trip to Burano or Murano while in Venice

We have a couple of days in Venice pre-cruise and thought we might like to spend a few hours seeing Burano or Murano - it will be on a Sunday. Any suggestiong as to whether we should hire private boat or is there a water taxi readily available. Is there anything to see on these islands or is it a waste of time.

I assume glass blowing factories are not open on Sunday and don't even know whether any shops are open.

We have a couple of days in Venice pre-cruise and thought we might like to spend a few hours seeing Burano or Murano - it will be on a Sunday. Any suggestiong as to whether we should hire private boat or is there a water taxi readily available. Is there anything to see on these islands or is it a waste of time.

 

I assume glass blowing factories are not open on Sunday and don't even know whether any shops are open.

Both Burano and Murano are reachable via the public transit water bus (vaporetto) and would be part of any vaporetto pass you might purchase. I took one to Murano for a few hours and enjoyed walking around and exploring the shoppes. I don't recall the Sunday situation though. It's a nice trip if you have already covered the rest of the sites in Venice.

Hire a private boat? Surely you jest. You should invest less then $15 (online) in the Rick Steves Venice Guide...or just look back at the many Venice posts here on CC. All the islands in the lagoon (which do include both Burano and Murano) are connected by the local water bus system called Vaporettos. The Vaporettos are operated by a regional transportation company which you might see referred to as the ACTV! If you simply buy a Vaporetto Pass (they are sold for 24, 48, 72 hours, etc) you can go wherever you please as often as you like. Currently you can buy a 1 day vaporetto pass for 20 Euros (about $22) or a 2 day pass for 30 Euros ($33). Keep in mind that these passes give you unlimited use of all the vaporettos which include the ones that go around Venice as well as the ones that go out to all the islands.

As to Murano, some of the few real glass blowing factories might be working on Sunday (for the sake of tourists) but most are closed. But there are plenty of shops that sell Murano Glass although not all Murano Glass is truly Murano Glass. More and more is made in Eastern Europe and sold as the real thing. On the other hand, if you cannot tell the difference does it matter?

We have actually found a lot of very good Murano Glass right in Venice without having to go out to Murano...but Murano is fun as is the further Burano (it can easily take over an hour to get from Venice to Burano...depending on connections).

Is this all a waste of time? We have a friend who thinks anything more then 1 mile from her home is a waste of time. And then there are adventurous travellers (like DW and moi) who think very few things are a waste of time if one does a little pre trip homework and has a good idea of what they want to see and do.

Hank

Depending on weather conditions at the time you are there. We were there late October and it was windy, storming & raining. As Hank states, purchase a vaporetto pass as you will be there a couple of days pre-cruise. We boarded the vaporetto and went to Murano. We were there approximately 1 1/12 hours, saw a demonstration, browsed the shops, then decided to have pizza close by the vaporetto dock before our return to San Marco.

While we were eating lunch, the heavens opened and we raced for the vaporetto. Some on-board asked about going out to Burano, and the boat driver announced the lagoon was too rough and all boats to Burano had been cancelled. So we slowly made our way back to San Marco. That little engine was really fighting the waves in the lagoon, and the waves were sometimes crashing over the windows. I was glad to be off the lagoon when we arrived back everyone was vying for standing space under the various shop awnings.

We didn't have very good weather for our visit to Venice. At some point we had rain every day we were there. We would return to our hotel drenched.

So be prepared for foul weather, especially in late Fall. Venice is very historical and beautiful place to visit. Have a great cruise!

an alternative to vaparetto is the Alilaguna

there is a guided tour available for about 22 euro which visits Murano,Burano and a 3rd island Torcello which is site of a church which is being restored and a pleasant walk along a canal

ticket booth is a few hundred yards from San Marco.With st Marks to your back and the lagoon facing you walk to the right and the ticket booth is surrounded by tourist stalls

You can purchase online for a small discount at the Alilaguna website

Depending on weather conditions at the time you are there. We were there late October and it was windy, storming & raining. As Hank states, purchase a vaporetto pass as you will be there a couple of days pre-cruise. We boarded the vaporetto and went to Murano. We were there approximately 1 1/12 hours, saw a demonstration, browsed the shops, then decided to have pizza close by the vaporetto dock before our return to San Marco.

 

While we were eating lunch, the heavens opened and we raced for the vaporetto. Some on-board asked about going out to Burano, and the boat driver announced the lagoon was too rough and all boats to Burano had been cancelled. So we slowly made our way back to San Marco. That little engine was really fighting the waves in the lagoon, and the waves were sometimes crashing over the windows. I was glad to be off the lagoon when we arrived back everyone was vying for standing space under the various shop awnings.

 

We didn't have very good weather for our visit to Venice. At some point we had rain every day we were there. We would return to our hotel drenched.

 

So be prepared for foul weather, especially in late Fall. Venice is very historical and beautiful place to visit. Have a great cruise!

ARGH! That weather sounds awful :(. We have been very blessed in that every time we have been to Venice the weather has been pretty good. But we were once there in the late fall when they had forecasts very heavy rains for the following few days (after we had left) and the portable platform/sidewalks were already "staged" in strategic places around the city.

Hank

Another vote for alilaguna we actually got the three day pass which includes the tour of the three islands. You can use them as transportation from airport to hotel and also hotel to cruise port. For approximately 55 euros each, very good value.

Loved loved loved burano. Ate an outstanding lunch there at one of the busy cafes just on the Main Street. I bought a dress that was ten euros cheaper. There weren't as many people. The painted houses are so cool. Excellent pictures. I can't wait to go back there!! Like others have said, u can easily use the water bus and see both. I did! Very easy.

Another vote for alilaguna we actually got the three day pass which includes the tour of the three islands. You can use them as transportation from airport to hotel and also hotel to cruise port. For approximately 55 euros each, very good value.

We actually disagree and do not recommend the Alilaguna. Our reasoning is quite simple. The Alilaguna only runs a limited number of routes when compared to the Vaporettos. While you can get just about anywhere (except the airport) on Vaporettos, you cannot really get anywhere on the Alilaguna. And unfortunately, the passes for the vaporettos and Alilaguna do not work on the the others system.

For those that are spending time on Venice, the vaporetto routes #1 and #2 become the easy way to get around Venice...and that alone makes vaporettos a better option for most folks.

Of course if one wants to spend the money and purchase both passes, that's cool. But it is redundant since the vaporettos also go to Murano, Burano, and Torcello not to mention Lido.

Hank

We really enjoyed Burano and Murano - Burano more, I think. It is just so pretty with the colored houses, which have different colored curtains over their doors. Neither island was crowded at all when we were there in May 2 years ago, so walking around was really a treat. I found lots of fun stores on Burano especially and bought some great jewelry and other Murano glass at great prices in Burano. It was one of our favorite parts of Venice.