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

Classic Tuscany

Towering Tuscany

Take me back to ravishing Tuscany - it's my dream destination, says Mark Palmer

Here's a game to play on the plane. You have one last holiday and it's for a month. It won't cost you a thing but you have to go somewhere you've been before. That honeymoon hotel in Sri Lanka might loom large, perhaps the beach resort in Jamaica would be perfect, or the heavenly spot in the Maldives could do the trick.

My wife and I play the game on the way home from Tuscany - and are hard-pressed to think beyond the place we've just left. We stayed at the Castello di Casole hotel, a ravishing hill-top converted castle within striking distance of Siena, San Gimignano and Florence. In other words, culture of the highest order on your doorstep, where going nowhere at all is also a tantalising option.

We're talking Tuscany Classico: lush undulating countryside, a patchwork of greens, ochres and violets broken up by thick hedges and narrow tracks lined with immaculate cypress trees.

With far-reaching views of the beautiful Tuscan landscape, Castello di Casole is a dream location

Many of the tracks you can see from the castle's terrace - with its fabulous infinity swimming pool and huge terracotta pots laden with olive trees - lead to villas that are part of the hotel's 4,200-acre estate, now owned and run by Belmond.

An American firm acquired it in 2005 and set about a massive restoration.

There are 41 suites (plus a two-storey penthouse) in the main building and dotted about what amounts to a private hamlet, with its own church and crypt built by the Bargagli family in the 19th century. The spa is in the granary, with treatment rooms in the former cellars. At one time, the castle was owned by Italian director Luchino Visconti (Death In Venice). Perhaps he, like us, spent hours staring into the distance - front row seats in the Ritzy Naturale.

It's truly special at night, when the main courtyard becomes a village square, complete with fountain, stone benches and al fresco dining. Children play hide and seek while their parents pile plates with some of the best cooking in the region.

Typical narrow street in the sleepy town of Casole d'Elsa

What you forget about Tuscany is that the Etruscans were here long before the Romans. Hence the exquisite hilltop towns that once were fortresses designed to repel outsiders and are now communities keen to welcome visitors armed with euros.

On our second night, we ask the concierge to book us dinner somewhere cheap and cheerful nearby. He chooses Osteria del Borgo in the tiny village of Mensano, which, as it happens, we could see from our room.

Slow-cooked wild boar is the speciality here, but it's the sort of restaurant where you let the waiter (in this case the brother of the chef) decide what you should eat. A triumph.

Illuminated towers of San Gimignano

We visited the dramatic hilltop town of San Gimignano, with its skyline of medieval towers, including the stone Torre Grossa and the 12th century Duomo di San Gimignano with famous frescoes by Ghirlandaio. But be warned, the walled town is one of Tuscany's biggest draws and it can get extremely busy - it's well worth a visit but try to avoid peak times. The priority of those medieval town planners wasn't car parking spaces.

We enjoyed a venture to beautiful Arezzo, where on the first Sunday of the month, the town centre becomes one huge antiques market. We buy a heavy marble font that raises eyebrows as we check in for the flight home at Pisa airport.

Medieval pageantry dominates the town of Siena in the run up to the annual Palio

We also make the pilgrimage to Siena, where, because it is a few weeks before the annual Palio (the bareback horse race around the plaza), medieval pageantry is brewing nicely, including a hostile-looking marching band that drums its way through the narrow streets carrying heavy flags.

Most of all, we love sleepy Casole d'Elsa, which you can also see from the hotel. It has a butcher and grocer - and manages a perfect balance between visitors and full-time residents.

What strikes us about Tuscany in peak season is how if you avoid the superstar towns, there's space for everyone and, with fierce planning laws governing development, it's remarkably unspoilt.

First published in the Daily Mail - March 2020

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