What 6725 DialAFlight clients thought of Europe

Harrison was very responsive each time I contacted him - even the day we left to travel home. Great service, courtesy call before we left - will definitely use again!

Always amazing service from Cameron - I recommend you guys to everyone

You saved our trip in the face of a total nightmare. Thank you!

Micky Patten was fantastic, super helpful, friendly and efficient. Our holiday was fantastic

Every stage of my trip to the USA was expertly put together. Assistance in place, lovely hotel, all flight seats were aisle, as requested. DialAFlight will be planning my next trip.

Always brilliant, make it all so easy, hence we always come back!

Sarah Hole and her team are fantastic! I so recommend them. They give you confidence

Thanks Adam for the excellent service as always

Thanks to Tara for arranging assistance through Malaga airport for our son in his wheelchair. When we arrived at Malaga airport there was a clearly marked intercom near the entrance to the terminal for disabled passengers. When I used it, the person I spoke to checked our son’s name was on the system, asked us to stay there and within 10 minutes an escort arrived in a buggy to transport the whole party through the airport from check in, through security and straight to the gate. Very impressed!

Neil and his team were all so helpful. We could not have managed the trip without their help. AND they answered the 'phone quicker than any other company that I have had the misfortune to ring in the last 30 months!

Fantastic service as always, especially Troy

Always excellent service

Sean Furnival was his usual outstanding self

Paul Jones and his team are excellent. I will be using you guys again for my next holiday.

Lucas is a star! Always gets it right

Paula was brilliant and a credit to your company

Matt Power is a legend

Super-satisfied. Many thanks.

Amelia Beecham looked after our recent Portugal trip. She also booked my Toronto trip earlier in the year. Both trips were fantastic. Accommodation was brilliant. Everything ran smoothly. Amelia was superb!

Have used you guys for several years and would not consider using anybody else. Brilliant all the way.

Efficient and informative. Would highly recommend

Bruce was always available and dealt with any queries immediately. He also contacted us before travel to wish us a happy holiday

Very informative - lots of updates. Very helpful and friendly - would definitely recommend Danny Sharma.

Everything went according to plan. Thank you so much Patrick

Perfect service as always

Fantastic service from start to finish! We had an amazing holiday

Very responsive from the outset; quick to provide documents and responses to questions. Would definitely recommend. Thanks to Teddy and Les for making it all run smoothly

I will certainly use you again! Thank you so much

Ed was so professional and friendly. Would never book with anyone else.

I thought the pre holiday attention was great and given the amount of variables involved in my trip to several Greek Islands - logistically it was great. I would say there was some inconsistencies in hotel qualities though as the only caviat. But I appreciate it was a fairly tricky itinerary and was overall a fantastic holiday

Seductive Sardinia

Why Sardinia was a dream worth waiting for

Devoted Italy lover Lisa Brady shows her young family the country that stole her heart - and they are smitten too

For as long as I can remember, Italy has held a place in my heart. The food, the culture, the fashion... in fact, for a brief period in my twentysomethings, I even toyed with the idea of upping sticks and moving there.

My dream at the time was to renovate a run-down Italian villa, all the while savouring the best truffles and gorgonzola, washed down with amarone.

Of course, things didn't quite work out like that, but over the years I have had many Italian adventures. Trekking through Tuscany, watching the Grand Prix in Modena, honeymooning in Rome, high fashion in Milan, and stays in Sicily.

Sardinia had got away from me, and was definitely on my go-to list. What wasn't on the list was missing our flight to Cagliari and having to rebook from a different airport - but this definitely added a certain frisson of excitement to the trip, particularly with my husband and two small children in tow!

Sardinia retains a laid-back Mediterranean charm much sought-after by the Italian's themselves

But we reached our destination later that day, if a little later than planned and made our way to our resort in the south of the island - Forte Village in Santa Margherita di Pula. It's hard not to be impressed by this resort. It's essentially a luxury holiday village, nestled in gardens along a white sandy beach.

There's a choice of accommodation - from five and four-star hotels and luxury villas. We were staying in Hotel Castello, in a deluxe family bungalow which had been newly refurbished alongside other extensive multi-million pound renovations which have taken place over the last few years.

An ideal hide-away
The villa was perfect - contemporary and comfortable, with plenty of room for a family of four and with lots of garden space.

There were gourmet and buffet restaurants, numerous swimming pools, infinite activities, a charming piazza with evening entertainment - the nightly children's disco was a particular hit - boutiques and a Thalasso spa.

There's even a children's restaurant where youngsters can stock up on child-friendly food.

It means they get to eat before going to the kids' club, so parents can enjoy a more intimate meal together. A really good idea.
In fact, there's so much to do here that we found we didn't have to leave the village - which, to be truthful, is awkward when holidaying with small children anyway.

There's a number of sporting academies and clubs, ideal for older children. Our girls are so young they were more than happy splashing in one of the pools, or the waterpark, or the Children's Wonderland - essentially a child-sized play village.

There's even a Barbie house where children can colour, get their nails painted and maybe even meet the famous blonde.

And speaking of famous blondes, there's a good chance you'll bump into one here. The place is full of beautiful people, and it is prime people-watching territory.

Food is a way of life in Italy, and The Forte Village offers a number of excellent dining options

Foodie heaven
Foodies in particular will love it here, and eating is a big part of the Sardinian experience - and let's face it, of any holiday. Everywhere we ate was really, really good - and as resolute carnivores, we were pleasantly surprised with how much we enjoyed our meal at the Michelin-starred all-veggie restaurant, Peaches Cream. And I got to make pizza at the Gourmet cooking academy, the Italian way (although I've yet to repeat this experience in my own kitchen).

The Forte Village is a haven for peace and escapism

As parents know only too well, any time you get to yourself is precious, and you need to make it count. So I managed to slink off for a couple of hours one day to experience the Acquaforte Thalasso & Spa, which dates back millennia to the time when ancient Romans built thermal baths at the nearby port town of Nora.

After I recovered from the shock of sliding into the murky warm water - filled with those miracle-working marine algae and minerals - I really relaxed and enjoyed it.

We came home tired but happy. And very relaxed. Particularly because we didn't miss our flight this time.

First published in the Mail Online - March 2019

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