Venice Private Boat Tour Murano & Burano

Sebastian was a fabulous guide. He is a Venetian and knows the area extremely well! He met us at the hotel and took us to St. Marks to meet the water taxi . We started with a Grand Canal tour and then went to Murano and Burano. We observed the glass blowing process with time for the show room which was like an art gallery. On Burano , we visited a lovely lace shop and had a lovely lunch. The lace shop was a pleasant surprise. Burano is lovely with its bright colored buildings and small shops. Back to the waiting water taxi and to St. Marks and to the hotel. Seba even made us a dinner reservation on the way back to our hotel. Sebastian is very personable and made this day one of our favorites! Highly recommend Sebastian!

We paid extra for our party of 5 to make and take home a glass bead each on a trip to Murano. When we arrived, we were told there was a "misunderstanding" and the bead maker wasn't in. So we were told we could each make a different item. My son went first and chose to make a glass. While he was doing that we were told there was yet another "misunderstanding" and that the rest of us could blow glass and we would get to pick a small item to take home instead. They put a blob of glass on the end of a long pole and we each spent 30 seconds blowing it into a glass blob. Then when it came time to select an item, we were told only 1 item for our family, not 1 for each of us. While we are a family, our party was made up of 3 separate families. Then when we went to Burano to see a lace making demo, but there was no real demo. We were taken into a high-end linen store where a lady was sitting in a chair working on something while our guide picked up a pattern and spent 30 seconds talking about what she was doing. Here is what went wrong and why our experience was completely unacceptable: The Glassmaking "Upgrade" Myth The Math Doesn't Work: Blowing air through a pipe into a molten blob takes zero setup, zero technical skill from you, and less than a minute of artist time. It costs the furnace virtually nothing. The "Cooling Time" Trap: Experienced tour operators know glass requires an annealing oven for 12–24 hours to cool without shattering. Offering a drinking cup exercise on a quick drop-in visit without arranged shipping or pickup is a standard tactic to force you to abandon the item. My son was very disappointed he couldn't take home the glass that he made because he was told it had to cool and that it would cost too much to ship. The Extra Fee: We paid a specific $100+ surcharge for individual glass bead making (a controlled, desktop lampworking process that is fast and lets you take the bead with you). Swapping that for a 30-second blowpipe turn and a single cheap souvenir for three separate households is a blatant downgrade, not an expensive bonus. The Burano "Demonstration" Trap Real Burano needle lace (merletto) is a dying art, taking weeks for a few inches. This tour substituted a genuine workshop demo with a quick pitstop inside an upscale retail store where an artisan was seated as a passive prop to encourage high-end clothing sales. A 30-second monologue is a shopping incentive, not a demonstration. We definitely did not get what we paid for.

The glass blowing/making was awesome and our guide did an outstanding job sharing the culture history and landmarks of Venezia.

Don’t miss it The kids loved the experience We had the best time The canal tour was perfect The Murano experience unforgettable The Burano exciting Sylvia the best

This was a wonderful day trip. Through Top Venice, we did an ad on to include the Grand Canal tour, so the whole tour was about six hours. Our tour guide, Monika, was fabulous. While traveling down the grand Canal, she shared interesting tidbits about the palaces and their current/former occupants. In Murano we saw beautiful glass-making and enjoyed the showroom and gift shop. The jewel of our tour was getting spending time in Burano. The quaint village was a pleasure to stroll through and enjoy lunch and a gelato..

Our guide Elisa was very nice and very knowledgeable, she took very good care of our family. The only downside is that after the impressive demonstration by the glassmaster in Burano, we were taken to see the Shop/Museum to be presented piece ranging from 1thousands of euros to over 100,000 euros for over 20 minutes… I don’t mind the commercial angle, but I will not shop for art with my family during a private tour of Murano. We should have told Elisa much earlier to get out much faster; I think we could have better spent that time visiting either Island. I would still recommend the tour.

Our trip to Murano was very interesting; we learned about the art and beauty of glass blowing. Burano, on the other hand was a very pleasant visit to a beautiful town, so different to Venice! Colorful, pleasant to walk, cozy little shops, and of course, the art of lace. It’s wonderful and worth it! Cristina, our guide, was exceptional!

