Venice

Private Tour: Murano, Burano and Torcello Half-Day Tour

Venice, Italy

4 hours
Offered in: English

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Overview

Take a private tour of the Venetian Lagoon and visit the enchanting islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello. Tour a glassblower’s workshop in Murano, and discover the traditional art of lacemaking in Burano. See medieval churches while learning about the ancient history of Torcello, Venice’s earliest settlement and a tranquil escape from the typical tourist path. Enjoy the dedicated attention of your private guide on this 4-hour tour.

Private 4-hour tour of Murano, Burano and Torcello islands, in the Venetian Lagoon
Cruise the Venetian Lagoon by motor boat with your guide
Watch skilled glassblowers at work on Murano Island
Admire Burano Island’s pretty fishing port and browse for lace in the island's traditional shops
Explore Torcello Island and admire Venetian-Byzantine mosaics at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
This private tour ensures you’ll see the best of Murano, Burano and Torcello while receiving undivided attention from your guide

What's Included

Private guide
Transport by private motor boat

Gratuities
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Bucintoro Viaggi
Calle Minelli, 4267/A, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Bucintoro Viaggi Travel Agency - Campo San Luca 4267/C

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Explore the history and beauty of the Venetian islands while enjoying the personalized attention of a private tour. Choose from three different departure times to suit your schedule, and then connect with your expert guide in central Venice at the prearranged time. Set out into the Venetian Lagoon aboard a comfortable motorboat, and admire a new perspective on the city as its grand structures recede into the distance.

Your first stop is the island of Murano, where glassblowers have been practicing their craft for centuries. Visit a glassblowing workshop for a firsthand look at this amazing art form, and learn what makes Murano glass coveted around the globe. You’ll also have a chance to explore the island’s historic streets and unique shops.

At the neighboring island of Burano, you’ll be welcomed by colorful fishermen’s homes and a charming historic port. Burano is famous for its lacemaking legacy, and local craftswomen still practice centuries-old techniques to weave intricate lace that is considered among the finest in the world. Enjoy leisure time to browse local shops, where you can purchase a unique lace souvenir to take home.

Finally, make your way to tranquil Torcello — a less-visited locale that boasts the distinction of being the first site of Venetian settlement. Learn about the island’s earliest inhabitants, who fled here in the 5th century to escape barbarian armies. Climb the bell tower at the 12th-century Church of Santa Fosca for panoramic views, and admire the detailed mosaics at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta — the oldest church in Venice.

Your 4-hour tour concludes with a boat ride back to the original departure point in Venice.

Please note: Price listed is per person, based on six adults per boat. A minimum of two people per booking is required.

Laguna di Venezia (Pass By)

Isola di Murano

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Isola di Burano - World Heritage Site

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Isola Torcello

45 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Chiesa di Santa Fosca (Pass By)

Trono di Attila

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Ponte del Diavolo (Pass By)

Piazza San Marco (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 2 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Infants must sit on laps

Most travelers can participate
A maximum of 8 people per booking
On certain dates, most travelers staying outside of Venice who are planning to visit for the day will be required to pay a €5 access fee. For further details (including exemptions) and to learn what days this fee is applicable, please visit: https://cda.ve.it
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 2 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 2 full days before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.

Any changes made less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

4.5

49 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 49 reviews

Cancelled at the last minute

kelyndra_v, Jul 2022

The communication with this company was horrible! Our tour was “pending” still at 12:30 for a 2:00p tour. They had a zero refund cancellation policy so we were spending the day hoping we would be confirmed. We went to pick up the tickets from the address we received in the email. Taped to the door was a note saying that their office was closed and that we needed to go to a different address. About one hour before we were supposed to board our boat for our private tour (remember that we were walking back and forth in Venice to get the tickets) we received an email that they had oversold the “private” trip and ours was cancelled. So we were locked in to 900€ without being able to cancel, not being able to do something else just to be cancelled at the last minute. Please don’t trust this tour operator

Awesome Boat Tour of the Venetian Islands

Roy_B, Oct 2021

We had a great day out in the lagoon visiting the islands. Each island is distinct and very interesting. Our guide, Barbara, was amazing! She is knowledgeable, fun, and enthusiastic. She took into consideration our needs and adapted her program to please us. We enjoyed our time out - it went by way too quickly.

Fabulous day out on the water

Kathrin_A, Jul 2019

Best way to explore those beautiful islands as you can go at your leisure. Get your skipper & tour guide to pick you up from your hotel if possible and have them drop you off at their local lunch place to avoid tourist crowds.

Private tour Murano Burano

Michele_H, Jul 2018

Barbara was a fantastic guide, Murano glass making factory was very interesting with exquisite items to purchase. Murano was very beautiful and colorful, only wish we could have stayed longer!

This was a nice tour, the lady who...

