Murano & Burano Islands Guided Small-Group Tour by Private Boat
Description
Cruise the Venetian Lagoon by private water taxi and meet the artisans keeping Venice’s traditional crafts alive. You’ll see demonstrations of traditional glassblowing on the island of Murano, and traditional lacemaking on Burano. The tour includes discounts on souvenirs from both demonstration workshops. Both islands have plenty to see, and you’ll have ample time to explore.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The enchanting islands of Murano and Burano are a refreshing escape from Venice’s busy streets and canals. The easiest way to reach them is by private water taxi. Faster and sturdier than a gondola, and far less crowded than a waterbus, it’s a premium Venice experience included in your tour, along with your expert local guide sharing stories of Venice’s trading past along the way. Your first stop is a specially chosen glassblowing workshop on Murano. In the Middle Ages, Murano's artisans alone held this craft's secrets, and sharing them was punishable. This stop, including boat transfers, guided time, and island time, lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes. You’ll see modern glassblowers using these once secret techniques, shaping delicate and dazzling works of art from molten glass. Then admire the workshop’s finest work in its gallery and perhaps take home a piece of your own -with a tour discount. Or explore more of Murano, including its peaceful canals and stunning Byzantine church.
The locals of Burano continue the island’s centuries old lace making tradition, producing some of the finest handmade lace in the world. You’ll see artisans at work before visiting the lace museum or enjoying time to explore at your own pace. The island is famous for its brightly painted houses, originally designed so fishermen could spot home from the sea. Your experience here, including boat travel, guided time, and free time on the island, lasts about 2 hours 30 minutes. As you return across the lagoon to Venice, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation of the craftsmanship that shaped the city’s history.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Please note that the order of island visits and demonstrations may vary due to local conditions and availability. Glassblowing and lace-making demonstrations are hosted by working artisans and may change without notice. The tour operates in all weather and involves moderate walking.
- The Municipality of Venice has introduced an Access Fee that applies on specific dates. To avoid any inconvenience, we recommend checking the official guidelines and completing the necessary registration through the provided link before your visit. (https://cda.ve.it/en/ Official Link for Registration)
- Important: Total time per stop includes boat transfers between Venice and the islands, guided activities, and free time on each island.
- Some sites visited lack shade and can be hot under direct sunlight. We recommend bringing a hat, sunscreen and a bottle of water in warm weather.
Reviews(8,662)
Serena is a wonderful local tour guide, sharing interesting facts about destinations and the history and area in general. Everything was well organized.
Trip was informative and well organised.Each stop allowed us enough time to both relax and browse the shops and take photos.Serena was professional and polite.
Serena was awesome. Very fun and informative trip. Perfect with kids.
Our tour guide, Sylvia, was fantastic. She was extremely informative, attentive and even funny. Always engaging us with stories and even gave us personal recommendations on bars and restaurants upon our departure. Request Sylvia if you can!
We had a wonderful trip to Murano and Burano with our very energetic tour guide Frederica - she was very knowledgable and was the perfect guide for this tour. The glass blowing demo was very interesting and the beautiful colourful houses in Murano a real picture perfect city. Overall had a wonderful couple of hours spent on the island with our fabulous Tour Guide
Ale was an excellent and knowledgeable guide. Ale told us about the history of Venice and Murano. She made sure everyone was OK and helped us with any onward journeys/directions.
This was a great tour. Meet point was easy to find. Had a nice amount of time at both islands, and our guide Serena was wonderful! Informative and engaging. Highly recommend!
Serena is a superb tour guide. She provides funny and local information about the places and everything bus well organized.
This excursion was so great because I would not have even seen Murano or Burano if I didn’t take this excursion. I didn’t know they even existed and would have missed seeing them while in Venice. You definitely need to see these two places because they have a lot of history and beauty. Just so quaint. Great food and gifts which have been hand made. The blown glass was something to see. It’s amazing how they can even make these pieces. Worth going. You won’t be disappointed.
This was the best part of our trip to Venice! It was so much fun and it had the perfect amount of guided tour and free time to roam around. Sylvia was the absolute best tour guide - she made the tour so fun and interesting! Such a cool experience, I’d do it again!
