Murano glass

Many years ago when staying in Venice the hotel provided a free taxi to the Murano to a particular glass factory they had a relationship with. Demonstration, tour, and then the opportunity to spend as much money as you want in their showroom. They give you a bus token (water bus) to get back to Venice. Nice day. Check with your hotel if you are staying in Venice.

Many Venice hotels have an offer of a free motorboat trip to the Murano glass factory. It's fun being in a motorboat across the lagoon, and the info and demonstrations are interesting. There's no real pressure to buy, and there are several rooms of incredible pieces of Murano glass, from chandeliers, bowls, glasses, art, jewelry, etc.
There is a glass museum on Murano which covers the history and is quite informative. Perhaps that website would post info on tours.
I have not heard of glass tour guides, so if you find one, please share.
I like to support the shops that are owner - operated, and make many of their items at the shop. Just wander on Murano until you find these, they are special.
For jewelry, I like Atelier Alexandra, who took over the shop from her father. She is active online and and you can find her on Instagram.
Have a great trip!

During our last month-long trip to Italy, the visit to Murano was the single most disappointing experience we had. A friend had convinced me that Murano would be a highlight of our trip. It was not. The boat ride there was pleasant enough, and there was a bit of glasswork being done, but there was nothing that was nearly as interesting as what we can see if we visit Corning Glass here locally. My take-away is that Murano is a tourist dog and pony operation. We enjoyed an over-priced gelato and called it a day. Maybe a guide could have shown us more than what we saw, but on our own, we decided it had not been time well spent.
We do enjoy good glass craftsmanship and own several pieces of art glass, so were not approaching a visit without some level of expectations.

It's neat to see the glass being made, but it is a bit of a tourist dog and pony show as someone else mentioned. There are also plenty of vendors selling take merchandise outside of the production areas so please be careful.

We bought a small piece and it is a wonderful memory of our trip. However, I was also shocked to find authentic Murano glass at our local HomeGoods store when returning to the US. The pieces were properly labeled with the correct sticker and displayed along side other pieces with labels indicating made elsewhere.

As others are indicating, it may be tough to separate the authentic guide from the touts trying to get you into a showroom.

I saw one tour on Viator, for $150 p/p or so, to be honest, not sure if what they are offering is any more than what you can get free (Boat over, a demonstration, then the opportunity to visit the showroom)

You could maybe do as well by taking the boats over yourself, visit the museum, then take in the free tours at one or more studios, maybe add in lunch as well, a pretty cheap day, except if you decide to purchase.

Vaporetto tickets cost €9.50 each, so purchase of a valoretto pass covering at least the period of the Murano trip should be considered.

24 hours: €25
48 hours: €35
72 hours: €45
168 hours (7 days): €65

The pass must be validated before you enter the dock for each trip.

Check out Katie Parla's website (katieparla.com). She is an expat NYTimes contributor and cookbook writer based in Rome but frequents Venice and Murano glass community frequently. Have fun!

Thank you to everyone! I'm looking at a tour sponsored by Get Your Guide, so I can report back later how it goes! I'm not surprised it's turned a bit into a dog-and-pony show, but I'm willing to play along once! And taking a vaporetto sounds like fun.

To be sure there's no confusion:

A vaporetto is a ferry boat running a fixed route on a fixed schedule. There are vaporetto stops on Murano and other places out in the lagoon as well as in Venice proper. I put vaporetto costs in my previous post.

A water taxi is a motorboat functioning as the equivalent of a land taxi. Water taxis take people where they want to go, or to the nearest public dock. They are unscheduled and are normally (maybe always?) prebooked. They serve the lagoon as well as Venice proper. They are very, very expensive. I've never taken one.

A highlight of Murano was the glass museum. It is very well done.

Get your Guide is a third- party vendor, who takes a commission. Look at the smaller print, and see who the vendor is. Then book directly with the vendor. Good luck!

Some friends booked an experience where they were able to practice glass blowing themselves and loved it--they were able to take home what they created. I will see if she knows the name of who they booked through (it may have been part of their Costco package), but it sounds like there *are some worthwhile tours on offer, so keep looking!