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Taking a package holiday was, admittedly, not on my 2026 bingo card. Yes, I’ve seen (and loved) the Jet2 memes. And as an avid Love Island fan, I’ve long been well aware of Jet2, one of the show’s main sponsors.
Still, taking a package holiday myself had never really crossed my mind! I think I always worried using a “cheat code” would take away from my ability to say I’d gotten up-close-and-personal with my destination. (You know how much I live for getting off the beaten track!)
But then Jet2 got in touch and offered to send me on one of their Jet2CityBreaks in Rome. I was intrigued. I’ve honestly struggled to enjoy Rome on my past visits, but I wanted to give it another chance and was determined to finally figure this city out. So I said yes!
Spoiler alert: Not only did my Jet2CityBreak totally change my feelings about Rome for the better, but I also came to really appreciate all that Jet2’s model has to offer.
I went into this thinking a package trip might limit the way I like to travel, but it ended up doing the opposite. In reality, having the logistics handled meant I could focus entirely on exploring Rome my way: complete with a slow mornings, a whole lot of neighborhood wandering, and (finally) seeing a side of the city I actually loved.
Let me show you how that played out—and why I think a Jet2CityBreak might be the perfect next adventure for you as well!
Delve into Italy
Don’t forget to check out the rest of my Italy posts and guides if you’re still planning your perfect trip!
Why I Went to Rome with Jet2
I’ve had supremely mixed luck with Rome.
My first visit to Rome was as a teen, on a school trip, which honestly doesn’t even count.
The second time, in 2018, I really liked it, but I was still developing my own travel style. That meant I over-emphasized seeing all the “important” things (like the Vatican and Colosseum, for example) and admittedly ate at a touristy restaurant or two.
Then I went back in 2025 fully ready to explore the Rachel IRL way, and honestly… I hated it. I HATED it guys. I was toying with not even writing about Rome because I had such a heinous time there.
But to be honest, I did feel like it was my duty to give Rome another shot. Travelling and writing about it is obviously my job, and I love Italy so much that it didn’t sit right with me that Rome was feeling like a no go.
When the lovely people from Jet2 invited me to check out their product, I didn’t even know they offered flights to Italy. But the invitation on one of Jet2’s city breaks to Rome felt like a sign—the universe giving me a free “do over” for my frustrating trip a few months earlier.
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What a Jet2CityBreak to Rome Actually Includes
We opted for a Jet2CityBreak, rather than a Jet2Holiday, just given the time of year we’d be traveling (end of March, when Mediterranean weather is at its most unpredictable).
All Jet2CityBreaks include:
Booking Flights to Rome with Jet2
Daniel and I are polar opposites when it comes to trip booking. He’s a bit more meticulous about logistics and analyzing every available choice and whatnot, whereas for me, to be honest, I prefer having a shorter group of options to choose from.
That was the first thing that caught my attention with our Jet2 experience! As we looked into the available flights from London Stansted, I realised that having a set number of destinations, available on specific days, actually made the whole decision process a lot less stressful to me. It’s the first time I’ve ever planned a trip without wanting to pull my hair out.
This is exactly how we zeroed in on two specific flights to Rome, leaving London on a Thursday morning and returning Sunday midday.
Since there are only a handful of Jet2 flights on each route each week, we were kind of rigidly locked into the 2.5 day itinerary. This was probably one of the only things that bugged me. I prefer to have a more leisurely time to really explore a location, and you are a bit stuck with the dates available.
Yes, I am 100% aware that I’ve both complimented and complained about the Jet2 flight schedule in one breath! Both things can be true at once! I loved having parts of the plan made for me, and I also wished I had one extra night.
But on balance: booking with Jet2 was a total breeze!
Our Experience of a Jet2 Travel Day
Showing up at London Stansted at 6.30am, exhausted and in need of coffee, I was genuinely shocked by how easy the check-in process was. More than that, when we accidentally messed up attaching our checked bag tags, the Jet2 employees we interacted with couldn’t have been more helpful.
In fact, I am not joking or just trying to look good for the brand when I say that the Jet2 employees at Stansted airport were the nicest airport employees I’ve ever interacted with.
The Jet2 flight itself was comfortable, calm (no Ryanair stag dos drinking at 8am here!), and – again – the flight attendants were among the friendliest I’ve seen in quite a while.
