I recently faced the same situation; I had never done any layout or
etching before.  I jumped on the web did some searching and after
playing around with about three or four packages I finally decided to
work with PCTrace.  This is a schematic capture, autorouter(limited, but
it's a start) and PCB layout package.  PCTrace is a windows-intuitive
package and was quite easy to get used to.  In one afternoon I learned
how to generate a simple board and to generate a set of Gerber output
files.  Gerber is (I believe) the standard format for defining a PCB
layout.  This is what most etch houses request.  For $99.00 I was able
to advance my design from a hand-drawn schematic to a double-sided PCB
in only a few days.  And now that I've climbed the learning curve, my
next design will be even faster!  Check out www.eesoft.com to download
the full software package less the Gerber output capability.  You can
call and purchase the $99.00 software license and get a key over the
phone which will allow you to activate the full output capabilities.
        Once I generated the Gerber files I did some searching and located
Alberta Printed Circuits in Canada to do my etching.  I simply E-mailed
them my Gerber files and in less than a week, the boards were at my
house! (actually about three or four days)  Alberta charges a $48.00
tooling fee and then $0.68 per square inch of etched board.  There is a
limit to the hole density per square inch, but it is quite generous.
Their web sight is very informative and profiles all services.  It also
provides many helpful tips and walks the user through the ordering
process.  Check them out at www.apcircuits.com

        This was a great way to do things, especially for a moderate quantity
of boards (more than a prototype, but not a full industrial
production).  Now, I'd like to learn how to use photoresist PCBs so I
can generate my own etched PCBs in single quantities at home.

        Good luck!

        Regards,
                Todd