Monica was amazing! Such a fun tour of Murano and Burano. Seeing a master create a piece of glass art and hearing Monica who knew so much about it was incredible. We learned so much information about the two islands… and even though the day started out rainy, it quickly turned to sun and it was beautiful. The extra time paid for in Burano to have lunch at one of her recommendations was great because it was an amazing meal!

We really liked our guide Silvia. She was sweet and good with kids. It was a hot day and the kids did not start out with the greatest amount of energy, but Silvia was patient and related to them gently. We enjoyed the glass factory which was a hit. Burano was a bit slower and not as much to see or do for kids, but they enjoyed the walked through the garden. Overall, recommend!

Ana Paula was an excellent guide, full of cultural enrichment and spirit. The Murano glass-blowing experience was tremendous as was the lunch on Burano!

Great way to see Murano and Burano quickly! They were must visits while in Venice. Beatrice our guide was kind and very attentive. She catered the day to our speed with our kids. The end of the tours are the hard sell for their goods, but worth it!

We absolutely loved this tour. The service was excellent. Burano is so cute and the glass blowing demonstration was fascinating. Well worth it.

We wanted a private tour of Murano and Burano and stayed by the airport so needed hotel pickup. This was one of only a couple willing to drive to our hotel. Sure, we paid extra for the pickup but we didnt have to hassle with busses and trains and boats. Monica was our guide and she was simply OUTSTANDING!!!! They even booked us a a 4 star restaurant on Burano and it was excellent. Every aspect of this tour was just beyond our expectations. This is a reliable company you can trust!!!!

What a great excursion with Kristina on the Murano/Burano trip. Venice is amazing - but also VERY hectic with all the tourists. The excision was a nice break from the hustle and crowds in Venice. Kristina met us at the hotel and walked us to the private water taxi and started the tour immediately. Great info on the way to Murano and the history of the whole area. The bay. The glass blowing. All of it. They we headed to Burano via private water taxi and had a really nice time on a much quieter island with great amenities. We took time to enjoy a drink with Kristina while she explained the area and how it all works on Burano. Then a nice trip back to Venice. Think the whole trip was about 4 hours which was perfect for us. I know the price may look high but when you factor that could include up to 6 people the private aspects of it made it much much nicer vs the larger groups with the earpieces etc. don’t get me wrong those are great too but a little break like this in the trip was well received.

Our guide, Monica, was an absolute pleasure - very knowledgeable, charismatic and patient life-long Venetian. She also helpfully advised us on local dining options and went out of her way to walk us to one of the places she had suggested for lunch at the end of our tour. We thoroughly enjoyed our day trip to Murano and Burano and can't wait to return to Venice.

This was a great tour to take for a half day! We were leaving on an afternoon train, so we were able to start right when we requested at 9:30 am. The private water taxi was fun for our family and a lovely ride from our hotel dock through the city and then across the harbor. It was extremely interesting to see the incredible art of Murano glass blowing, although they did give us a bit of a sell afterward in the showroom. A private boat ride to Burano was great and scenic, and Burano itself was the most beautiful little island! Brimming with Colorful homes and shops, it was super-scenic and great for photos. It has a beautiful cathedral as well. The lace making was interesting, although a bit pricey for the goods. we thoroughly enjoyed our free time on the island. The private water taxi back was again a fun harbor ride, and then a nice ride through the canals of Venice right back to our hotel dock, in perfect time for us to refresh and then go to catch our train! No stress, no waiting on others, lovely boat rides on the beautiful water, time to explore on our own. Highly recommend!

We had a wonderful time visiting the 2 islands, Burano & Murano. Our private guide, Christian’s was nice & professional. We took the lunch (optional) which was suggested by the owner of the company, TopVenice. It was such a nice recommendation. Tasty seafood & good service served in a local restaurant. We definitely will pay our visit again👍🏻

Kristina was a fantastic guide and very knowledgeable about both islands she also gave us advice on restaurants and other things to do while in Venice.