Not to mention, one evening in Rome, Daniel tried to move our seats for our flight back and there was a glitch online, so he had to call the helpline. We got through to a live agent in about 90 seconds and they were so helpful in getting everything sorted. Definitely a plus to have that extra resource for assistance, and I’ve heard only good things from other Jet2 travellers about similar support experiences!
Spoiled for Choice with Jet2CityBreak Hotel Options
I’ll be honest, I am not (nor have I ever purported to be!) a budget traveller. If I’m going somewhere to enjoy, I want to be comfy while I do it.
We were surprised to find both a number of recognisably named hotels among our options (Mama Shelter, Hyatt, etc.) as well as several indie/boutique options. And among the 4-star and 5-star hotels we ended up considering, I couldn’t have been more satisfied! In fact, we actually struggled to narrow down our hotel choices given how cute everywhere was.
Ultimately, we chose to stay at Trastevere Roma UNA Esperienze in (you guessed it) Trastevere—mainly for its location (more on that below). That said, our room was super spacious, the whole place was well decorated, and breakfast was actually far better than I typically find in Italy.
If you’re not familiar with Rome’s neighborhoods, Trastevere might be compared with Brooklyn’s Williamsburg – trendy, lively, and at this point (10 or 15 years after getting really popular online)… honestly a little overdone.
My past experiences in Trastevere had been mixed: some excellent meals, some extremely overcrowded Saturday afternoons. But the food is good, there’s great shopping, and I had never stayed there… so I felt like it deserved a fair shot!
What I loved about the UNA Esperienze was that it’s actually right on the edge of Trastevere itself. We were able to walk 5 minutes into the most popular parts of a super trendy area when we wanted, and then retreat back to the less crowded bit when we felt like it too. It was the perfect compromise, and I actually found Trastevere itself to be totally enjoyable in this way.
The only downside I found to staying in Trastevere was its lack of proximity to public transportation for reaching other parts of the city. But, on a short trip, it wasn’t too annoying to make do with Ubers and taxis!
22kg Hold Luggage Included
The 22kg luggage allowance (included in every Jet2 booking) was honestly one of the best perks of the whole Jet2CityBreak package. With a lot of budget airlines in Europe you’re basically taking a bus in the sky. They want you to have as little with you as possible and they lowkey treat you terribly. Not the case here.
There’s something just a little luxurious about walking through the airport with nothing but a little backpack or purse after leaving your luggage at the counter, and let’s be honest, the generous allowance let us shop till we dropped in Rome, totally worry free! (Read on to find out what we did with the extra space 👀)
How We Got Off the Beaten Track in Rome
Exploring Trastevere in a Rainstorm
I think it’s always worth it to choose to stay in a neighborhood that you would be happy to spend all your time in, because sometimes plans get derailed and you do end up spending a lot of time there!
Right after we arrived in Rome, we got caught in some unanticipated rain and heavy hail, which meant we didn’t want to venture too far from the hotel for food and wandering on our first day.
Then, lo and behold, just strolling around in the first hour we were there, we ended up finding Gorilla Blu, a record shop that is possibly my favorite record shop I’ve ever been in, anywhere.
We also stumbled upon Tic, a cute concept store/bookshop where I found a tarot deck I’m probably going to be pining over forever.
Trastevere also worked out to be the best possible option food-wise. Starving after our early flight, we ducked into the first restaurant we found around the corner from the hotel–Il Tulipano Nero–and took shelter there for lunch while it rained. It ended up being one of my favorite meals we had (there’s just something special about a no frills traditional pasta lunch), and we were friendly with the woman running the place for the rest of our stay.
Hunting for Vintage Clothes in Pigneto
On Friday, we explored the Pigneto neighborhood, which we first encountered when we stayed there in 2018 (back in my budget travel days).
The vibes now are very much giving Berlin meets Bushwick, which is either a huge win or a big sign to skip it, depending on your own personal vibe.
We were personally huge fans, and really enjoyed the energy in Pigneto, as well as the vintage shops and record stores that didn’t come with the Trastevere price tag—TTARA Vintage and Blutopia were among our favourites!
There’s an unusually high concentration of bookshops in Pigneto, which for me (always the book lover) was a sign that I was among my people. We really loved grabbing a drink at Libreria Tuba, a very cool feminist/radical bookshop, followed by dinner at Vrasciò (where we had the chance to take a break from Roman carbonara for the night and enjoy some of our favourite Calabrian and Sicilian dishes instead).
