Most of the year, the New River and the Intracoastal work as an extra set of streets for Fort Lauderdale. From October 28 through November 1, 2026, those waterways belong to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The City's free LauderGO! Water Trolley stops running for the week, and Water Taxi suspends its regular routes to run show service. On land, a bridge lane shift and a sewer project set to resume two days before opening will narrow the roads leading to the show sites. During show week, the shuttles, water taxis and parking hub set up for visitors are also the most dependable way for residents to get around the beach and the 17th Street corridor.
Six Sites, Two Waterfronts
The show isn't held in one place. The organizer's 2026 map lists six sites, from the Las Olas end of the beach down to SE 17th Street.
Show site | Address |
|---|---|
Broward County Convention Center | 1950 Eisenhower Blvd |
Bahia Mar Yachting Center | 801 Seabreeze Blvd |
Hall of Fame Marina | 435 Seabreeze Blvd |
Las Olas Marina | 240 E. Las Olas Circle |
Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South | 2150 SE 17th St |
Pier Sixty-Six Marina | 2301 SE 17th St |
One ticket covers all six sites. Some of the show's own pages describe the event as seven waterfront locations, though the map names six. Use the map's list of addresses for planning.
The size of the event explains why it takes over so much of the transit system. The organizer and the Marine Industries Association of South Florida reported that the 2025 show drew more than 100,000 visitors and had a $1.78 billion economic impact on Florida over five days. All of those visitors arrive in the same few blocks of Seabreeze Boulevard, 17th Street and Eisenhower Boulevard where residents shop, eat and catch a bridge.
The 2026 show opens with a Preview Day on Wednesday, October 28, from noon to 7 p.m. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 1.
The City's Own Boats Step Aside
The change residents are most likely to notice is on the water. The City of Fort Lauderdale says the LauderGO! Water Trolley will not run from October 28 through November 1, 2026, because of the Boat Show. The Trolley normally offers free rides along the New River. It runs in partnership with Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale and Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale.
Water Taxi suspends its regular service during the show and runs the show routes instead. Holders of its annual pass ride the show service free. For the rest of us, the show's water taxi page lists these routes:
- Riverside Hotel to Bahia Mar
- Convention Center to Pier Sixty-Six Marina North to Bahia Mar
- GALLERYone DoubleTree Hotel to Bahia Mar
- Shooters Waterfront to Las Olas Marina
A daily pass costs $15 and a five-day pass costs $65. Children under five ride free.
Two of those stops are well-known spots in town. The Riverside Hotel route links Las Olas and the New River to Bahia Mar, and the Shooters route links the Intracoastal near Sunrise to Las Olas Marina. Downtown and Galt-area residents who want to visit the show without driving onto the barrier island have a direct boat for the week. Without a water taxi pass, though, those same boats won't take you on a regular evening ride along the river.
Check the start time before you rely on an early boat. The show's page says water taxis start an hour before opening and stop an hour after closing. The operator's posted 2026 schedule starts at show opening, and the operator says its earlier runs are for vendors only.
Land Routes Are Narrower This Year
This year the show arrives while two separate projects have lanes closed on the roads that lead to it.
East Las Olas Boulevard Bridge. The Florida Department of Transportation is rehabilitating the bridge over the Intracoastal. After a weather postponement, the City rescheduled a full 48-hour closure for September 29 at 8 p.m. through October 1 at 8 p.m. so crews could shift traffic. Once the bridge reopens, the north side stays closed and all traffic uses the south side, with one lane in each direction. Pedestrians and cyclists also use the south side, and the north sidewalk is closed. The City's traffic advisory says this setup is expected to stay in place through late 2026, which includes show week. The schedule can change with weather or unexpected conditions. Las Olas Marina, at the beach end of that crossing, is one of the six show sites.
SE 10th Avenue in Harbordale. The City and Lanzo Construction Company are replacing large sewer lines between Sunrise Boulevard and the George T. Lohmeyer Wastewater Treatment Plant. According to the City's October 8 project update, work resumes Monday, October 26, two days before Preview Day. It covers SE 10th Avenue between SE 15th Street and SE 18th Court and is expected to finish in January 2027. During that time:
- One lane in each direction of SE 10th Avenue is closed between SE 17th Street and SE 18th Court.
- The southbound lane is closed from just south of SE 16th Court to SE 17th Street.
- SE 16th Court between Miami Road and SE 10th Avenue is open to local traffic only.
- Detours use Miami Road, SE 15th Street, Cordova Road and SE 17th Street.
Crews generally work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The project hotline is 1-800-214-4095.
One of the four detour streets is SE 17th Street, the same road that leads to Superyacht Village, Pier Sixty-Six Marina and, by way of Eisenhower Boulevard, the Convention Center. During weekday working hours from October 28 through 30, show traffic and Harbordale detour traffic will share that corridor.
As of October 9, we haven't found any 2026 street-closure or drawbridge advisory specific to the show on the City's news page. The two projects above are the overlaps already on record.
The Show's Network Works for Residents Too
Because the Water Trolley is off and the bridges are narrowed, the show's own transportation becomes the main option. The organizer treats the Broward County Convention Center as the hub. It has more than 3,000 parking spaces at a flat $20 per day, with shuttles, golf carts and water taxis leaving from there.
The shuttle routes are:
- Purple loop: Convention Center and Bahia Mar.
- Green loop: Convention Center, Superyacht Village and Bahia Mar.
- Brightline connector: Brightline Fort Lauderdale Station and the Riverside Hotel, shuttle only.
- West Marine connector: West Marine Center and Bahia Mar, shuttle only.
The Brightline connector serves anyone coming from downtown. It links the rail station to the Riverside Hotel, where the water taxi to Bahia Mar leaves, so a visitor can reach the show from downtown without crossing a bridge by car.
The show's transportation runs longer than the show itself. According to the organizer's 2026 parking and transportation map, the public shuttles operate:
- Wednesday, October 28: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Thursday, October 29 through Saturday, October 31: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, November 1: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you're driving through Seabreeze or 17th Street rather than going to the show, expect the most traffic in those hours, especially the hour before the 10 a.m. opening and the hour after the 7 p.m. close.
Bahia Mar After the Boats Leave
Bahia Mar is the show's busiest site, and the property is also in the middle of a long-term redevelopment. On July 2, 2026, the City Commission approved an amendment to its agreement with the Bahia Mar Community Development District. The amendment moves the completion deadline for Fort Lauderdale Beach Park improvements from January 29, 2027, to January 31, 2030. The revised park plan resurfaces and keeps the existing basketball courts. It adds four pickleball courts, outdoor fitness equipment and two synthetic passive-use areas, and it relocates a storage and maintenance yard.
The 2030 date applies to the park work only, not to the whole Bahia Mar redevelopment. The City's beach development map, updated in July 2026, lists the Bahia Mar project with developer Rahn Bahia Mar, LLC. It describes a 23-story proposal with 410 residential units, 256 hotel rooms and a 222-slip marina. We haven't seen a construction schedule for the redevelopment in the City records, and nothing on record shows construction affecting show access this year.
For people who follow the boating side of the city, the slip count matters most. A proposal that keeps 222 slips at the show's main site shows that marina use is part of the plan for this stretch of Seabreeze Boulevard. It is still a proposal, so that figure could change before anything is built.
If boat show week has you thinking about dockage, slip size or a waterfront address with Intracoastal access, Razon Portfolio Group can walk you through it at your own pace. We can talk about boat slips and marina real estate, vessel fit, bridge clearance, and how Fort Lauderdale's waterfront buildings handle marina rules. Schedule a Private Consultation and Ronit or Yossi will follow up personally.
