Murano, Burano and Torcello Half-Day Boat Tour with Guide

This Murano, Burano and Torcello boat tour is a half-day way to see the lagoon's best-known islands without arranging a single ferry yourself. A guide travels with the group on a panoramic boat, giving commentary in English, Italian, Spanish, French and German, and the tour leaves from several boarding points in Venice at different times of day.

The first stop is Murano, famous for centuries of glassmaking. You visit a historic glass factory, where a master artisan blows glass in front of you. The guide goes with you only to the factory; afterwards you explore on your own. Burano comes next, with its brightly painted houses and canals, an invitation to stroll and take photographs.

You choose between two versions:

• Murano and Burano, with about an hour and a half on each island
• Murano, Burano and Torcello, with about 50 minutes on each, adding a quiet, very old settlement of the lagoon

It is a boat excursion, not a walking tour, so you decide how to use your free time, wandering as you please. Meals and drinks are not included, and Torcello Cathedral has an optional entrance ticket. You can phone for help before and while you are out. Unusual tides or bad weather can change or cancel the trip, in which case you get a new date or your money back.