Mirian_B, Mar 2018

This was a nice tour, the lady who was our guide took us around and gave great detail. My only issue with this was that when we wanted to get a bottle of water, she took us to a place that totally overcharged us and it felt like this was done on purpose. I don't know, but I didn't like that. The glass factory was amazing and they shipped my purchases without any problems. overall the day was great, but for that water incident.

If I could give this one 10 stars...

Todd W, Nov 2017

If I could give this one 10 stars - I would! LOVED THIS TOUR!!!! So worth it. Wonderful, wonderful!! The beauty here is even better than the pictures you see. TONS of shopping for pretty much everyone. A fun tour!!

Samuel and our boat driver made the...

Rick M, Oct 2017

Samuel and our boat driver made the day quite special. He was very knowledgeable with the entire area and listened to our needs. He set us up with the experts in the fields of Glass making and Linen embroidery. We enjoyed lunch together and shared some stories. Truly a wonderful tour!

Great tour. The guide was very nice...

Kathy M, Sep 2017

Great tour. The guide was very nice and gave a lot of information. Great private glass-making demonstration of Murano, and Burano was absolutely beautiful. We decided to skip Torcello and chose to be dropped off at a beach for the rest of the day instead. That's the beauty of. private tour. You can change whatever you need to at the last minute. Great day.

Our tour guide Stefania was amazing...

Eunice M, Jul 2017

Our tour guide Stefania was amazing she shared a lot of history on the 3 islands with us and responded to all the questions we had. Stefanie was very knowledgeable, informative and patient. The tour was very personal as there were only 5 of us on the boat. We had travelled all the way from Botswana, Africa for my birthday celebration and the tour was worth it. I would recommend the tour and our guide to anyone!

we got lucky and had the boat/guide...

Sandra D, Jul 2017

we got lucky and had the boat/guide to ourselves. we were able to customize everything to do exactly as we wanted. really enjoyed the guide and the day.

I guess when you book a private...

Joel S, Jul 2017

I guess when you book a private tour, it all comes down to the tour guide...and I can't imagine having a better experience. Barbara was our guide and quickly assessed our desires and expectations. Since this tour was part of a birthday celebration, Barbara went out of her way to make the day special for me the birthday boy. As others have mentioned, the benefits of a private tour is some additional flexibility and I believe our tour was unique to our group. FYI, we really enjoyed Burano the most.

We were a family of 6 and thoroughly...

Fran H, Apr 2017

We were a family of 6 and thoroughly enjoyed our private tour of Murano, and Burano! We decided to not do Torcello because we enjoyed Burano so much. The boat was a lovely, private, mahogany water taxi that was reserved just for us the entire afternoon. Our guide, Sam, a local Venetian offered a lovely local insight, and answered all of our questions. This tour was perfect for us because Venice was extremely crowded, and it took us away from the madness of the city center, over crowded public water taxis, and tour groups. Watching the glass making in Murano was exceptional, and having Sam show us the quieter off the beaten path parts of Burano was exactly what we wanted. If you are into photography, like me, Burano was a dream in the late afternoon we did the 2pm tour. Thank you to Sam for the lovely afternoon!

This small group tour was wonderful...

Bobbi_K, Oct 2016

This small group tour was wonderful. A private tour with a guide who was attentive to our questions as well as our needs. She was thoughtful and careful to explain whenever asked. It was a beautiful journey into history!

Francesca was an excellent guide...

David B, Sep 2016

Francesca was an excellent guide. The only negative is the trip to Murano was only to one shop to wTch glass blowing which was excellent but then the sales pitch by the owner. We then left for Burano without any other time in Murano. The rest of the trip was excellent and we had a little extra time to see other islands in the lagoon which was good. Overall a great trip, but expect the sales pitch

stunning. the only downside...

JULIA_D, Aug 2016

stunning. the only downside was finding the office to meet our guide but we arrived in plenty of time. it was the best 4 hours and the tour was tailored for us and went at our pace. yes it was expensive but it was so good i'd recommend it in a heartbeat.

Barbara did a great job. I'd...

Barbara D, Jul 2016

Barbara did a great job. I'd definitely recommend her to anyone visiting Venice.

As always the visit to Burano was...

Corlia_M, May 2016

As always the visit to Burano was sooo special! Murano was closed for the weekend and seeing the master making his piece of glass art was magnificent! we saw real lace making on Burano....absolutely breathtaking.

Samuel was an excellent guide. This...

Matthew C, Nov 2015

Samuel was an excellent guide. This was a genuine private tour where Samuel was happy to be flexible and build the trip round the 3 islands as we wanted. A genuine local really interested in making us have the best time. Loved it!

I have never done a private tour...

Linda B, Oct 2015

I have never done a private tour before but this is the only way to go. Our tour guide gave us so much history and information. She took us to a couple of shops in Burano who sold very nice gifts at a very good price. She allowed us to go at our own pace and was very thorough. It was a tour highly recommended.

Private transportation to Murano and...

Robert H, Oct 2015

Private transportation to Murano and Burano. Two quick demonstrations and free time to wander Burano.