Last Updated on August 3, 2026 by Themigonikitchen

Best Place to Stay in Venice with Family: Why We Chose Murano

Venice is one of the most uniquely beautiful, iconic destinations in the world. But if you talk to any parent who has visited with a baby or toddler, they will all tell you the same thing: Venice can be a logistical nightmare. The historic center of Venice is a maze of tiny pedestrian alleys connected by hundreds of arched stone bridges. Every single bridge has stairs going up and stairs going down. If you are pushing a stroller or managing an active toddler, your arms will be sore within an hour. Add in the thick summer crowds, the humidity, and the stress of squeezing your luggage onto a packed public water bus, and it’s enough to make any parent question their travel choices.

When we planned our 10-day trip to Italy with our 5-year-old and 7-month-old, I knew we needed a strategic home base in Venice. We wanted to experience the magic of the canals, but we also needed space to breathe and sleep.

That is exactly why we decided to stay completely off the main island and booked the Hyatt Centric Murano Venice.

If you are trying to figure out the best place to stay in Venice with family without losing your sanity, here is our honest, real-life parent review of why choosing the island of Murano is the ultimate travel hack.

The Magic of Murano: A Quiet Haven After a Day of Exploring

Murano is a historic island just north of central Venice, famous worldwide for its traditional glass-blowing factories. During the day, it gets its share of day-trippers, but by late afternoon, a peaceful silence falls over the island.

Staying here gave us the absolute best of both worlds. During the morning and afternoon, we easily took water transport into central Venice to wander the canals, peek inside the colorful Venetian mask shops, and lazily hang around the historic piazzas while enjoying an espresso.

But when the kids started hitting their tourist limits, we escaped the crushing crowds and retreated to Murano. The atmosphere here is deeply relaxed and family-friendly. The restaurants are significantly less crowded and much cheaper than the tourist traps in Venice proper.

We had an incredible meal at La Perla Ai Bisatei—it quickly became a family favorite! The pizza at Osteria Al Duomo was also outstanding and likely a fraction of what we would have paid on the main island.

Booking a glass-blowing tour is a MUST and honestly, totally up our 5 year old’s alley. She was absolutely mesmerized watching the demonstrations and this was a core memory from the trip. And just STEPS away from our hotel.

The Hyatt Centric Murano Venice: A Parent’s Review

For families traveling with multiple kids, finding a hotel room in historic Venice that fits everyone without costing a fortune is incredibly tough. Most central hotels offer tiny rooms with historic layouts that aren’t built for family logistics.

By looking just across the water to Murano, we struck gold at the Hyatt Centric Murano Venice.

Why It Was Perfect for Our Family:

• Massive Duplex Suites: We were able to book a large, incredibly spacious duplex suite. Having that extra space was an absolute game-changer for giving our 7-month-old room to crawl safely and letting our 5-year-old unwind without everyone tripping over suitcases.
• The Ultimate Arrival Hack (The Private Water Taxi): Hauling bags, a stroller, a baby, and a toddler onto a public water bus immediately after arrival is incredibly stressful. The Hyatt Centric solves this by offering a private water taxi shuttle service directly from the Venice Marco Polo airport straight to the hotel dock (just make sure you pre-reserve your spot on their site!). Arriving by private boat felt like a special splurge, but logistically, it was a massive lifesaver.
  • Note – we did have to pay for the return water taxi (it was not complimentary for the way back), so just be sure to factor that into your budget
• Kid-Friendly Activities On-Site: They had a big open lounge on our floor that had an assortment of board games which was great for when our toddler was napping and our daughter wanted to play.
• Literally right in front of the vaporetto stop: A huge plus is that the hotel sits right in front of a public vaporetto stop that takes you directly to the main island. There are a few other stops within a short walking distance too, in case the timing doesn’t work out for this one.
• Delicious breakfast buffet: We so appreciated a tasty and filling breakfast buffet to start the day, because our kids tend to wake up so hungry!

Click Here to Check Rates and Availability for Family Suites at the Hyatt Centric Murano Venice

Other Accommodation Options in Murano

While the Hyatt Centric was perfect for us, there are still many other booking options on the island. If the Hyatt is already booked or out of your budget, I would highly recommend checking out some other options because staying on this little island is still so ideal, in my opinion, with kids. Use the interactive map below to check out alternative booking options for your dates!

What We Intentionally Skipped to Save Our Sanity

When you travel to Venice with a toddler and a baby, your itinerary has to adapt. The best advice I can give parents is to skip the long lines. We chose to completely skip standing in 2-hour queues for museums and cathedrals. With young kids, nobody is going to enjoy a stifling wait in the hot sun. Instead, we focused purely on the experience of Venice. We wandered the side streets, let our daughter pick out favorite masks, ate plenty of local cicchetti (Venetian tapas) and gelato, and soaked in the architecture from the outside.

The Ultimate Splurge: A Private Gondola Ride

Instead of spending our budget on crowded museum entries, we decided to invest in a private gondola ride to close out our trip. It was a memorable family splurge and such a peaceful, special way for our 5-year-old to see the city from the water.

Getting Around Venice with a Stroller and Kids: The Verdict

• The Transit Strategy: We drove our rental car down from our previous stop in Reggio Emilia, returned it directly at the Venice airport, and transitioned immediately to the water.

• Public Water Buses: The Vaporetti (public water buses) are efficient and well-connected, making it easy to hop between Murano and central Venice. Parent Tip: Children under 6 ride free! If you plan to ride frequently, buy a multi-day transit pass right away to avoid standing in ticket lines every time you want to ride.

• The Stroller vs. Carrier Debate: Bring a lightweight, ultra-compact travel stroller that can be folded down with one hand on the boats. However, when you want to dive deep into the central alleys of Venice, use a structured baby carrier so you can walk over the stone bridges without constantly lifting a stroller up and down steps.

Venice is entirely doable—and incredibly fun—with young kids, but success comes down to your home base. Staying at the Hyatt Centric Murano gave us the space, the peaceful evenings, and the logistical shortcuts we needed to make this trip feel like a true vacation.

Planning a bigger trip than just Venice? Be sure to check out our full guide to 10 days in Italy, plus our Lake Como guide!