Murano/Burano Info

Yes, you can, and should, go from island to island. No need to go to one island, then back to Venice, then to another island.
There is scheduled boat service between various points in the Lagoon, as the area where the islands are located is called, these boats are different from the vaporettos that traverse the canals within the city of Venice.

Most travelers reporting in here do both islands in a single day trip, and don't sleep on the islands. They spend as much time as they want on each island, noting before they leave the boat pier the times that the boat will be back.

Other posters may want to add some details.

And Rick explains these things in his Venice book.

Have been to Venice a half dozen times but only to Murano and Burano 2x. If you have the time, they are well worth a visit. You can easily go from island to island and will not go back to Venice until you are done visiting the islands you wish to see. If you get on the vaporetti at the Fondamente Nove vaporetto stop it is a much quicker trip than if you get on at a stop closer to San Marco. We have done it both ways.

The F.N. stop is on the north side of Venice not far from the hospital and Giovanni and Paolo Church. From here the vaporetto will stop at the San Michele Cemetery (Cimitero stop) in less than 10 minutes. Can't comment on the cemetery as we have not visited this island. Then onto Murano in less than 10 minutes or so where you will get off at Murano-Colonna stop. You can stroll through Murano and watch a glass blowing demo if you wish. When you are ready to head to Burano you will need to go to the Murano-Faro vaporetto stop and it is about 30 minutes.

From Burano you can also go to the island of Torcello which is only a few minutes away. Haven't been to Torcello. Of Murano and Burano I would say Burano was our favorite. The brightly colored fishing village is charming. We did these 2 island as a leisurely day trip from Venice and had dinner in Burano. We were having dinner here when the evening passeggiata started which was fun to watch. Didn't know that many people lived on Burano. It was like they came out of the woodwork! All this info on visiting the islands is in the R.S. Venice book. Have a good trip!

I second the suggestion to go to Torcello...it is a wonderful view into what Venice was like before it was completely built up. Beautiful church with mosaics worth seeing.

We were just in Venice in May and took the water bus/taxi to both islands in one day. We didn't send time shopping, but rather took pictures and walked the main streets to sightsee. To me, both islands were all about buying stuff, but there are some nice buildings and good window shopping. We liked Burano better, as the colored homes were wonderful to see.

The taxi/bus will stop at each island, you hop on and hop off. There is a schedule so you'll know when the next boat arrives.

Take your time, and just enjoy, it's easy to hop on the water taxi and continue to the next island when you are done. It was a LONG trip back to Venice for sure...I think we hit every single stop there was.

Figure out if you want to shop for glass on Murano, or lace on Burano...then you will know if you want to spend more time on either island.

Have you used this site? http://www.actv.it/en/movinginvenice/waterbusservicetimetable You can find the map with the routes and the time table. I used this in Venice and no issue with it

We got off the boat at the cemetery island and found it well worth a visit.
The grave sites through out Italy are usually very well kept and some are really
ornate.
There are some famous people buried on the island (Ezra Pond - to name one)
I thought it was worth a stop.

I also went to the cemetery in Milan and it was REALLY amazing !!

Unless you want glass-blowing demos, go to Burano amd Torcello. Burano has many artisan studios and shops for glass, I think better than on Murano. Torcello is another world, it's my favorite place in Venice.

Having just got back from Venice (for the 4th time) we skipped Murano after doing it the last 3 trips. There is the glass museum which is interesting, but it really is geared for shopping...unless, as someone mentioned, you want to see the glass blowing. We went to Burano for the 2nd time and spent much more time there. The first trip in 2012, it poured rain about 45 min after we got there, so we didn't explore. This time, with lunch thrown in, we did spend 3 hrs or so. If you like photography, the colourful houses are amazing. It does take a while to get out there. We were tired and skipped Torcello (which we saw a bit of last trip). It would make for pretty much an all day trip, so best not to waste time and do them all in one day.

You should also consider buying the Rick Steves guidebook for Italy if you're going to another Italian destination in addition to Venice. If not, then you should pick up the one for Venice/Veneto. It will be the smartest money you spend on your vacation as he answers exactly this type of question better than any other guidebooks I've seen. He also answers questions you won't realize you need to be asking.

Happy travels.

In 2008 we went to Burano for the first time and found a quaint, sleepy island that time, as it appeared, seemed to forget. We spent a day there just wandering around with scarcely another tourist in sight. We went back in 2012 realizing that Burano had been discovered and was full of tourist schlock. They even built a new pier to accommodate the increased traffic.

That being said, we still enjoyed the island but recognized the difference. I guess that's progress...

Go and have fun.

Buon viaggio,

We found Burano delightful- were just there on a Sat- not many tourists there at all! The crowds on vaporetto all got off at Murano- which we skipped.