says. I immediately eat one.
First published in The Times - April 2019
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements