Getting there

Australia to Italy
QANTAS (our preferred carrier) stopped flying direct to Rome more than a year ago, and therefore we have investigated a number of alternative routes.

Route 1: QANTAS to Hong Kong, then Cathay Pacific direct to Rome
Tried this two years ago and it was OK, but we found the leg room on Cathay Pacific to be a bit restrictive. Cost was highish at over AUD$3,000 in summer.

Route 2: via Singapore or Bangkok, then to Rome
Malaysian, Thai and Singapore all fly to Rome. Malaysian seem to have the best deals (about AUD$2500) at present. But we think Singapore Airlines is the best of the three airlines. We tried them recently and it worked well, with good pricing. The Singapore-Rome-Singapore legs are often fairly empty and you can get lucky (if quick) and have three seats to lie down and sleep. Fantastic SA service, and great food.

Route 3: QANTAS to Europe (e.g. Frankfurt), then BA etc. to Rome
You can sometimes get a free Europe side trip thrown in, but we have found this is normally not the cheapest or quickest route.

Route 4: QANTAS, BA etc to the UK, then Ryanair direct to Perugia
I would only recommend this option if you really MUST go to the UK. London and Stanstead airport departure security arrangements are now restrictive and you should find out about them well beforehand. If you book well in advance you can get fantastically cheap (i.e. £2.99 per leg) fares, but look for the Sunday flight to Perugia – it does not leave Stanstead so dreadfully early in the morning.

Car Hire Within Italy
Car hire can be quite expensive in Italy. In the past we have found that the best deals are obtained through Renault who offer special hire deals for Australians. And Citroen also used to have a similar scheme although I can now not find any website for them. You must book and pay for the rentals in Australia prior to travel. The cheapest option is to pick up the car at one of many destinations in France, since there are pick-up/drop-off additional charges outside France. We have done this from both Nice and Paris in the past and found the system works exceptionally well. The cars are brand-new, there is a great range of models to chose from, and you get unlimited kilometres and free 24-hour roadside assistance throughout the whole of Europe. See also Drive Europe