help planning a trip to italy
 

My husband and I have never traveled abroad but he was born in Vicenza Italy and would love to see the region. I'm such a newbie at traveling.. not really sure WHERE TO START!!! My neice just came back and they traveled by rail from Venice to switzerland.. would love to include that too.. can anyone point me in the right direction???

You could do something like land at Venice airport, go to Vicenza (not that far away), stay a few days and maybe rent a car to explore the area, head back to Venice and enjoy the city for a few days, and then take the train out of Venice to your preferred spots in Switzerland. Or you could do something like fly on a budget airline like flyaboo between Venice and Geneva.

First question - how many nights do you have? The more the better, of course. Second - what is your budget?
Third - how do you feel about renting a car?

renting a car is a great idea! My husband speaks 'some' italian which makes it easier I suppose. Do you need a special drivers license to rent a car there? We really don't have a TON of money to spend on the trip. budget of maybe 6,000 or so. Also, having a hard time with airfaire. my husband is a big guy and we want to be comfortable on the flight.. any suggestions?

To stay within your budget I think you're going to have to fly economy class - I saw many 'big guys' on my recent flight.

Also, in lieu of Switzerland (which is a bit distant and expensive), you could visit gorgeous high mountain scenery with Italy - in the nearby Dolomites.

Thus you'd have a round trip to and from Venice and, with a car, a loop that includes Vicenza, Verona, Lake Garda, Cortina d'Ampezzo (Dolomites), etc.

This, in my opinion, would be 'the right direction'...

(should be) WITHIN Italy

You should always start withe the big picture of WHEN---HOW LONG---HOW MUCH--AND TRANSPORT MODE. The rest will fall into place.