I would not take the tours to Murano etc given your short time and lack of enthusiasm.

I do like Burano, Murano was alright and I honestly did not care for Torcello. Opinions on this obviously do vary. Regardless, I would not take a tour to these islands, all these islands are easy to get to using the vaporetti (water bus). Why not wait until you are in Venice to deceide if you need a second day there or it you'd like to make a day trip to these islands. IMO, there is no need to carve the entire Venice sightseeing itinerary in stone prior to arriving.

I'm with justshootme. Murano is all about shopping for glass, but you will see most of the same in Venice proper. I enjoy Burano and Torcello, but they are 40 minutes away, so a basic visit will take at least half a day. I don't think you have enough time for this.

We stayed at the Albergo Del Senato in Rome, overlooking the Pantheon. It was very nice, they have double windows to keep it quiet. http://www.albergodelsenato.it/

Glad to hear we can miss the Venice island tours (this time) without too much regret. That will give us more time to enjoy Venice itself. -- Appreciate the Rome hotel suggestion too. Zerlina made me feel like we can't go wrong with an affordable places in the city centers. Good to hear.

We just returned from our 2 week trip to Italy. It was WONDERFUL!!!! We followed the advice from bobthenavigator and others.... We flew Delta into Venice and out of Rome. We spent 3 nights in Venice, 2 nights in CT, 3 nights in Florence with a day trip to Sienna and a bike tour, and 4 nights in Rome. We stayed in a convent near the Colosseum in Rome and thought it was quite comfortable, affordable,and welcoming. We did do a day trip to Murano, Burano, and Torcello out of Venice, and thought it was well worth it. Thank you all for your excellent input. We could not have asked for a smoother, more lovely trip.