Visiting One of Rome’s Lesser Known Museums
Since I’ve been to Rome a few times already, it’s probably no surprise that I had already seen a lot of the “big 5” type of tourist attractions: the Vatican, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, etc. I’ve seen a lot. However, I am sorely lacking in the museum department. This trip, I decided to remedy that.
Unfortunately for me, but maybe good for you because you can learn from my mistakes, the Galleria Borghese books out way in advance. We were tragically not able to get tickets this time around.
However, we were able to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art, which was a very formidable substitute if I do say so myself. It was also almost completely empty on a Saturday morning at 10am!
Not only was the collection pretty incredible, especially the giant gallery (pictured here) and the Klimt (!!!), but this particular museum puts you right next to the Villa Borghese.
This sprawling park was the perfect pairing with the National Gallery, as we really enjoyed strolling through it from one end to the other and taking in the energy of Roman families and elderly couples doing the same on the sunny Saturday afternoon.
Venturing into Local Territory in Testaccio
I’m pretty adamant about checking out neighborhoods further afield than the usual tourist beat, so I was excited to discover our hotel was only a short evening stroll from Testaccio.
We fell in love with this area the last time we were in Rome—in fact, it was one of the only things we enjoyed about our 2025 visit—so getting to go back and hit up our old favorites was a major win for this trip.
I specifically love and recommend Tram Depot, an outdoor bar kiosk in (you guessed it) an old tram car, which feels totally local and casual in the best way. It’s usually totally packed and we couldn’t find a seat when we arrived, but if you ask nicely the staff will put out some stools for you until a table opens up. Also, I highly recommend the Campari spritz from here, which is strangely better than the Aperol one.
From there, we strolled over to one of our absolute favourite restaurants in all of Rome: Ristorante Jole. It does modern takes on classic Roman dishes, and it’s the absolute perfect mix of traditional and innovative—not something that’s all that easy to find in Rome, I must say!
Strolling Porta Portese Market
Despite the short duration of the trip overall, we were able to maximise our final morning by hitting up the Porta Portese flea and antique market early Sunday morning before heading to the airport for our flight home.
On our last visit, we had to travel from another neighborhood, Monti, to visit Porta Portese. Let’s just say we learned the hard way that the market wraps up around midday (it was already half packed up when we got there at 11am), so this time being able to walk up right as it was getting started at 7am was a huge plus.
My favorite part of the market is Piazza Ippolito Nievo, where most of the antique and vintage sellers congregate. Of course, the market begins at its namesake, Porta Portese itself, which was a mere 7-minute walk from our hotel, but features primarily unsorted secondhand clothing and knock-offs. I recommend starting there, but saving your cash for the more antique-heavy portion!
We bought some very cool Italian Communist Party membership cards from the 60s, as well as a framed painting that JUST BARELY fit into our suitcase. We were testing fate with that one I can’t lie… but thanks to Jet2’s luggage allowance we had no trouble getting it home in one piece!
How It Felt Experiencing Rome This Way
I would say that this was one of my best trips to Rome ever! It’s hard to parse out how much of that is because of Jet2, and how much of it comes down to it being my fourth trip to Rome, and staying in a better location than before. But I think honestly, that’s how I know Jet2 was worth it.
The Jet2CityBreak experience took some choice out of my booking experience, and in the end I had a similar, if not better, time on my weekend trip than before.
For some of you it might feel like there’s simply no way you could imagine giving up some control on things like flight or hotel options, and that’s fine! Maybe Jet2 isn’t for you.
But if you don’t thrive in logistic land, I think you should give this a go. I don’t think it changed the vibes of my actual lived experience in Rome whatsoever, in a good way.
The ONLY issue we had was that the trip was too short. Aside from that, I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Would I book a Jet2CityBreak again?
Yes! One thousand times yes.
Would I change every single trip plan to a Jet2CityBreak? No, probably not. But I don’t travel like the average person, so I don’t think that’s really a negative here.
I love leaving the logistics to someone else, so Jet2 feels like a great option for others who feel similarly.
My lovely weekend in Rome proved to me that a Jet2CityBreak flight + hotel package can absolutely be your ticket to a lovely, local-coded, off-the-beaten-track few days of city exploration!
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