Troy came up trumps as usual
Fabulous attention from Megan and Nicholas, in fact whoever I spoke to was very helpful. This level of service is hard to find nowadays. Well done team you’re doing a fantastic job !
Stan Castle has been excellent and I will be booking again with him for our next trip very soon!
BA outbound flights were not up to standard, inbound much better
Easy to contact.
My travel went very smoothly, couldn’t have asked for more.
We couldn't have wished for a better service. We were looked after incredibly well every step of the way by Daniel Webb. Our resort was beautiful, the transfers were managed well and we couldn't have wished for a better holiday. As regular customers of DialAFlight, we know we can always rely on you to provide a great service and lots of helpful advice.
Hassle free
Once again, perfect service.
Seymourwas always there to help us and give us information and peace of mind
Thank you Claire and your team for helping us find an amazing holiday in Mauritius especially with all the last minute tweaks and changes we threw at you! DialAFlight made the experience smooth and stress free from beginning to end. Looking forward to our next adventure
Zoe was awesome. And anyone I have dealt with in the past has also been awesome. Always attentive and great at answering any questions. Unbeatable on price. I have already recommended to friends who are now your clients.
Nothing less than perfect from start to finish. As usual, Craig Paul ensured we had the best service. Would never use anyone else and most certainly recommend regularly.
Rupert and team were phenomenal. Thanks so much
Service has been impeccable - my go to person is Ryan who takes all the pressure off me.
Thank you Jason!
Justin was fabulous- personal touch, great communication - absolutely brilliant service
My experiences with DialAFlight are excellent - reliable and always prompt to receive a quick response from Bill Gardner and other staff.
We had an amazing holiday. Everything was as promised and you took away so much of the stress in planning and organising. Will definitely be coming back to you in future
Easiest holiday ever booked. Timings, flights, transfers and accommodation brilliant!
Will definitely use DialAFlight again. Great service
Seamless booking organisation by Alex Gache and great rep (Sarah) in resort. Will highly recommend DialAFlight!
Really helpful staff especially Jordan. Accommodated a last minute change in dates smoothly and quickly. Great service
Thank you Ivor Savage for all you help! We had a fantastic holiday and everything ran smoothly.
Everything went to plan - flights, hotel and transfers and the local tour agent was excellent.
We are so happy with excellent service from Liam Rush. He is so helpful. We had a great holiday and definitely recommend to our friends.
Great service from start to finish. Very helpful, efficient and professional. All details regarding the trip were emailed in a very easy to read format and any requests and updates were dealt with promptly. I would definitely recommend them.
We have already recommended you to our friends and will use DialAFlight again. Brodie Letchfield was most helpful and an excellent asset to your company.
The best and only travel agent I use. Always a great deal, great service and very competitive. My agent is the best !
Perfect handling of my holiday from start to finish. Thanks again Ross for all you do.
The road to Kitulgala winds from the Indian Ocean, past buffalo standing in paddy fields, to the Sinharaja rainforest where parakeets chatter at monkeys swinging through jungle palms.
It's a road I have wanted to travel all my life. It's in Kitulgala where the jade green Kelani River cascades over granite boulders on its journey from the Highlands of Sri Lanka to the ocean. And it's where one of the most memorable landscapes in film history was shot.
The Bridge On The River Kwai is the World War II Oscar-winner about an Army colonel, played by Alec Guinness, obsessed with proving British superiority over his Japanese captors by showing that his engineers could build a better bridge than theirs.
I was still in short trousers when I first saw the film in a suburban cinema. It held me spellbound - not the story but the voluptuous backdrop.
The jungle of wild palm, banana and bamboo, flecked with bougainvillaea - where crested serpent eagles swoop on fish in the river - has more than a supporting role in the drama.
Today, TV travel programmes have made the most remote landscapes accessible, but in those days only the cinema could conjure up such sights.
Although the 1957 film was set on the Death Railway of Burma, where British PoWs built a real bridge over the real River Kwai in Thailand, it was actually filmed in Sri Lanka (still called Ceylon when the movie, directed by David Lean, was shot).
