First-timers underestimate the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in one specific way: they think of it as a venue. It is not. It is six waterfront sites spread along several miles of the Intracoastal, connected by boats, shuttles and golf carts, and the difference between a good day and an exhausting one is almost entirely about how you move between them.
The 67th edition runs October 28 to November 1, 2026. This guide covers how to get there, where to park, how the water taxi and shuttles actually work, and why brokers and buyers so often keep a car for the day rather than fighting the logistics.
The short answer
Park once at the Broward County Convention Center and let the show move you around, or do not park at all. Those are the two strategies that work. The Convention Center is the show’s designated transportation hub, with over 3,000 spaces, and from there the shuttles, golf carts and water taxis reach the other venues. The alternative — used by most people attending on business — is to be dropped off and collected, which removes the parking question entirely and lets you start and finish at different venues. What does not work is driving between the sites yourself and expecting to park at each one.
The venues, and how spread out they are
One ticket covers all of the show’s locations. They sit along the water in a rough line from the Convention Center in the south to Las Olas in the north.
| Venue | Roughly where | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Broward County Convention Center | 1950 Eisenhower Blvd | Indoor exhibits; the show’s transportation hub and main parking |
| Bahia Mar Yachting Center | Seabreeze Blvd (A1A) | The traditional heart of the show; largest in-water display |
| Pier Sixty-Six Marina | 17th Street Causeway | In-water display |
| Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South | 17th Street Causeway | Largest yachts |
| Hall of Fame Marina | Seabreeze Blvd (A1A) | In-water display |
| Las Olas Marina | Las Olas Blvd at the Intracoastal | In-water display, northern end |
The distances are not enormous — this is a few miles end to end — but they are emphatically not walkable in the sense people assume, particularly in October heat with a bag of brochures. Bahia Mar and the Convention Center are on opposite sides of a busy causeway. Pier Sixty-Six is a separate approach again. Budget for the crossings rather than assuming you will stroll between them.
Parking, and why it is the bottleneck
The show is explicit about where it wants you to park. Its official advice is to park and start at the Broward County Convention Center, which offers over 3,000 spaces at a published flat rate of twenty dollars per day, and then use the complimentary shuttles, golf carts or the water taxi to reach the other venues.
That is genuinely the best plan if you are driving. The problem is that it is also everyone else’s plan, and the Convention Center car park does not grow for boat-show week. Several city garages nearby accept PayByPhone, but they are smaller and further out, and in practice the parking question consumes the first and last forty minutes of your day.
Rates and availability can change — confirm current figures on the official parking page before you travel.
This is the calculation that pushes a lot of attendees towards being driven. If you are at the show for one day out of curiosity, park and enjoy it. If you are there to work, the parking is not the cost that matters — the ninety minutes is.
Water taxis, shuttles and golf carts
The show runs three internal transport systems and they are not interchangeable.
- Shuttle buses and golf carts are complimentary with your ticket. Shuttles run from one hour before the show opens until one hour after it closes; the golf carts operate during show hours.
- Water taxis are ticketed separately. The show publishes one-day tickets at fifteen dollars and five-day tickets at sixty-five, with children under five free and complimentary service for Windward VIP ticket holders. They run on the same extended hours as the shuttles.
- The water taxi is also the nicest part of the day. It connects stops including the Convention Center, Bahia Mar, Las Olas Marina and several hotel docks, and it moves on water rather than through causeway traffic.
Check current prices, stops and running times on the official water taxi page, as they are set each year.
The honest limitation is that all three run on the show’s schedule, not yours. They are excellent for unhurried venue-hopping and poor for making a 4:15pm appointment at the other end of the show, or for leaving after a client dinner once everything has stopped for the night.
Coming from FLL or Miami
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International is unusually close — a short drive from the show, and one of the few major boat shows anywhere where you can land and be at the docks inside the hour. That convenience reverses during show week, when the 17th Street corridor carries both airport and show traffic at the same time.
From Miami, allow substantially more than the mileage suggests, particularly northbound in the morning and southbound in the evening. If you are flying in specifically for the show, FLL airport transfers can be booked to run straight to your first venue rather than via a hotel.
Why brokers and buyers keep a car for the day
For a lot of people at FLIBS, the show is work. You have appointments across three venues, clients who need collecting from a hotel, and a dinner afterwards that is the actual reason you flew in.
A car held for the day solves a narrow but expensive problem: it decouples your schedule from the show’s. You are collected where you finish rather than walking back to where you started, you can move a client between venues without asking them to queue for a shuttle, and everything you are carrying — catalogues, samples, a jacket — stays in the vehicle rather than with you.
It is booked as an hourly or full-day booking rather than as separate transfers. For one or two people, an S-Class for the day is the usual choice; for a client group, an executive Sprinter for a client group keeps the party together and gives you somewhere to talk between appointments.
We should be straightforward about the limits: we can drop off and collect at the public access points the show and the city designate, which change year to year and are the show’s decision rather than ours. Nobody can promise you a marina gate.
Working the show? Skip the parking — book boat-show transport and hop the venues on your schedule.
Frequently asked questions
How do you get to the Fort Lauderdale boat show?
Most drivers park at the Broward County Convention Center at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd, which the show designates as its transportation hub, and then use the complimentary shuttles and golf carts or the ticketed water taxi to reach the other venues. Attendees coming for business frequently arrange to be dropped off and collected instead, which avoids the parking entirely. Confirm current arrangements on the official show site.
Is there parking at the Fort Lauderdale boat show?
Yes. The Broward County Convention Center offers over 3,000 spaces at a published flat rate of twenty dollars per day and is the show’s recommended place to park. Several nearby city garages accept PayByPhone. Capacity is finite and boat-show week is busy, so arrive early or arrange to be dropped off, and check current rates before travelling.
How do you get between the boat show venues?
Three ways, all run by the show. Shuttle buses and golf carts are complimentary with your ticket, with shuttles running from an hour before opening to an hour after closing and golf carts during show hours. Water taxis are ticketed separately, published at fifteen dollars for one day and sixty-five for five days, and connect stops including the Convention Center, Bahia Mar and Las Olas Marina.
How far is the boat show from FLL airport?
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International is only a short drive from the show venues, and in normal traffic you can be at the docks very shortly after landing. During show week the 17th Street corridor carries airport and show traffic together, so allow more time than the distance suggests.
Is it worth hiring a car for the day at the boat show?
It depends on whether the show is a day out or a working day. For a single casual visit, parking at the Convention Center and using the shuttles and water taxi is pleasant and inexpensive. If you have appointments across several venues, clients to move, or a dinner afterwards, a vehicle held for the day removes the dependency on the show’s own transport schedule.
What are the 2026 Fort Lauderdale boat show dates?
The 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show runs from Wednesday October 28 to Sunday November 1, 2026. Wednesday is a later start as a preview day, and the show closes earlier on the final Sunday. Confirm exact hours on the official show site before planning your arrival.
Plan the movement, not just the ticket
The show itself is superbly organised. What it cannot do is align its shuttle timetable with your appointment at Pier Sixty-Six, or wait for you after a dinner on Las Olas. Deciding in advance how you are going to move — park once and use the show’s transport, or be driven and ignore the parking entirely — is the single decision that determines how much of the week you actually spend at the show.
Metheora Limo Miami provides chauffeured boat-show transport across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach, including airport arrivals, multi-venue days during show week, and client hospitality, with Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans, Cadillac Escalade ESVs and Mercedes Sprinter Executives.
Book boat-show transport: Call (305) 988-7736 or reserve online. Flying in? See FLL airport transfers.
