Your calls always answered within 5 rings.
After years of working with Mason he knows exactly what I want and I trust him with all my arrangements
Excellent as usual!
Ian Newton was a great help - good communication, quick responses and very patient ensuring I got the perfect holiday
Sophie was wonderful when we had to rearrange our trip at very short notice. It was stressful, but having her deal with the airline and hotel was brilliant. Thank you for a fantastic holiday.
Liam Rush is knowledgeable, helpful and very professional.
Your follow up service and personal contact is very good. Keep it up!
Tristan was fantastic as ever
Lucas Moore has excellent knowledge - this isn’t the first trip he has organised for us. We are already in contact with him for the next one.
Patrick is brilliant. He listens to what I am looking for and goes above and beyond in terms of customer service.
We got very good advice. Our stay was perfect.
Fabulous attention to detail. Consistently great service
You can't improve on perfection!
Philippa was great. She made sure all our complicated bookings worked.
Everything worked perfectly. Fab hotels. Really great transfer vehicles and staff. Will definitely include DialAFlight as a provider of holidays.
An amazing holiday at a great price and we felt we were in good hands throughout the whole process
First class service from start to finish. Great help and advice in identifying holiday locations and good support throughout
Jessie is of course a star. She’s simply amazing.
Thanks to Harvey as ever
Went very well and excellent booking process
Finn, as always, was so helpful and dedicated throughout
All went smoothly and we felt in safe hands
We had a very enjoyable trip. All went smoothly - thank you to Michelle for all your help.
Seamless. Thanks
Great service from Dexter. Would highly recommend.
Amelia was incredible, we had to change our return trip at short notice and she could not have been more helpful. Also, the resort team were amazing, the service beyond excellent. We had a very good trip.
Stacey is the best travel agent! We have used her for 10 years. She understands what myself and family require.
Great service as usual, thank you!
This was our 2nd visit to the Anantara Dighu - but since the hotel has been taken over by another hotel group things are no longer as good as they were. The HB option only entitled us to dine at 2 a la carte restaurants so for a 10 day stay this is limiting. This resulted in us using the other restaurants and only a $60 allowance was entitled per adult which didn't even buy you a main course. It is a shame as the quality was not what it used to be.
Stan always gives us a very professional service and that is why we keep coming back
The service Greg provided was first class from start to finish as always - it’s a pleasure to book with you..
While I sip rum at a beach bar on the north-west coast of Mauritius, the mixologist inadvertently sets fire to his blowtorch. He dances away, flames spouting everywhere, assuring us: 'All is fine, all is good! What's life without a little drama?'
What indeed? Last time I came to Mauritius the entire week was spent on a sun lounger, doing nothing more than watching the waves flop in and out. I was missing something.
Mauritius is renowned as honeymoon central but there is so much more to this island in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa. I get talking to a 50-something couple at the bar. Their first trip to the island was their honeymoon (of course it was); then they brought their children. 'Now the grandchildren come too. We all love it.'
Mauritius as multi-generational family-friendly holiday? I can see their point. The island is notably safe. It regularly tops the tables as the most peaceful country in Africa with a strong economy, generally good standard of living, and a stable political climate.
People are uniformly friendly and welcoming. There's nothing poisonous here; even the sharks are kept at bay by the reef that hugs the island.
Walking on the beach at the Beachcomber Trou aux Biches resort, on the north coast, I wish I'd come here when my son was small.
Sitting in 35 hectares of tropical gardens facing a stretch of lagoon, it has the kind of kids' club that simply didn't exist when my son was young: free for children aged three to 11, open from 9am right through until 11pm, and packed with wholesome fun activities.
The woman on the next sun lounger admits she and her husband hadn't intended to park their two in it quite so much, but a couple of hours of child-free sunbathing often stretches into sundowners and then, yup, adult-only suppers. Hey, no judgment.
Outside the resorts, Mauritius feels strangely familiar. Cars drive on the left; the road signs and layout are firmly British and English is spoken widely alongside French. Yet palm trees line the streets, sandy-coated dogs loll in the puddles of shade; breeze block churches stand next to Hindu temples with pastel spires in Iced Gem colours. It's as if Kerala has come to Surrey.
All beaches are public and everyone has a favourite. I fall in love with the wild expanse of Le Morne in the south west with its dramatic backdrop of Unesco World Heritage site, Le Morne Brabant, a basalt mountain dotted with caves used as shelters by runaway slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Snorkelling the reef is pure Finding Nemo with stripy brightly coloured fish and the occasional turtle, all within doggy-paddle distance of the beach. I hop on a speedboat and shoot out over the reef with a sheer 'whoop' of adrenalin-fuelled joy. The driver kills the engine and we bob quietly, necks craned. Dolphins and even a whale have been seen recently.
'There!' A fin breaks through the cobalt water. 'Go! Go! Go!' shouts our guide and there's a scramble into the water, a mess of fins and snorkels. They're fast, these bottlenose dolphins, twisting and swerving. More boats appear, pursuing the pod like a pack of paparazzi in full cry after a celebrity. There are rules about engaging with wildlife but, as we motor away from the melee, we're told not everyone follows them.
Further north, the beaches are busier and buzzier, edged with grass and trees, and dotted with street food vans. Mauritius is an easy-going blend of cultures, each bringing its own flavours - from French to Chinese, African to Indian.
The vans are a must-try for dishes such as dholl puri (curry filled pancakes); boulettes (dumplings); and gato pima (deep fried chilli bites). Mauritius isn't just one big beach though: it has five mountain ranges with beautiful waterfalls and dense forest - hiker heaven. I take a trip to the Ebony Forest, where conservation work preserves the native trees and protects endangered species.
The ebony trees are less dramatic than I'd expected but, as we pause at a viewing platform, I spot a huge fruit bat hanging in a tree. A little bright green gecko poses on a wall. Striking and welcoming - it's a great combo.
I end my stay at the famous Royal Palm, another Beachcomber property, just outside the bustling town of Grand Baie.
On the final evening I take a sunset boat trip - a romantic cliche but that's fine. As the sun starts its sudden plunge into the silver ocean, I take a glug of champagne and toast this friendly country, which offers such a welcome respite from our dreary British winters. And a great choice for honeymooners, too, of course.
First published in the Daily Mail - November 2024
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