A day of island hopping in the Venice lagoon costs 25.00 EUR a head on a 24-hour travel card, against 47.50 EUR if you buy five single tickets. A single 75-minute Rete Unica ticket is 9.50 EUR and the 24-hour card is 25.00 EUR (ACTV, 2026), so the card pays for itself on the third boat and every island day is more than three boats.
Murano, Mazzorbo and Burano are the north lagoon run, and all of them start from Venezia Fondamente Nove on the Cannaregio waterfront. Line 12 leaves every 20 minutes through the middle of the day and reaches Murano Faro in 9 minutes, Mazzorbo in 35 and Burano in 41 (ACTV, 2026). Torcello is a separate 5-minute shuttle from Burano on line 9 (ACTV, 2024). San Michele, Sant'Erasmo, Vignole, Lazzaretto Nuovo and Certosa also have public stops, while San Servolo, San Lazzaro degli Armeni, San Giorgio Maggiore, the Giudecca, the Lido and Pellestrina are reached from San Marco-San Zaccaria instead.
This page is the transport and cost side of the lagoon: which islands a public boat reaches, what a day of hopping costs on singles against passes, how long each leg takes, and where you have to change. For the size, depth and ecology of the lagoon itself see our lagoon guide, and for what to do once you land see the Murano, Burano and Torcello pages.
Which Venice lagoon islands can you reach by vaporetto?
Fondamente Nove, on the northern edge of Cannaregio, is the departure point for the north lagoon. Line 12 serves Murano Faro, Mazzorbo and Burano, then continues to Treporti and Punta Sabbioni on the mainland side of the water (ACTV, 2026). Line 13 serves Murano Faro, Vignole and the three Sant'Erasmo stops of Capannone, Chiesa and Punta Vela, and every run calls at Lazzaretto Nuovo if a passenger asks (ACTV, 2020). Lines 4.1 and 4.2 circle the city and call at Cimitero, the stop for San Michele, on their way to Murano (ACTV, 2026). Line 3 runs direct to Murano from Piazzale Roma and the railway station, reaching Murano Colonna 17 minutes after Ferrovia (ACTV, 2026).
Torcello has no direct daytime boat from Venice. It is reached on line 9, a shuttle between Burano and Torcello that takes 5 minutes (ACTV, 2024).
From San Marco-San Zaccaria the map looks different. Line 20 calls at San Servolo and San Lazzaro degli Armeni (ACTV, 2022). Line 2 calls at San Giorgio Maggiore and the three Giudecca stops (ACTV, 2026). Lines 1 and 14 both run to Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta (ACTV, 2026), and line 11 carries on from the Lido down the Pellestrina lido by bus and ferry as far as Chioggia (ACTV, 2023). Line 4.1 calls at Certosa on request. Line 18, the seasonal link between Murano, Sant'Erasmo and the Lido, is recorded as suspended (ACTV, 2026).
How much is a vaporetto ticket to the islands in 2026?
The fare is the same whichever island you are going to, because the whole lagoon sits inside the Rete Unica urban zone. A single ticket costs 9.50 EUR, is valid for 75 minutes from the moment you validate it, and allows as many changes of boat as you can fit inside that window (ACTV, 2026). It has to be validated at the start of the journey and again every time you step onto a different vessel.
The timed travel cards are priced per person and run from first validation: 25.00 EUR for 24 hours, 35.00 EUR for 48 hours, 45.00 EUR for 72 hours and 65.00 EUR for seven days (ACTV, 2026). Visitors aged 6 to 29 can buy a 72-hour card for 27.00 EUR, which requires a Rolling Venice card at 6.00 EUR, so 33.00 EUR in total against 45.00 EUR. Bicycles and scooters cost 1.50 EUR unless they fold into a bag.
The cards cover the waterborne network, mainland buses, the tram, the Lido and Pellestrina buses and the People Mover. They do not cover Alilaguna, lines 16 and 19, the Casino line, or trips to and from Marco Polo airport, which need a supplement of 7.00 EUR one way or 13.00 EUR return (ACTV, 2026). Tickets and cards are sold at Venezia Unica offices, at self-service machines, by authorised resellers in the historic centre and on the islands, and in the AVM Venezia app (AVM Venezia, 2026).
Pass or single tickets: the maths for a day of island hopping
Three boats is the break-even point. Three singles cost 28.50 EUR, which is already more than the 25.00 EUR 24-hour card, and almost no island day is only three boats. A Murano, Burano and Torcello circuit from Fondamente Nove is five validations: out to Murano, Murano to Burano, Burano to Torcello, Torcello back to Burano, and Burano back to Venice. On singles that is 47.50 EUR a head. On the 24-hour card it is 25.00 EUR, with hours left over for the Grand Canal in the evening.
The 75-minute window can save one of those fares. Fondamente Nove to Murano Faro takes 9 minutes and Murano Faro to Burano another 30, so one 9.50 EUR ticket will carry you through to Burano if you stay on the boat (ACTV, 2026). Step off at the glass furnaces and the window is gone.
If you would rather not decide in advance, tap a contactless card at the validator. The waterborne network charges 9.50 EUR a tap and asks for no tap out, and once standard fares pass 25.00 EUR inside 24 hours the system charges the 25.00 EUR daily pass instead of the accumulated total, with the same capping at 35.00 EUR, 45.00 EUR and 65.00 EUR for the longer windows (AVM Venezia, 2026). Up to five people can travel on one card if they tap within 60 seconds of each other and stay together, which is the cheapest way to move a family without queuing at an office.
