What 4608 of our customers thought of Africa...

Kylie and Kennedy dealt with our booking. They were both helpful and efficient. I was very impressed with the service and will be in contact soon to discuss options for our next family vacation.

Can’t wait to book my next flight with you.

Both Howard and Russell were excellent in support and no query was ever too much for them. A brilliant service.

Another fantastic trip organised by Kieran Greenfield at DialAFlight. Already planning the next one

Les is brilliant, very customer-focused and helpful...

First class attention. Very pleased with the support and information given by Emma. Very impressed

Matthew and the team are first class in every respect

Thanks Nicole and Theo for your excellent service and making it a smooth trip

We’ve relied on DialAFlight for decades now and wouldn’t go anywhere else

Great communication. Whole process was very smooth.

I tell all my friends about DialAFlight - for longhaul they are the best and Dennis takes the time to follow up on all bookings with a personal touch. No long waits for the phone to be picked up, always better rates than websites can offer and I can’t recommend them highly enough!

Excellent service and would recommend to anyone. Thank you Billy

Jerry always does a brilliant job for me

Great service

Sam was excellent and we would definitely return to book flights with him

As always, 5 stars

The connecting flight time was too short as BA was 45 mins delayed on take off ! Collecting suitcase at Joburg took 40 mins leaving a very tight time scale to go through security and check in so had to push in front of queue to get to flight before gate closed. Although this wasn’t your problem it was still a stressful 30 mins to get to plane on time through no fault of yours or mine

Thank you. 5 stars

We appreciated your help, however we will do everything to avoid flying with BA ever again. Their cost relative to performance is expensive in comparison with other airlines. In addition their service is also poor.

So much more than I could have asked for. So pleased I worked with DialAFlight

Excellent service from Shane and all at DialAFlight. I only ever use them as they are highly reliable, efficient, kind, go over and beyond to assist in all your travels

Leah Jessop, thanks for finding me a break despite my goalposts changing! All the help appreciated, definitely continue to use the agency, love the app, keeping in touch and knowing if things get delayed, you are on it.

BA outbound flight was on old aircraft - no centre toilets, door broken, no headphones plug broken, no blankets. Not your fault but a different experience coming back on a newer aircraft with more room

Sadie is so helpful - every mistake I make she comes to the rescue. Brilliant

Thank you so much for a very enjoyable experience. I was impressed with the professionalism and care by the staff. I would highly recommend DialAFlight.

Tommy is great, although I didn’t get a chance to call him back when he left a voicemail checking I was all sorted and ready to go. I always recommend DialAFlight to everyone I know. Staff are always so helpful and friendly.

Thank you very much indeed for a hugely successful holiday. All DialAFlight arrangements were brilliantly executed. We are very grateful.

Johannesburg airport shambolic but not your fault

Overall very pleased with your offering. Nice to talk to a real person and know that what was agreed will be dealt with promptly

Very well organised holiday.

Spectacular scenery

New Zealand? Give it a try!

It has jaw-dropping scenery, wonderful wine and, of course, the All Blacks... and Simon Walters savoured everything

Sir Howard Arriving at our Thames B&B, we're told by the landlady that in the event of an earthquake, we should assemble at the cattle grid.

We're not in England's Thames Valley - this is the historic town of Thames, 90 minutes' drive south-east of Auckland on New Zealand's North Island.

North Island is a top sailing spot

SO MUCH TO SEE & DO

This country's spectacular, exotic beauty was forged by earthquakes and volcanoes over millions of years. The South Island looks and even sounds like the Scottish Highlands. Parts of the North Island resemble Jurassic Park.

It's no surprise that Kiwi filmmaker Peter Jackson used his native country as the backdrop for The Lord Of The Rings. About a third of New Zealand's four-and-a-half million people live in Auckland, with the rest spread over a country slightly bigger than the UK.

Our trip was part normal holiday and partly to follow the British Lions rugby tour.

Arriving in Christchurch, we found it still scarred by the tragic 2011 earthquake - a constant reminder of how this lovely land came into being.

Driving south to Dunedin - so Scottish we had haggis and whisky for breakfast - we spent a glorious day exploring the craggy Otago Peninsula. We saw rare royal albatrosses with wings like wind turbines crash-land on a cliff to feed fluffy chicks too fat to move; we watched baby-blue penguins waddle up the beach at dusk for a cuddle, honking amorously; and we nearly tripped over a snoozing sea lion on windswept Allans Beach.

Sit back and enjoy views of the beautiful geysers in Rotorua

SWEET REMINDERS

New Zealand's endless miles of neat wooden bungalows, with pretty Victorian ornamentation, white picket fences and soporific verandas, filled me with nostalgia for my childhood in a wooden bungalow by the River Thames near Windsor.

There are two sets of initials a visitor to New Zealand should know: the All Blacks rugby team are the ABs - and SBs are sauvignon blanc wines.

VINEYARD TOURS

The New Zealand SB boom is exemplified by the Woolshed Vineyard, which produces Mud House wines in the Marlborough region at the top of the South Island. The Woolshed ranch was once a sheep farm, but the sound of shearing has been replaced by that of SBs being swirled round the palate by brilliant young winemaker Cleighton Cornelius.

Mud House was sporting enough to sponsor the British Lions - another reason to buy its excellent wines, including sauvignon blanc and pinot noir. After sipping several, we took a ferry to the North Island, passing many hidden sandy coves glinting in the moonlight.

Next we headed north to Rotorua, New Zealand's unofficial Maori capital. The Maoris came to New Zealand some 500 years before Captain Cook landed here in 1769, but no one is sure where from. Guesses range from Hawaii to Indonesia.

Maori chiefs handed sover-eignty of New Zealand to Britain in the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.

Have your own beach bath at Hot Water Beach

A WARM WELCOME

Some say that NZ has made a greater success of integrating two ethnic groups with starkly contrasting cultures than any other country.

A fun way to experience New Zealand's natural underfloor heating is at Hot Water Beach, on the Coromandel Peninsula. Dig a hole in the beach, let the cold waves dilute the boiling sand and you have your own bubble bath. But beware: get the mix wrong and you'll be scalded where it hurts.

Simon wrapped up his trip watching the All Blacks

A FUN FINALE

We ended our tour in Auckland, where we joined thousands of British rugby fans who swapped beer, banter and ballads with the locals in harbourside bars and restaurants.

We stayed in Auckland's Ponsonby district, a kind of mini-Notting Hill with yet more quaint bungalows. They make for a novel skyline, with skyscrapers and the ocean right behind them.

We twice bumped into ex-Irish and Lions rugby pin-up Brian O'Driscoll in Ponsonby as well as AB star Beauden Barrett - though a friend laughed off our celebrity sightings, saying: 'There are so few people in New Zealand, you soon get to meet them all!'

First published in the Mail on Sunday - October 2017

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Amazing Business Class Fares

Save on First & Business Class

Save on First & Business Class Fares

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.

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Airport lounges

Relax in comfort before you fly

Beat the airport chaos. Swap the crowds for a luxury lounge

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.

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Meet and greet

We'll arrange to meet you on arrival

Avoid the stress with our Meet & Greet service

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.