Many decades later, I discovered The Bridge On The River Kwai was shot in Kitulgala, a village with a very remote setting but in fact not far from the capital Columbo.
My aim was to reach the sandbank in the river where the spectacular climax to the picture unfolds. I wanted to stand on the spot where Guinness's character, Colonel Nicholson, dizzy at discovering the bridge is wired with dynamite and filled with remorse, falls on top of the detonator blowing it up, sending a train of Japanese soldiers into the riverbed below.
The jungle has reclaimed the rainforest where Columbia Pictures spent millions to build and destroy the bridge. Today this location is once again ruled by leopards.
The villagers still celebrate their place in film history, welcoming British visitors. A hand-painted sign saying Bridge Road Of Kwai River directs them to the home of Chandralatha Jayawardena, a child actor in the film, who acts as a guide recounting entertaining stories about the production.
At the colonial-style Kitulgala Rest House, informal photos of the stars, Jack Hawkins and William Holden, in swimming trunks, plaster the walls.
Friendly villagers invited me into their homes to admire debris from the bridge, relics displayed like works of art.
Despite heavy logging in other parts of Sri Lanka, Kitulgala has been saved from development and is now protected.
An excellent base for exploring Sri Lanka are the luxury Anantara hotels in the south at Tangalle and Kalutara, both within a comfortable drive of Kitulgala.
Peace Haven Tangalle is set in a former coconut plantation which opens onto a glorious beach, an hour’s drive from the film location, passing tea plantations and temples on the way. There are two swimming pools, and enough wildlife to delight David Attenborough.
The week I arrived guests shepherded 140 baby hawksbill turtles to the sea.
Later I took the road north to Anantara Kalutara passing Galle where Portuguese invaders built a sea fort in 1588.
Anantara Kalutara is designed in the breezy modern style, open sided, allowing a fusion of indoors and outdoors. It sits on a narrow peninsula jutting into the ocean on one side, a lagoon on the other.
It may seem late to capitalise on The Bridge On The River Kwai but the government has a plan to attract major studios to shoot new films against the country’s extravagant beauty. That really would put Sri Lanka back in the picture.
First published in the Daily Mail - February 2019
More articles below...
Not quite what you're looking for?
We can easily customise an offer to suit your exact requirements
Clients range from TV companies to Space agencies, investment banks to firms recruiting nurses, doctors and teachers around the world. One saves tigers, elephants and and orang-utans, another clears landmines around the world.
But they all have one thing in common. They love the unique DialAFlight approach. Read more here
Let us extend the personalised service of your booking into your holiday with great prices on business class flights ready to add a touch of class to your trip.
Take the stress out of travelling with a host of wonderful perks on offer from priority check-in and premium lounge access to chauffeur service and fine in-flight dining, plus the supreme comfort of a fully-reclining seat.
Call us to see how much you could save on Business Class flights.
Airport Lounges from £25
Once you’re through security leave the crowds, kids and chaos behind you with a visit to one of our comfortable airport lounges.
All offer complimentary food, drinks, wifi and newspapers with some also including Fastrack through security. Prices from £25.
Use our speedy private transfer service to avoid the stress of finding your way out of the airport terminal and looking for a taxi or bus on arrival.
With our meet and greet service, our driver will meet you in the arrivals hall. They will monitor flight arrival times giving you peace of mind that someone will be waiting for you with a name board even if your flight is late.
They will then assist you with your luggage and organise a private transfer directly to your hotel - there’s no waiting around for other passengers for shared transfers!
So no queues, no delays and less stress.
What could be better than giving someone the Gift of Travel?
Starting at just £50, with no maximum value, DialAFlght's 'Gift of Travel' vouchers make the perfect present for any occasion or celebration.
And it couldn't be simpler to organise, just contact one of our travel experts today and they will organise a personalised travel voucher to be sent out.
BACK TO TOP
