B.STUBBS, HOBART

Herculaneum is a great idea; it's a lot less crowded and better preserved than Pompeii, its more famous neighbour. Herculaneum is relatively compact and seeing the entire site is possible in the time you have available.

You can certainly do it on a self-guided tour, and a train from Rome's Centrale Station would be the best option. Ercolano Scavi​ is the train station you want at Herculaneum, about a 10-minute walk from the site. You could also take a guided tour from Rome. Most guided day tours from Rome include Pompeii as well as Herculaneum. One that does not is Stefano Rome Tours (stefanorometours.com), which offers a tour of Herculaneum along with an easy stroll on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius. On your other days in Rome, St Peter's, the Forum, the fruit and vegetable market in Campo de' Fiori, the Colosseum, Hadrian's Villa, the baths of Caracalla, the Spanish Steps and the gardens at Villa Borghese would all be on my list. The Sistine Chapel is another must but queues can be long and, if so, it's worth paying for a guide who will shunt you straight to the front of the line. An ice-cream in Piazza Navona​, a stroll along chic Via Condotti​ and an evening at a restaurant in the Trastevere​ district should round out your visit nicely.

I'm not sure what airline you're aboard out of Melbourne, and therefore I don't know exactly where your stopover will be, but whether it's Dubai, Singapore or Hong Kong there are pay-for-use lounges in all three. They vary a lot in quality and some are not worth the price. You can find reviews of these lounges on the Tripadvisor website (tripadvisor.com.au).