Burano was the best. Our guide, Sara, was very knowledgeable and personable. She was super with the 11 and 7 year old grandchildren. Great experience.

Was very nice tour, our tour guide Sara was very informative, we enjoyed every minute of it. Thank for lovely and memorable trip to Murano $ Burano

Christina was marvelous! She geared the tour to our interests and educated and fascinated us with her knowledge of the islands. Her knowledge and experience was phenomenal! We were able to purchase what we were looking for under her able guidance and even had extra time to enjoy some gelato. Kudos to Christina for giving us such a magnificent day!!!!

An amazing experience, lovely to see the beautiful sites and Art. Thank you Paulo for showing us around. Everyone really enjoyed and please say hello to Beppi from all of us

Kristina was wonderful and the tour of the glass factory on Murano and lunch on Burano were outstanding. A great way to sightsee in a short amount of time.

The most enjoyable and informative tour we took during our Italy vacation. Kristina was absolutely delightful. She was engaging and provided the perfect amount of attention while also allowing us to explore on our own.

The tour started off pretty good. We were picked up on time from our hotel lobby. Our guide, Paola, gave us some facts about Venice on our way to Murano. We got to see a brief glass blowing demonstration on Murano. We were then ushered into a showroom where we were pushed hard to purchase this shops items, which were ridiculously overpriced. When we did not purchase anything, we were ushered to the next boat headed for Burano. We were not able to stroll the island or look at any other shops. Upon arrival in Burano we were taken to the most expensive lace shop on the island and again given a short demonstration of the lacemaking. Then again ushered into an expensive showroom. We again declined to purchase from this seller. We were lead on a walk through the town. It was now the hottest part of the day and my kids start having problems with the heat. Our guide didn't know how to handle this and seemed annoyed that my 4 and 7 year old couldn't just tough it out. We finally ended to tour ourselves about an hour early, just to get the kids back to the hotel. I have been on several private tours here in Venice and this was just several fancy sales pitches. Our guide didn't know what to do with the kids and seemed annoyed the we weren't buying (maybe they get a commission). DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! We would have been better off hiring a water taxi and doing Murano and Burano ourselves.

Monica was perfect and gave us very good tips about the city for the rest if the stay. Thank you for the help!

Guide was perfect for the experience we were expecting. He had great excitement in his conversations, was personal within his conversations. Had great knowledge of all elements of the tour and adjusted to subjects we were interested in seeing and discussing. This was one of the best tours we have ever taken. Diffidently a 5 star rating.

We had the pleasure of being picked up by our lovely and knowledgeable tour guide Roberta in a beautiful water taxi and whisked away to the island of Murano. There we watched master craftsmen honing their art of blowing glass while receiving a tour of one of Murano’s top glass making facility and showroom. From there we took a local water shuttle to Burano where the remainder of the day was spent wandering the beautiful streets while our guide told us of the rich history of this beautiful and picturesque island. We stopped to watch the fine art of lace making in a little shop, ate gelato, crossed the bridges adored the architecture and chatted with a few of the locals about their gorgeous little town. The beautiful water taxi ride back to Venice gave us extraordinary views of the amazing city. Our tour guide Roberta is a local to Venice and the love of her city and surrounding islands really showed. We felt like we were spending the day with a friend. 5 stars for this wonderful experience!

This is well worth the money. You get a great boat ride, seeing Venice from the water and you get to tour the beautiful Islands of Murano and Burano. Our guide was knowledgeable and personable and we had a great tour. Highly recommend.

Great guide great experience great boat ride thoroughly enjoyed it We were picked up promptly from our hotel and had a very enjoyable boat ride to Murano and to Bursno and had a private tour of the glass factory in Murano and a leisurely walk in Burano and ultimately back to Venice The boat captains were very punctual and the guide was very informative

Journée magique. Monica Guide en français géniale pour les visites de burano, murano et du grand canal.

Tutto è andato bene. Organizzazione perfetta, puntualissimi, ogni cosa è andata al di sopra delle aspettative. Il tempo vola e ti dispiace quando finisce tutto. Kristina la nostra guida è stata grandiosa. Preparata, gradevolissima e dolcissima coi miei figli.