Guided Tour of Burano, Murano, Torcello
Oct 16th, 2012, 03:33 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Guided Tour of Burano, Murano, Torcello
Our family of four is starting our Italy vacation in Venice. We are two adults and two teenage boys. My husband is anxious to see Burano, Murano and especially Torcello. We arrive in Venice early afternoon and have two full days there afterwards. In order to maximize our time should we take one of the quickie tours of the islands or just ride the vaporettos and tour ourselves? I would prefer not to take a tour if the trip can be accomplished in a half day on our own. If we tour on our own, is it best to head out early in the morning or in the afternoon? Many thanks for the advice in advance.
Oct 16th, 2012, 03:44 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I would see the islands on your own and go at your own pace. I don't think you can do this in half a day unless you only stop on each island for a very short time. Torcello and Burano are quite a ways from Venice. I would start in the morning with Torcello, see the beautiful church and then go to Burano (about a 5 minute vaporetto ride) - see Murano on the way back. Decide what you want to see on each island ahead of time so you have a definite plan. I think Murano has 4 vaporetto stops so have a definitely idea of which stop you want. Also have a vaporetto schedule so you don't wait around for the next boat and lose time.
Oct 16th, 2012, 04:07 PM
#3
You should research the vaporetto schedules, but I doubt you could 'tour' three islands in a half day using the vaporetti. I guess it depends on how much you want to see. It saves time if you start/end at the F. Te Nove stop in Venice.
http://www.actv.it/en
Have you found a tour that would cover all three in a half day?
I prefer to start early before the cruise ship passengers show up. If you want to see a glass-making demonstration, most of the Murano factories operate only in the morning although the shops are open all day. If you want to see churches and the glass and lace museums, make sure you know the open hours for everything.
http://www.actv.it/en
Have you found a tour that would cover all three in a half day?
I prefer to start early before the cruise ship passengers show up. If you want to see a glass-making demonstration, most of the Murano factories operate only in the morning although the shops are open all day. If you want to see churches and the glass and lace museums, make sure you know the open hours for everything.
Oct 16th, 2012, 04:53 PM
#4
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 4,500
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
My suggestion would be to leave out Murano, and visit Burano and Torcello – Burano is more interesting – unless you are interested in glass.
Fond Nuove to Burano is about 45 minutes on the ferry, and there is no need to take a tour. If you click on my user name, you’ll find a couple of trip reports which mention visiting Burano and Torcello. Probably an hour on Torcello is enough to see what’s happening there, and the mosaics in the church are really worth seeing.
Take a vaporetto from Fond. Nuove, and get off at Mazzorbo. From Mazzorbo, it is a nice ten minute stroll to Burano, over a bridge. From Burano, you take another ferry that goes to Torcello – it is a ten minute ride, the ferry is a shuttle, and goes every half hour or so.
Take the ferry back to Burano, have a stroll around, take a look at the Burano campanile that threatens to collapse on the adjacent soccer pitch, and then a ferry back to Venice.
Try to go very early – the ferries get crowded later in the day.
Fond Nuove to Burano is about 45 minutes on the ferry, and there is no need to take a tour. If you click on my user name, you’ll find a couple of trip reports which mention visiting Burano and Torcello. Probably an hour on Torcello is enough to see what’s happening there, and the mosaics in the church are really worth seeing.
Take a vaporetto from Fond. Nuove, and get off at Mazzorbo. From Mazzorbo, it is a nice ten minute stroll to Burano, over a bridge. From Burano, you take another ferry that goes to Torcello – it is a ten minute ride, the ferry is a shuttle, and goes every half hour or so.
Take the ferry back to Burano, have a stroll around, take a look at the Burano campanile that threatens to collapse on the adjacent soccer pitch, and then a ferry back to Venice.
Try to go very early – the ferries get crowded later in the day.
Oct 16th, 2012, 05:14 PM
#5
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 10,253
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Line 12 goes from Fondamenta Nuove to Burano, stopping at at Murano and Mazzorbo along the way. I believe the special vaporetto that travels between Burano and Torcello (Line 9) is scheduled to depart just after Line 12 arrives. Therefore if you want to head to Torcello first, stay on Line 12 until Burano and immediately switch to Line 9.
Murano is a 10-minute hop from Fondamenta Nuove and is served by a few different boat lines, so it is easier to decide to visit it at another time if you like. I think that Murano is the least interesting island f the three since it is the most like the main island of Venice.
Fondamenta Nuove is a vaporetto stop on the north side of the main island in Cannaregio. Instead of taking a vaporetto from your hotel area to this stop to catch Line 12, you might use it as an opportunity to walk through the quieter streets of this district to the fondamenta.
I would NOT do this as a tour, since a tour will probably include mandatory stops at glass showrooms and lace shops in order to generate sales.
My trip report below describes 8 days in Venice, including our afternoon visiting Burano and Torcello which was on Day 4 of the report. (Note: The boat line numbering has changed since that visit.)
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
Murano is a 10-minute hop from Fondamenta Nuove and is served by a few different boat lines, so it is easier to decide to visit it at another time if you like. I think that Murano is the least interesting island f the three since it is the most like the main island of Venice.
Fondamenta Nuove is a vaporetto stop on the north side of the main island in Cannaregio. Instead of taking a vaporetto from your hotel area to this stop to catch Line 12, you might use it as an opportunity to walk through the quieter streets of this district to the fondamenta.
I would NOT do this as a tour, since a tour will probably include mandatory stops at glass showrooms and lace shops in order to generate sales.
My trip report below describes 8 days in Venice, including our afternoon visiting Burano and Torcello which was on Day 4 of the report. (Note: The boat line numbering has changed since that visit.)
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm
