Having a hard tiem deciding between train/bus/car/air

You can buy an open jaw ticket Zurich > Venice, Rome > Zurich, for under $350 (per Expedia). You can buy a one way flight from Venice to Rome on Easyjet for under $50. Total price per person: around $400. I think you'll have a hard time beating that, plus you'll be traveling the fastest way.

Ask your co-worker where they would recommend parking while visiting Rome and Venice? And it'll take a heck of a lot longer to drive than take a train. The train rides are long so the prices will be high overall. A Eurorail pass might actually be a good value in this case. You may get the best time/money option by flying though. Don't forget to factor in cost/time to get to/from airports and extra baggage fees for discount airlines.

Haven't done the drive from Zurich but as far as parking: Venice has a parking garage you can use. Not sure of the cost but I've been told anywhere from 23-30 euro a day. In Rome you can ask your hotel if they have any parking. If not they can probably direct you to some. We payed 10 euro a day. The drive from Venice to Rome, sticking to the autostrada, would be about 6 hours. The tolls for a trip like that would be around the 30 euro mark each way.

The drive from Zurich isn't terribly hard but there are several hurdles you will have to overcome: You will need to (probably) route yourself through the Gotthard Tunnel. Its almost exactly 10 miles of 60 kmh not at all straight tunnel with lots and lots of trucks. If you take your time preparing for it the experience isn't too bad. It is best if you program your radio for SRS1 so that if a breakdown or accident blocks a lane broadcasts can give you information. If traffic stops you are required to switch off your engine. If taking a car into Italy you will need to check with your rental agency. Most either prohibit this or charge large compulsory insurance. In Italy you will require an official translation of your drivers license (good in Switzerland too) called a IDP. The run down towards Italy after you leave the tunnel is kinda steep and a good place for a break is the rest area at Bellinzona. There's a nice Marché by Moevenpick there, and one across the road. The loop road around Rome is called the GAR. Some bits are better than others and going in and out of Rome from the GAR can be fun. Easiest with a good GPS and map. You will hear stories about Italian drivers. I don't find them particularly bad. Do remember that, particularly as you go further south, you need to understand that normal rules of traffic priority don't apply. You need to lead with your, how do I say, chutspa. The weak will be left behind. If you take the correct turn you will be respected. Not if you go early or late. Have your toll money ready before you get there. If you want a receipt sometimes you press the button first, sometimes last. Wait for the disembodied voice to say, "arriviederci" and the barrier will go up.

Now about that train price. Where did you get it? Anybody want to guess maybe our old buddies RailEurope? You can't book tickets this far out from the national railways, the SBB in this case. SBB is the German abbreviation for the Swiss national railway. You can get an English language SBB page at rail.ch I just looked at their discount tickets for a Friday at the end of April, as far out as you can book, and a midweek return. Lots of choices for a round trip from Zurich to Milan where you have to change anyway. The offer is CHF50 round trip per person and then all you need is the Italian bit. CHF50 is about $53. My guess is point to point is cheaper than a pass, especially if you have a multi country pass.

This journey is not really cheap no matter which form of transportation you . One thought is to fly from Zurich to Rome for openers. GermanWings has a flight for about $200 each via Cologne/Bonn. Journey is about 7 hours. Next, you can take the high-speed train to Venice via Florence and Bologna for about $100 each. Journey time is 4 hours. (You can take the slower IC train from Rome to Venice for about $62 each. For your journey from Venice back to Venice, you can either fly or take the train. For the train, I looked at both the Italian and Swiss train sites. Fare is about $200 each or perhaps a bit more. Journey time is about 7 hours. Costs above are for transportation only. Hotels, food and other costs are extra.

Thanks for all the comments. We have pretty much decided to go by trains. I guess I just wasn't expecting this trip to be so expensive. 6 days in Italy for $3,000 makes me feel sick, but I guess we are going to bite the bullet. Yes, the rail quote was Rail Europe, and you are right it's too far out to get quotes on the exact days. I'll try the link mentioned as well. I think we found a decent flight out of Rome now, so we won't go back to Zurich at the end of the trip.

Jason, I suggest you contact the department at the RS office that sells rail passes. There's a link from the home page to their info. I found them to be very helpful, and patient. They helped me figure the cheapest way travel between cities (in my case, a multiday railpass) and they helped me understand how to navigate the Deutschebahn site to figure out when the trains ran. Within Italy, it's usually cheaper to buy individual tickets (particularly in advance). But maybe there's a pass that would work for international segments, and also save you some money within Italy.