How to Use the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi to Explore the Intracoastal Canals

The Water Taxi is Useful Transit, Not a Tour Boat

Buy the $35 all-day pass (2026 adult rate, published by Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale). It covers three separate routes that function as real transport: the Main Line along the Intracoastal Waterway, the New River loop into downtown, and the weekend express run to Hollywood. Boats arrive every 25 to 35 minutes per stop from 10:00 until about 20:00, when the last full loop begins. Treat it like a bus on the water, not a narrated excursion, and you will move between Las Olas, the 17th Street Causeway, and Hollywood faster than a car during bridge openings.

The Three-Route System and Why it Matters

Main Line and New River Loop

The Main Line runs north-south along the Intracoastal from Stop 1 at the 17th Street Causeway up past Las Olas Boulevard (Stop 7) and the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (Stop 15). The New River branch turns west at the Stranahan House, threading past the four downtown drawbridges. You need both to cover the city across a single afternoon.

Stop 1 Is Your Beach Access Point

Get off at Stop 1, under the 17th Street Causeway bridge on the north side, to reach Fort Lauderdale Beach. That is your only stop within walking distance of the ocean. Everything else is canal or river frontage. Budget 10 minutes to walk from the dock to the sand.

Las Olas Boulevard On The River, Not The Street

Stop 7 drops you on the New River at the foot of Las Olas Boulevard. The shopping and dining strip runs west from here, roughly six blocks of restaurants, galleries, and bars. Walk the full length in 15 minutes. This stop is also the transfer point if you want to switch from the Main Line to the New River route.

The Weekend Express Saves You A Fare

The Hollywood Express runs from Stop 10 south to Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort, a 45 minute trip that would cost $30+ by car. It operates Friday through Sunday only. The day pass covers the surcharge. If you are staying in Hollywood, board here first and ride north to the 17th Street stop for beach access.

How to Route a Practical Afternoon

Start at Stop 1 (17th Street Causeway) at 10:00. Ride north to Stop 7 (Las Olas) in about 20 minutes. Walk the boulevard for an hour. Board again by 11:30 and continue north to Stop 15 (Broward Center). That puts you on the New River inside the Riverwalk park, with the NSU Art Museum a five minute walk east. From here, ride the New River loop west to see the residential canals or head back south.

By 14:00, ride back to Stop 1 and switch to the Hollywood Express if it is a Friday through Sunday. The trip to Margaritaville takes about 45 minutes. You have three hours there before the last return boat. If the Express is not running, stay in the Las Olas corridor for dinner and do Hollywood as a separate day via car.

Drawbridge Timing Will Change Your Schedule

The four drawbridges on the New River open on demand for commercial vessels and on the half hour for recreational boats. Weekday rush hours (07:30 to 09:00 and 16:30 to 18:00) lock down bridge openings entirely. The schedule accounts for this, but a single delay can stretch the 25 minute frequency to 35 to 45 minutes. Do not plan a tight dinner reservation on the New River loop after 17:00. Stay on the Main Line instead. Intracoastal bridges open less frequently and the schedule holds closer to 30 minutes.

The Failure Case You Need to Plan for

Hop-Off Regret

The most common mistake is treating the water taxi like a hop-on hop-off tour where you can step off at every stop and reboard instantly. You cannot. The 25 to 35 minute frequency means you lose time if you get off at a minor stop with no bench, no shade, and no nearby attraction. The residential stops along the New River east of the Andrews Avenue bridge are a trap: the next boat may be 35 minutes away and there is nowhere to sit. Only get off at Stops 1, 7, 10, and 15 unless you have 40 minutes to kill.

The Dinner Gambit

The second failure is assuming the water taxi runs late enough to replace a car after dinner. The last full loop starts at 20:00. The final boat leaves Las Olas around 21:00. If you are at a restaurant on the 17th Street Causeway at 22:00, the only way back to your hotel is a $25 ride-hail. Carry a backup data connection with a ride-hail app installed. Fort Lauderdale has no reliable street taxi culture, and the Sun Trolley stops running by 19:00 on most routes.

Charters Wreck the Schedule

One more caveat: the schedule changes for private events and private charters. Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale occasionally pulls boats for corporate charters during the Boat Show and the winter holidays, reducing frequency to 45 minutes. Call the service line the morning of your trip, not the app. The app does not surface day-of schedule changes. If you book a day around the water taxi and a charter removes one boat, your afternoon plan collapses.