What 15723 DialAFlight clients thought of USA

Always great service.

Excellent customer service from start to finish!

We were in Florida when Hurricane Ian hit. Philip was fantastic at keeping in touch, answering all my emails and keeping us informed about flight options. A much needed voice of calm amid the madness.

Really helpful when my flight was cancelled due to Hurricane Ian. Resolved the issue quickly and well

A great help when problems happened -always there on the end of the phone. 10 out of 10

I am always recommending this company. Will always go the extra mile !

Service and support from Ewan was great throughout. Ewan Warrin and Lee were incredibly supportive when we were impacted by Hurricane Ian and if it had not been for their help in arranging alternative flights we would stil be in Orlando.

I dealt mostly with Jim and he was very professional at his job. I would definitely use again

Neil Frost was brilliant in rearranging our flight.

Felt really looked after by Riley from start to finish. We had an amazing time. Would use your services again

All our flights and reservations worked out perfectly. We even managed to escape hurricane Ian.

Again Ivor came up trumps

Awesome customer service from Austin and his team yet again

Great experience. Easy, and questions quickly answered by phone… that funny old communication tool.

Every email, every phone call was professional, courteous and helpful. Troy was our agent and I appreciate all he did this time and before

As always, excellent service from the first phone call to returning from our trip. Thanks Jerry and we’ll be calling to book with you again soon.

Fabulous staff kept me totally informed about my flight - great experience as first time solo. Thanks everyone

Always a pleasure to deal with a totally professional company - will only use you in future

COVID USA entry requirements were embedded in gov .UK links, but were easily overlooked. I had my vaccination cards with me but these were not accepted and I nearly didn’t get on the plane.

The level of service we received from Declan and his colleagues was superb as always and we really liked the hotel that he recommended for us in New York. We look forward to booking with you again in the future.

Excellent service and excellent communication. We will use again

Would recommend your service to others

Excellent service

Excellent service again from Teddy. This is my 3rd booking to the USA in the last 12 months and looking forward to booking again. Your staff answer the phone within seconds which is amazing when you hear the stories of people being on the phone for hours. Keep up the great service.

Thank you Adam, once again our trip was organised perfectly.

Excellent service, always available on phone and superb price

Superb start to finish

Danny looked after us brilliantly

Thank you so much Samuel - you never let me down and always find me the best holidays and deals

Helpful when arranging my flights and very good follow up to ensure everything was in order regarding visas

A golden oldie: San Francisco

Hipsters may have replaced hippies on Pier 39 but Tamara Hinson could still feel the love

Sitting on San Francisco's famous Pier 39, sauce-stained children slurp huge bowls of clam chowder. In the background, Alcatraz's forbidding, mist-shrouded silhouette rises from the ocean.

The nearby gift shop is doing a roaring trade, churning out striped underpants and replica prison-issue toiletries bearing the tag line, 'don't drop the soap', all to a soundtrack of the pier's famous blubbery, barking sea lions.

Fresh crabs are available to buy from vendors in Fisherman's Wharf

WHERE TO FIRST

But the waterfront – with its many fresh crab restaurants – will soon look very different. The green-fingered team behind New York's urban High Line has now turned its attention to the Presidio – a beautiful, sprawling park overlooking the bay.

The tunnels burrowing through it will soon form the base of a spectacular, 14-acre park known as Tunnel Tops. When it opens in 2019, there will be beautiful views of the bay and meadows filled with fragrant wildflowers.

During 1967's Summer of Love, pier workers fought their way through crowds of garland-waving hippies who gathered here to shout about the Vietnam War.

THEN AND NOW

Now, more than 50 years on, hipsters have replaced hippies in Haight-Ashbury. A handful of psychedelic shops filled with tie-dye are squeezed between boutiques and organic cafes.

The closest encounter I have with a possible hippy is when I crouch down to take a picture of an enormous rainbow-themed piece of street art and accidentally disturb a dreadlocked local dozing in a doorway.

Take a winding walk on picturesque Lombard Street

At Pork Store Cafe, a 40-year-old Haight Street institution famous for its huge breakfasts, I meet Amanda, a local, who tells me how the area's beautiful, Victorian, pastel-hued houses are being snapped up (and lovingly refurbished) by dotcom billionaires. She complains that prices have rocketed.

As I cycle towards the city centre, a smiling skateboarder shouts his encouragement and speeds past me – uphill. I realise his skateboard is battery-powered. I recall my chat with Amanda and wonder if it's Mark Zuckerberg or someone similar.

MOMENTARY ESCAPISM

On the recommendation of a friend, I stop by Hotel Zetta in downtown San Francisco. Since last spring, it's been home to the world's first hotel-based virtual reality room. It's free to try – those in need of a moment of escapism (without the mind-altering drugs) can simply walk off the street into the padded room and slip on the headset.

I do so and find myself standing atop a shipwreck, one of several colourful worlds to be explored.

VIRTUAL SIGHTSEEING

Neon fish swarm around me and when I turn around, I'm face-to-face with a huge, blinking whale. The next moment, I'm in a mountainous valley (apparently it's modelled on the landscape of Washington State).

The cable car system is an icon of San Francisco

Despite being just metres away from the rumbling trams, I can wander to a cliff edge and peer into a valley so deep that my stomach flips.

On my final night, I check out China Live, one of the city's newest restaurants. The walls are lined with hand-painted tiles showing local landmarks, such as the Transamerica Pyramid.

CHINATOWN

I sit at one of the communal tables and try jellyfish for the first time (it's salty, rubbery and delicious) with a potent, dragon fruit tea-infused cocktail.

Golden Gate Park: one of San Francisco's greatest treasures

Chinatown borders North Beach, a bay-side neighbourhood with a huge Italian community. I cycle home past Italian flags painted on lamp posts and delis blaring opera music.

In a nearby park, Chinese women perform perfectly choreographed tai chi routines near students making the most of California's decision to legalise marijuana. Suddenly, that Summer of Love doesn't seem quite so far away.

First published in the Daily Mail - May 2018

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