My husband and I are going to Italy and Switzerland this July for 12 nights to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary. We are thinking 7 days in Italy and 5 days in Switzerland.

We are both 26 years old. We usually like to do activities and visit naturally beautiful places.. We are not huge fans of museums..Unless it is a must-see..

We are flying into Rome and flying out of Geneva. everything else still needs to be decided.

This is our rough plan:
Day 1,2,3 in Rome - Collessium, Trevi Fountaion, Forum, Vatican,
Day 4,5 in Naples- Day trip to Capri, day trip to Positano
Day 6,7 in Venice
Switzerland
Day 8: Lucerne
day 9 - interlaken
day 10-12 - geneva
Back to Chicago

Please help me figure out what are must-do things in these spot based on our interests.

Also are there any places that are better to rent a car.. train ride..ferry..plane... I think for now we are thinking about train for all transport except a plane ride from Naple to Venice.

Are there any nice hotels within $200- $500 a night at these spots that you suggest.

Too rushed. Did you check travel times between the places? What do you expect to do/see in Lucerne after the looong train ride from Venice? And next morning off to Interlaken ...

I'd concentrate on one central location in Switzerland and explore in depth (probably around Interlaken, but stay higher up in the mountains, Wengen or Mürren e.g.) Then spend the last night in Geneva prior to your flight.

I agree with Ingo but would opt for the Lucerne area. Here you have all, a great little city, a lake, museums, mountains ...
pore

I'm with Ingo on this. When you think "Swiss", the Bernese Oberland has it all...majestic mountains, waterfalls, cable cars, cows grazing in rolling pastures with bells around their necks.

Depending on what time your flight leaves, you might stay overnight in Montreux (an hour out of Geneva also on Lake LeMan). To me, Geneva is just another big city. While pretty, it left me uninspired.

On your route IMO a car is useless and the train much better - many Italian cities like the ones you mention cars are ximply IME useless and even a liability - large parts of city centers are now off-limits to private cars, parking can be problematic and cost a fortune if found - anything left in car is subject to theft - many hotels do not offer parking, etc. So for cities take the train city center to city center.

and in Switzerland trains are also fantastic way to get around - the specialty scenic trains like the Golden Pass between Interlaken and Lake Geneva is famous - roll thru bucolic Alpine scenery - actually for your train travels from Italian frontier to Lucerne, Interlaken and Geneva investigate a Swiss Pass, valid also on buses and lake boats - taking lake steamers on Lake Lucerne or Lake Geneva IME is an awesome experience - anyways great sites for fonts of info on Swiss trains I always spotlight these: http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id3.html; www.swisstravelsystem.com and www.ricksteves.com. Try to spend another day at least in the Interlaken area to be able to trek by train into the high Alps to places like Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Jungfraujoch, etc. Interlaken itself is a very nice city but the essence of the Switzerland etched in your minds' eyes perhaps lies only in the high Alps just a short train ride away from Interlaken - like in Grindelwald.

Well I would take a day out of Geneva, which has never really done much for me more than a day or so - rather modern city and add it to the Interlaken area. One full day IMO enough for Geneva.

Day 4,5 in Naples- Day trip to Capri, day trip to Positano>

if only using Naples as a base to day trip to those two places IMO you would be better of basing in Sorrento - much closer to Positano and also lots of boats to Capri - Sorrento is a safe clean town as opposed to IME a filthy often dicey Naples. unless you are going to Naples for some reason Sorrento makes a much more logical base IMO - you can get there by train from Naples Centrale station via the Circum Veusvuiana commuter train which ends in Sorrento. Pompeii is also very close to Sorrento. Positano is a long day trip from Naples but much shorter from Sorrento - where the world-famous amalfi Coast buses start from.