Murano, Burano & Torcello Islands Boat Tour with Glass Blowing

When we arrived at the office in question, a completely incompetent clerk started getting agitated and refused to convert our reservation into a ticket. Our tour was scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m., and it was 11:03 a.m. She told us the tour was off for us, that we should complain to you, and that she would call the police. We tried to calm her down and reason with her, but it was no use; she made us waste another 10 minutes and ruined everyone’s day. Some of us rushed to the ferry anyway; the very kind staff let us board and processed the conversion on board. The others, SOLELY AND EXCLUSIVELY BASED ON OUR TELEPHONE INSTRUCTIONS, boarded the next one and managed to take the tour half an hour later. The group remained split for the rest of the day. The three islands we visited undoubtedly deserved more time; 50 minutes didn’t allow us to enjoy the beauty of the places in the slightest—it was all a senseless rush. I won’t spend any more money on rushed tours that are poorly coordinated between the tour operator and the ticket office staff. If it weren’t for OUR OWN INITIATIVE and the cooperation of the crew on board, we would have spent money to travel all the way from Romagna only to be left on land. I gave three stars for the ferries’ punctuality, the beauty of the sites, and the extreme helpfulness of the onboard staff; for the organization, they deserved only one star—totally unsatisfactory. We spent a day full of stress and never found our way back.

Our Murano, Burano & Torcello tour became one of the most special memories from our first wedding anniversary trip to Venice. In Murano, we discovered a small glass shop near Fondamenta Andrea Navagero run by an older master craftsman with his own factory inside - the kind of place you remember forever. The shelves were filled with hundreds of tiny handmade glass animals and figures, each with so much character and detail that it felt more like stepping into someone’s lifelong passion than a tourist shop. Burano was absolutely magical with its colourful houses reflecting on the canals, while Torcello brought a completely different atmosphere - quiet, historic and full of the feeling of old Venice. The whole day reminded us that the best travel memories often come from meeting people who dedicate their lives to preserving beauty and tradition.

As soon as we arrived at the agency, they told us that our reservation didn’t match the time slot assigned to us. They rescheduled our tour for an hour later. We went straight to the boarding area anyway and, fortunately, managed to depart at the time originally scheduled in our online reservation. We didn’t understand what caused this change. The tour went well, but even though it seemed like plenty of time, we were always rushing to get back on schedule for the next departures. The staff was knowledgeable (the hostess on board spoke 5 languages) and the helmsmen were excellent. The glassblowing is a must-see. Sandro, with 50 years of experience, won us over immediately with his mastery of glassworking. Burano is wonderful.