Journey times from Fondamente Nove and where you change boat
From Fondamente Nove the daytime line 12 leaves every 20 minutes and takes 9 minutes to Murano Faro, 35 to Mazzorbo and 41 to Burano (ACTV, 2026). Lines 4.1 and 4.2 also run every 20 minutes and reach Cimitero, the stop for San Michele, in 6 minutes, with Murano Colonna 3 minutes further on (ACTV, 2026). Line 13 is the slow one: Vignole in 18 minutes, Sant'Erasmo Capannone in 28 and Sant'Erasmo Chiesa in 40, running roughly once an hour in the middle of the day (ACTV, 2020).
Burano is the interchange that shapes the day, and it does two jobs. The daytime line 12 runs terminate there, and passengers continuing to Treporti and Punta Sabbioni change onto a second boat (ACTV, 2026). Burano is also the only daytime connection to Torcello, on the line 9 shuttle.
The timetables, rather than the islands, set the order of a day. The line 9 shuttle runs between 09:30 and 17:55, so Torcello has to sit in the middle of the day (ACTV, 2024). Line 13 is hourly, so a boat missed on Sant'Erasmo costs an hour on a quay with no cafe. Working outward and returning on the same line is usually faster than looping through the lagoon, because the hourly services are not timed to connect with each other.
Burano, Mazzorbo and Torcello: line 12 and the line 9 shuttle
Line 12 is the north lagoon workhorse, running Venezia Fondamente Nove, Murano Faro, Mazzorbo, Burano, Treporti and Punta Sabbioni under the timetable in force from 22 April 2026 (ACTV, 2026). Mazzorbo comes 6 minutes before Burano and is joined to it by a wooden footbridge, so one stop serves both islands if you are willing to walk between them.
Torcello is the catch. The daytime line 12 runs do not call there at all. Only the early morning and evening runs do, and then only if a passenger asks, with boarding bookable by telephone at least 20 minutes ahead on the freephone number printed on the timetable (ACTV, 2026). Between 09:30 and 17:45 the connection is line 9 from Burano, leaving on the hour, quarter past, half past and quarter to, and taking 5 minutes. Return boats leave Torcello at 10, 25, 40 and 55 minutes past the hour until 17:55 (ACTV, 2024).
There is a second way in to Burano that most visitors never see. Line 14 runs from San Marco-San Zaccaria to Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta in 14 minutes and Punta Sabbioni in 35, and an hourly connection carries on from Punta Sabbioni to Burano in a further 25 minutes, with return departures from Burano every hour between 09:30 and 18:30 (ACTV, 2026). It takes longer than line 12 and it starts from the San Marco side of the city, which suits anyone staying in Castello or on the Lido.
Sant'Erasmo, Vignole and Lazzaretto Nuovo on line 13
Line 13 is the only public service to the eastern islands, and it punishes bad planning. Under the timetable in force from 8 June 2020 it leaves Fondamente Nove roughly hourly through the middle of the day, at 09:25, 10:25 and so on to 15:25, then at 16:05, 16:45 and 17:25 (ACTV, 2020). Allow 9 minutes to Murano Faro, 18 to Vignole, 28 to Sant'Erasmo Capannone and 40 to Sant'Erasmo Chiesa.
Sant'Erasmo has three stops, Capannone, Chiesa and Punta Vela, spread along a flat island with field tracks between them. The walk between stops is easy, and bicycles travel for 1.50 EUR (ACTV, 2026), which makes this the one island where putting a bike on the boat changes what you can see in a day.
Lazzaretto Nuovo and Vignole are request stops. Every line 13 run calls at Lazzaretto Nuovo only if a passenger asks, and the first run of the day calls at Vignole on the same terms, with boarding bookable by telephone at least 20 minutes in advance on the freephone number printed on the timetable (ACTV, 2020). Tell the crew when you board, and make yourself visible on the quay when you want to be picked up. Line 18, which used to link Murano, Sant'Erasmo and the Lido in summer, is recorded as suspended (ACTV, 2026), so line 13 and a walk are the whole service.
San Michele, San Lazzaro, the Lido and the islands from San Zaccaria
San Michele, the cemetery island, is the cheapest island trip in Venice because it is one stop out of the city. Lines 4.1 and 4.2 call at Cimitero 6 minutes from Fondamente Nove and continue to Murano Colonna 3 minutes later, every 20 minutes in both directions (ACTV, 2026). That fits inside a single 75-minute ticket on the way to Murano.
From San Marco-San Zaccaria, line 20 runs to San Servolo in 10 minutes and San Lazzaro degli Armeni in 15, under the timetable in force from 1 April 2022 (ACTV, 2022). Several runs call at San Lazzaro on request only, bookable by telephone at least 20 minutes ahead, so check the specific departure rather than turning up at the pontoon.
Line 2 reaches San Giorgio Maggiore 3 minutes from San Zaccaria and the Giudecca stops of Zitelle, Redentore and Palanca within 11 (ACTV, 2026). Lido Santa Maria Elisabetta is 15 minutes away on line 1 and 14 minutes on line 14 (ACTV, 2026). If the Lido is the only island you want, the return beach ticket is worth knowing: 16.00 EUR buys a round trip on lines 14 and 15 between Venice, the Lido and Punta Sabbioni, plus the Lido buses, against 19.00 EUR for two singles, and the return leg has to be validated by 23:59 on the day of first validation (ACTV, 2026). Line 11 continues from the Lido to Pellestrina Cimitero in 45 minutes and on to Chioggia (ACTV, 2023).
