Water transport · Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi: the canals as public transport
The water taxi links the beach, Las Olas and the New River waterfront.
- The activity
- A hop-on hop-off boat service running between the beach, downtown and the waterfront neighbourhoods of Greater Fort Lauderdale, in operation for more than thirty years.
- Location
- More than thirty stops across the region: ten in Fort Lauderdale, twelve in Pompano Beach, one in Hollywood and eight on the free Water Trolley along the Riverwalk.
- Duration
- Boats run from 10am to 10pm. The Fort Lauderdale route leaves every 35 to 45 minutes; the Hollywood route runs roughly every two hours from 9am.
- Best time to arrive
- Board mid-morning. The service runs a loop all day, so an early start lets you use the pass properly rather than riding it once.
- Admission cost
- An all-day pass covering all routes is $38 for adults, $18 for children aged 5 to 11 and free under 5. An evening pass after 5pm is $25, and a 30-day pass is $140. A Pompano-only pass is $30.
- How long a loop takes
- About three hours to complete the main Fort Lauderdale route and return to where you started.
- Onboard
- All-weather boats with panoramic windows and open decks, live crew commentary and a bar. Food is not included.
What to expect
The route is the attraction: a hop-on hop-off boat service running a continuous loop between the beach, downtown, Las Olas and the waterfront neighbourhoods, in operation for more than thirty years.
The canals are why it works. Fort Lauderdale has roughly three hundred miles of navigable waterway, and the taxi runs the New River and the Intracoastal past the megayacht berths and the waterfront houses, with running commentary from the captain.
The stops are the practical part. Las Olas Boulevard, the beach, the Riverwalk and Hollywood on the extended route are all reachable on the same pass, so it functions as transport rather than a sightseeing lap.
How to use the pass is the one thing reviewers get wrong. It is priced as a full day, so board mid-morning and treat it as your way of moving around the city rather than riding one loop and getting off.
The honest takeaway
Well liked as a way to get around, with the criticism concentrated on frequency and wait times.
What visitors praise
- Genuine hop-on flexibility. Use it to reach restaurants, the beach and downtown without a car.
- Excellent waterfront views. The yacht and mansion stretches are the best in Florida.
- Entertaining crews. The commentary is repeatedly singled out in reviews.
- Good value as a day pass. Cheaper than parking and rideshares across a full day.
What visitors find difficult
- Waits between boats. Missing one on the Fort Lauderdale route can mean up to 45 minutes at a dock, and the Hollywood route only runs every two hours.
- Slow as a point-to-point. Driving is far quicker if you simply need to get somewhere.
- Weather exposed. The boats are open sided and rain shortens the appeal.
- Nothing before 10am. The main route does not start until mid-morning, which shortens an early day.
Drawn from the recurring themes in public visitor reviews of the activity and the tours that reach it. We do not reproduce individual reviews or aggregate scores; for current ratings, check Viator or another booking platform directly.
Getting there
Stops are marked along the Intracoastal and the New River, with the most convenient at Las Olas, the Beach Place area and the downtown riverfront. Passes are bought online or on board.
Check the timetable for the last boat of the day before setting out from a distant stop.
How to make the most of the day
- 1Buy the all-day pass, not a single ride. The value is in using it repeatedly.
- 2Start at the far end when boats begin at 10am. A full loop takes three hours and the last boats run to 10pm.
- 3Photograph the New River section. The drawbridges and the yacht yards are the most interesting stretch.
- 4Plan dinner around a stop. Las Olas and the riverfront both sit directly on the route.
A little more background
Greater Fort Lauderdale has roughly 300 miles of navigable inland waterway, dredged and canalised through the twentieth century to create waterfront lots. The result is one of the largest concentrations of private moorings in the world, and the reason the city calls itself the Venice of America.
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