Help please planning Switzerland and Italy vacation.

Dot, you're not being charged by the word for posting something here. :-) Can you spell out a little more specifically what you're looking for? Also, you might to check this out as a resource: http://www.roninrome.com/transportation/train-travel-italy

Sorry for the short post. I'm planning strip to Gimmelwald in Switzerland and want to visit Lake como and Rome on the same trip. Flying into Zurich. Looking at the train sites and trying to figure out what order would make the best sense. Steve's books handle each country separately. I have been to Rome a couple of years ago and would love to return Travel by train is a must so any suggestions regarding the most logical order would be appreciated.

You've got them in the right order. Use Swiss Rail http://www.rail.ch for trains from Zurich to Interlaken and Interlaken to Lake Como (you'll have to choose a specific town). Most trains to Lake Como towns require a change in Milan. For domestic Swiss trains, I don't believe there's any discount for advance purchase; for trains between Switzerland and Italy, there can be (if they're not sold out already). From Lake Como to Rome, use Trenitalia, following Ron In Rome's directions: http://tinyurl.com/c4t693b If you have not already booked your flights, you want to fly into Zurich and out of Rome. To find these flights, don't look for two one-ways (potentially very expensive). Instead, use the "multi city" option on Kayak, Orbitz, Alitalia, etc. If you have already booked your flights and are stuck with a round trip to Zurich, compare trains from Rome to Zurich with flights. To find flights, use Skyscanner: http://www.skyscanner.com/