Will arrive in Venice About noon and have that day and the next in Venice before leaving the following morning. Is this a good plan? Spend the first afternoon in St Marks square, visit the Doge's palace,etc. Take the Vaporetto the next day to Murano, Burano and Torcello. Is there pass to buy for transportation or just pay for the Vaporetto each time you use it.
Any other guidance on itinerary or transportation is appreciated.
I would probably try to do Murano and Burano and Torcello on the afternoon of the day of arrival. One afternoon is probably enough for all. I would start from the farthest and work my way back (Torcello, Burano, Murano). Murano is close to Venice and with plenty of vaporetto runs till late at night, that way no risk to be stuck in far away Torcello.
For Venice you need a whole day, so devote your full day to Venice. In a full day, besides the San Marco area, You can probably fit Rialto bridge, the Friari church, and Accademia as well.
There are daily vaporetto passes (24, 48, 72 hour passes etc) which are generally a good deal compared to paying each ride. In your case, I would buy at least the one day pass, if not the two day pass (t depends on how many rides you plan). The one day is €20, the two day is €30. A single ride is €7.50
Fyi there is alot more to see Venice than the islands.
Of course it is your decision but the museums the shops the walking the discoveries are greater on Venice. It is magical even if the cruisers are there.
I checked my train schedule and we arrive at 12:15 in Venice and then have to check into the hotel. I think we will spend the afternoon in Venice. Then get a one day pass and do the islands the next morning. Do the afternoon back in Venice and maybe a Grand Canal vaporetto in the evening. It doesn't seem like there would be enough time the first day.
I believe that most people are suggesting the islands first and Venice for the full day because St. Marks during the day is a zoo. It is very enjoyable early in the morning (a small amount of people and several brides taking wedding photos) before the cruise ships arrive but later it is a packed madhouse. Last fall we took the first Secret Itinerary tour and then toured the palace. We then went next door to the cathedral while the lights were still on (11:30-12:30 - get a reserved time - http://www.venetoinside.com/attraction-tickets-in-veneto/tickets/skip-the-line-saint-marks-basilica/ ). By then the square is wall to wall people and you really can't enjoy it. Maybe do that on the full day and then head over to the islands? The square is also nice to visit in the evening with the dueling bands.
My suggestion would be to skip Murano/Burano/Torcello. Transit time by vaporetto is about an hour, taking into account the time to get to Fond. Nove.
There is more than enough in Venice proper to keep you occupied.
There are vaporetto to Burano and Torcello every 20 minutes all day and night (a bit less frequently at night). It's a 40 min ride from Venice to Burano (Torcello is an extra 5 min) so I don't see why you can't go the afternoon. There is only a church to see in Torcello. Burano is pretty just for the colored facades. Murano is basically glass blowing. I'd get it over first.
One of the joys of Venice is just wandering the lanes and passageways. This is best in the early evening when the day tourists have left. It will still be crowded but not as bad as during the day.
I agree with Roberto. When you arrive, drop your bags at your hotel and head out to the islands. The next day get an early start and try to get to St. Marks, Doges Palace, and the rest in that area before the day trippers and possibly cruise passengers.
There is a booth near where the Vapporettos park at the train station that can help you choose the best pass for the Vaporetto.
Hmmm - our first trip to Venice we arrived by train sometime around lunch. It took a few hours to figure out the vaporetto, get to our B&B, check in, get settled, get back out and figure out how to get to where we wanted to go...we then decided to head for Murano (this was '08, so details/times are a bit fuzzy). We arrived to Murano about 3:30-4pm - well, most of the shops that day closed at 4:30-5pm - so I felt like we spent all that time to get there, then we had maybe an hour, then all the time to get back. Burano and Torcello would have not been possible.
I think spending time in Venice proper your arrival day is better - then the next day - if you still decide to do Mu/Bu/To - head out early - if you really want to see them 'properly' - you need a few hours at each spot (well, maybe not Torcello, but we spent a good 2 1/2 hrs on Burano first visit, 90 min or so the second time). I'd recommend getting up early and heading out as well - even if you go back to your room for breakfast after - nothing like seeing St Mark's Sq and stand on the bridge facing the Bridge of Sighs at 7 am when it is almost devoid of people - it's amazing - because by 10 am, SMS is packed, and you are fighting elbows and selfie sticks to get a photo of the B of Sighs.
Our first trip we arrived as stated above, then flew out the next evening, so we had about 36 hrs. Hindsight, we should have just wandered Venice itself and left the islands for another trip. Just seeing Venice itself is amazing.
Unless you want to see how they make glass, Murano is not worth the time. Since you only have 1.5 days.
Burano is pretty and worth an hour or two just to wander around and take photos. More if u want to buy lace.
Torcello is very small and won't take much time to see.
For Venice itself, do the self guided grand canal tour at night when the buildings are lit up and pretty much everything with a admission fee is closed.
St Marks is best early morning before it becomes a zoo. If you are interested in art the Scuolo San Rocco is a great place without having to spend hours and has a great painted ceiling worth the admission price.
If you have time for just one bell tower I would recommend the one at San Giorgio Maggiore across the grand canal rather than the one at St Marks. Almost no lines and a better view in my opinion.
Have a great trip
On such a short visit, the last thing I'd want to do after spending all the time getting to Venice and around Venice, is leave Venice for the outer islands. But they're "must sees" for some.
I'd definitely get a vaporetto pass for the full time you are there. If you go to the outer islands, definitely get one. Remember each vaporetto ride is €7.50, so the passes pay off fast. And even if you think you want to walk everywhere in Venice proper, that gets tiring fast; I find a used a combination of a lot of walks and a lot of vaporetto rides, so the pass was a great deal.
As much as I love Murano and Burano, I would save them for another trip. It will consume just about all of day two, and just half a day (arrival day) is not nearly enough to even get a taste of Venice. I would spend the arrival day just wandering the back streets and making unique serendipitous discoveries. Then get an early start on day two and check out St. Marks, Doge's Palace, and the Rialto area before it gets too crowded. When that happens just hit the back streets again and see the real Venice. A 48 hour vaporetto pass should be more than sufficient and you might even get by with a shorter one. The pass will pay for itself in just a few rides. The vaporetto system has a good web site with lots of information. Can't remember the URL off hand, just google it and see what you think.
** for the record - this post is originally from Aug 2017...but hopefully the new replies will help others :)
