hmm..trying to plan this one out for the fall.

September 20-Depart for London
21-arrive London
22-driving with friends to somerset (for a concert)
23-still in somerset
24-back in london, spending the night
25-fly to Istanbul
26-Istabul
27-Istanbul
28-Istanbul

now here's where things get tricky. I need to get to Spain, and I don't see any reasonably priced flights..I DO, however, see a flight to Milan. I've never been to Milan, and wouldn't mind a brief glance. So I'm thinking..

29-fly to Milan, spend the night.
30-train to Genoa, catch the overnight ferry to Barcelona

spend 5 days in Barcelona, and then leave.

Do you see anything glaringly horrific with this itinerary? I've never taken a ferry before (well, aside from the Staten Island one! LOL)--relatively safe for a 22 year old female travelling alone?

And for those who are saying "you're not spending enough time in London!"--I've been many many times.

Thanks gang!

Seems like a fun itinerary. As long as you have the ferry schedule and can confirm the sailing, the trip is feasible.

Have you looked into other flights from Istanbul. It may be cheaper to fly roundtrip from London to Istanbul, and then you can train from London via Paris to Barcelona.

You can also fly quite easily from many European airports to Barcelona (or Ryanair's "Barcelona" Reus & Girona)

See www.whichbudget.com for flights
See www.seat61.com for train info

Not much in Istanbul but lots to see in the West Country, Somerset and beyond. I'd spend more time there.

Allow a fair bit of time for travelling to and from Somerset. Not that far from London but roads are not the best and traffic can be busy in places.

Totally disagree with the previous poster about Istanbul. It was one of the most interesting cities I have ever visited. Lots to see and do.

Kaneda, yep, it's a bit of a treck from London--we will likely get back to London around 3pm on that Monday..was originally going to try and head someplace THAT night, but it just seemed too crazy..may as well spend the night in London, relax, and catch and early flight the next day.

As for Istanbul, I may stay longer than I originally intended. I was originally going to go on an escorted tour of the country (never did one before), but opted not to. Instead I will do some day tours and activities with companies like Viator or something.

You would think there would be a flight from Istanbul to ANYWHERE in Spain, but, alas..although I don't mind a little "pizza stopover" in Italy, LOL.