How should I spend a 14-hour layover in Qatar?

My husband and I have a 14-hour transit in Doha Hamad Airport. Is it worthwhile doing a Doha city tour or better to camp out at an airport lounge?
T. Choong, Hawthorn, Vic

A city tour is a good way to spend a long layover in Doha.Credit: iStock

You’ve got plenty of time and provided you arrive at a reasonable hour, you could take one of the transit tours offered by Qatar Airways. The three-hour City Tour takes in the Museum of Islamic Art, Katara Cultural Village which includes the Katara Mosque and the Golden Mosque and colourful Souq Waqif, the city’s bazaar with its Carpet Souk and Gold Souk, and don’t miss the Falcon Souq and Falcon Hospital, one of the largest in the Middle East. The cost starts from QAR115 ($50) a person and Australian passport holders do not require a visa to enter Qatar.

Another option is a Doha city tour offered by Discover Qatar, and this could be a personalised tour but even their longest tour, the Transit Exclusive, takes only five hours. With your remaining time, your best bet is to relax in one of the airport lounges. If your booking does not allow access to the business or first class lounges, other options are the Al Maha Lounge and the Oryx Lounge.

In October, I am meeting up with an American friend to walk some of the Camino de Santiago. We will then travel along the Portuguese coast towards Seville by public transport where we will separate and fly home. Can you suggest how to deal with luggage during our walk and any other ideas for an itinerary over three weeks?
E. Brew, Upwey, Vic

On the road again across open plains on the Camino de Santiago.Credit: iStock

Pilbeo specialise in transporting luggage for pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. The company also offers the same service on other pilgrimage trails leading to Santiago de Compostela including the Portuguese Camino in case your legs and heart decide to carry you further. Be sure to include the cruise along the Douro River from Porto. A stay for a couple of nights in Pinhao, a riverside town with postcard views of the terraced vineyards and easy access to some of the most prestigious wine estates, would enhance the journey.

From there you could take the train to the coastal city of Coimbra. Set on a hilltop, Coimbra is endowed with a treasury of baroque and Portuguese gothic buildings that date from the Middle Ages when it was the country’s capital. Don’t miss the Joanina Library at the University of Coimbra, and visit the coastal city of Aveiro, a small delight with pastel-coloured buildings casting a mirror image across its canals.

Continue south to Obidos, a fortified town with narrow, cobbled laneways spiralling down from its hilltop castle, followed by Lisbon. Stay at least three nights, but a longer visit will allow you to visit nearby towns such as Evora and Sintra, once the summer retreat of the Portuguese royal family, sprinkled with pretty villas, castles and palaces. A train from Lisbon to Seville will take about seven hours.

My husband and I plan to visit Italy for my 70th birthday and I want to spend three months somewhere to immerse myself in the language, but I don’t want the place to be too touristy. As family and friends will visit, it needs to be close to tourist areas. Any suggestions?
T. Campbell, Melbourne, Vic

You’re spoiled for choice in Italy. Lucca is a handsome Tuscan city with a wonderful historic centre at its heart, home to several excellent Italian language schools. Florence, Pisa, Siena and the Cinque Terre are all within one to two hours on public transport.

If you want a town with sophisticated trimmings, Umbria’s Spello is ideal. Surrounded by olive groves and vineyards, Spello is an atmospheric hill town with a rich calendar of events, including June’s Infiorate, when the streets shine with a tapestry of flower petals. If you want to immerse yourself in a town where you would quickly come to know and be known at the local cafes and shops, Spello is ideal. One drawback, as a hill town the streets are steep, and the railway station is about a kilometre from the historic centre.

Assisi and Perugia are within easy reach and Rome is a three-hour train trip. Modena is a personal favourite, a stylish, cosmopolitan city with great character, the home of Ferrari, Lamborghini and balsamic vinegar and one of the gastronomic capitals of the universe. The great cities of Bologna, Parma, Ferrara, Mantua and Ravenna are easily accessible by public transport. Bologna Airport is just over an hour away.

We’re planning a four-week driving holiday from Edinburgh to London from mid-September to mid-October. Is it possible to travel around England without pre-booking accommodation so that we have some flexibility? Happy to stay in B&Bs, pubs or inexpensive hotels.
R. Stafford, Rose Bay, NSW

That’s definitely possible in autumn, and given the fickle English weather, staying flexible with your accommodation arrangements is a great idea. Some of the websites that will help you track down accommodation with charm and character at a reasonable cost are Sawdays, which is great for cottages, B&Bs and country pubs, Cool Stays for manor houses and original stays such as lighthouses, The Landmark Trust for heritage properties, some with noble pedigrees and Canopy and Stars, which is strong on quirky and eco-friendly accommodation – will that be a yurt or a treehouse tonight?

Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances