We recently were invited to experience the new direct route from Australia to Rome with Qantas on their Dreamliner B787-9. We flew from Melbourne to Perth, and then 16.5 hours direct from Perth to Rome.

I will admit, with two young ones in tow, I was a little anxious taking such a long flight, in economy too! But surprisingly, this flight was way easier than expected and a much better way to get from Australia to Europe in my opinion!

Upon arriving in Perth, we headed to the International Transit Lounge, which is available to everyone, in any class, with their Qantas Club Membership. As well as any Qantas Gold status or higher, or the equivalent elite status with oneworld and partner airlines.

The lounge offers a range of unique features including ‘light therapy’ in the shower suites to help you beat the jet lag, a well-being studio with yoga, which the girls LOVED. They also have a refresh area providing hydrating face products. And customers can dine in an open-air terrace with a barbecue serving gourmet dishes by Neil Perry.

It was really nice to relax, shower and get ready in our pyjamas for the flight before boarding as it was a late-night flight.

Once boarded, the girls were so tired they fell asleep almost immediately and skipped the in-flight dinner. And ended up sleeping for about 6-7 hours!

We found this flight great as it was dark almost all of the way to Rome, and when they weren’t sleeping, the girls and I just watched movies including some great new releases like King Richard – which had me crying but feeling very inspired!

And once we arrived it was early morning, it was such a relief to know we had reached our destination and didn’t have any long stopovers and transfers!! And we could just begin the holiday!!

We had never been to Rome so didn’t know exactly what to expect, but I had done a tonne of research before leaving and gotten some great advice from local travel pages!!

We spent a busy 4 days in Rome, and these are some of the great things we did and tips I’d love to share!!

Getting There

Would absolutely do the direct flight again for a few reasons.

I found I had less anxiety knowing I could leave Australia and wake up in Rome! No connecting flights, transfers or shuffling around multiple airports with kids.

We could get a decent haul of sleep and be fresh when we arrived. We got in at 8 am and spent the whole day out and about which was lovely!

You spend much less money as you are not feeding kids in airports or needing hotel stays or transfers.

For more information or to book, check out the Qantas website here.

You can also follow along our journey via our Instagram story highlights here.

Getting Around

We had a private car organised for us by our AirBNB host. It cost 60 euros that we paid the driver. He picked us up in arrivals, had a sign waiting for us and took our bags to the car. Was nice and easy after being on a long flight.

We utilised the hop-on hop-off bus, which is a great way to see a lot if you have a small amount of time in Rome. This will stop at all the major locations in the city centre!

Another great way to see the city, especially if it’s too hot is a Gold Cart tour. We did this on the first day after a long trip, so not too keen on walking!

Otherwise, we mostly walked everywhere. Lots of major sites are within a few kilometres of each other and the girls (6 and 8 had no issues walking)

Where To Stay

We stayed close to the Trevi Fountain, about a 300m walk from our AirBNB. I highly recommend an apartment, and we found a great one with a washing machine and a small kitchen.

You can book your AirBNB directly through the Qantas website, making sure you get your points for your booking!

This was the apartment we booked, and would fit 2 adults and 2 children no problem.

• Spagna Historical by Spanish Steps

What To Do

We had 4 days in Rome. And while we easily could have spent many more, there were a few things that were a must for us and the kids loved.

Day 1: We took a golf cart tour, followed by riding bikes through Villa Borghese. There is also a Zoo there but we didn’t make it.

We then walked down to the Piazza del Popolo and ate gelato.

Day 2: We headed to the Trevi Fountain early, around 6 am. And it was already a little busy. This is the best time to come as it gets packed by the middle of the day!

We then headed to the Pantheon and a walk around the streets of Rome and headed to the Piazza Navona for lunch.

We had a little rest in the middle of the day before heading to The Colosseum

for our booked tour. This was around 4 pm, it was quite busy and hot at this time so I would suggest if going in summer to do this earlier or later in the day.

Day 3: We headed to the Vatican early for a tour. This was at 9 am and it was already very busy. Our tour was around 2 hours, and the girls loves looking at all the old ceilings and statues.

We then took a walk around to St Peter’s Square and found a lovely restaurant just outside the Vatican walls for lunch.

We then headed back for another rest and then spent the afternoon wandering the streets around the Spanis Steps as there is lots of lovely shopping around here.

Day 4: We got up early to walk around the ancient sites of Rome before the crowds, we visited the Altar of the Fatherland, and Roman Forum and returned to the Colosseum while there weren’t many people, Arch of Constantine and came back via the Circus Maximus.

Where To Eat

There were so many great restaurants around our apartment, near the Spanish Steps. Some of our favourite places to eat were:

• D’Angelo – Where Teddy infamously had some pasta with her cheese
• Amarena – Great gelato
• Borgosteria – Great restaurant outside the Vatican
• Hedera – Icecream place near the pretty wall we took photos
• Emma Pizzeria – Great pizza place near the Colosseum
• Camillo dal 1890 – Great pasta and cocktails in the Piazza Navona
• Ciampini Bistrot – Lovely restaurant right next to our apartment

Booking Resources

I found all these to be great for booking family-friendly tours and all came highly recommended.

• Colosseum: Semi-Private Express Colosseum Underground & Arena Tour
• Gold Cart Tour: Golf Cart Tour of Rome | Semi-Private
• Rome Gladiator School: Contact them by email Info@gruppostoricoromano.it
• Rome4Kids: Early Bird Special Vatican Scavenger Hunt Tour