Venice Transportation, Burano Visit, Restaurants, Adult Kids!

We always use the vaporetto to go to the islands. Yes, Burano is scenic but I would choose Venice itself with such a very short stay there. Venice needs at minimum 3 nights.

I have been to Venice 6 times, the last time with my older teen girls. Here is my advice - If you only have one day in Venice and have never been, I would skip Murano, Burano and Torcello and just concentrate on Venice itself. It is a spectacular City with more photo ops than you can possibily capture (I am a photographer, too). A "must" from our last trip is rowing lessons with Row Venice. We did a "Cichetto Row" with Row Venice and that served as our evening meal that day - our teen girls ended up doing most of the rowing between restaurants and bars, where we sampled small bites and local cocktails and wine. The instructor was very enthusiastic and proud of her amazing City and shared so much wonderful information with us. We all had a great time! I also highly suggest being at the Piazza San Marco late at night (and generally avoiding the area most of the rest of the day when it is a mob scene). Finally, we had a great time on the "Secret Itineraries" tour at the Doges Palace the last time we were there. We booked the first tour early in the morning and were glad we did -- it was VERY crowded after.
If you REALLY want to go to Burano - and it sounds like you do - I would suggest just getting on the public ferry (vaparetto) -- it will probably take about 45 minutes, depending on where you get on?? Or, you could take a private water taxi out there - not cheap, but maybe not completely unreasonable since there are 5 of you traveling? You could go out to Burano for lunch, then back to Venice for a Cichetto Row.

Definitely just take the vaporetto, not a tour, to Burano. You do not need to take it from Santa Lucia ("Ferrovia" stop). You need a No. 12 which goes to Burano from Fondamente Nuova on the north edge of Venice. If you cannot walk there, take a 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, or 5.2 to Fondamente Nuova from you closest vaporetto stop. The 4.1-4.2 also stops on Murano so you could transfer to the 12 there.

It will be clear if you look at a vaporetto map. I don't have time to find a link now as the dog is demanding her walk! But I am sure someone else will.

Venice itself is incredibly beautiful too and you could get amazing pictures there. Burano is great but with your limited time I would also suggest sticking to Venice. It just takes too much time to get to Burano. The cheapest way to get to Burano is to take a Vaporetto, but that is also slower. A water taxi would be faster, but more expensive. And I am not sure how easy it would be to arrange the trip back. As you are learning, you can't do everything when time is limited and you can always plan to come back.

There is no need to pre-book a gondola ride and they are priced per ride, not per person. The gondola seats 6 people, so your family of 5 would only need one ride. The prices are set by the city at 80 euro for 30-40 minutes (not sure exactly) and the price goes up a night. As you walk around Venice you will see gondolas parked with the gondaliers nearby. Just pick a time and place that works for you.

I would look up the vaporetto routes on Google maps so you are prepared for which route to take to Burano. They run pretty frequently and would be easy to take a large number of people.

Then wait until you are in Venice, see if you feel like going or just exploring the main island. You could take a photograph of anything in Venice and it will look amazing.

Great thoughts. Thanks very much. I will continue to research. I am looking at canceling the tour and at least going to Burano by water taxi if it is a must:)

Anyone have a general idea of the cost of a water taxi to Burano, and if it is possible to travel from Quarto d'Altino area instead of traveling into Venice?

Thanks!

You only have 24 hours - spend your time on Venice Island. The outlying islands offer very little in comparison with Venice itself. It's definitely not worth a tour (any time of the year) and definitely not with only 24 hours.

If you really,really want to go to Burano from Quattro D'alisano,
Check with your hotel. They will have the best information.
Whether it be vaporetto or water taxi.

Agree! Thanks all for the great replies. So appreciate! Restaurant help?

So you’re staying in or near Quarto d’Altino and not in Venice proper? If so, you could possibly arrange for a water taxi to Burano from the airport docks, with your family dropping you off at the airport on their way to Venice (you imply you’ll have a car). But be warned, a water taxi will be expensive. I’ve seen 110 euro mentioned as the one-way water taxi fare from the airport to Venice, but that’s to a location where the water taxi would be close to its next fare. The price for a round trip to Burano could be double that if not more, and likely much higher if you wanted the water taxi to wait for your return trip. The only way to be sure of the cost is to request a quote – see official website: www.motoscafivenezia.it.

Note that if the rest of your family drives to see Venice, it might be easier to park in Mestre and take the short train ride to Santa Lucia. That also avoids the drive over the causeway with its low speed limit and notorious speeding machines.

You might also want a backup plan to stay in Venice if weather is bad. I was there in a cloudy day, and it's still colorful but a bit dark. If photography is your thing, then gloom may not be the best backdrop.

If you're looking for an interesting alternative to that and gondolas, how about kayaking? Venice Kayak has half day tours that could make for fun pics and experiences.

No car with us; sorry if that was implied, and also, my whole family will be traveling with me to Burano. I have requested a fare for the water taxi. Thanks for continuing to post. I really appreciate all your suggestions!

The two main choices of hotel in Quarto d'Altino are the Villa Odino with its related well respected fish restaurant and the Crown Plaza. Are you at either of those?

I would have assumed, like others, that the only reason to stay in Quarto d'Altino (I've done it many times when driving) instead of on the islands would be if you wanted access to your car to explore the Veneto.

While the train to Venezia Santa Lucia station is straightforward, it has gaps during the day, and on weekends, and the last train back at night is fairly early.

Hi Everyone,

We have completed our trip. Thank you for your comments. Some afterthoughts follow--in case they are helpful to anyone reading this thread.

We stayed at Quarto D'Altino because it was close to the airport, and easy to get the train to Venice proper, and to Trieste, our next stop. I'd like to stay in Venice next time we go, but for this time, it worked fine. On a side-note: they had some large suite-type rooms which work well for a family of five.

We ended up taking the vaporetto all over the city, and we also bought a day pass (20 euros each) which was great because it allowed us to see Burano, Murano, and we were able to hop on and off as much as we wanted, so we saw all the major spots in Venice without having to walk a lot. This worked out really well, because one of my kids has an autoimmune illness which makes lots of walking difficult, and because it rained on an off that day. So the vaporetti allowed us to see a lot, and kept us dry when it was raining!

Almost everyone recommended that we skip Burano, but I am so so glad we didn't. It is a magical place, a break from the crowds, and easy to do in a couple of hours. It was totally worth the effort.

Thank you again for taking time to comment. I hope anyone who is here reading the thread is able to gathering a helpful tip or two.