Fort Lauderdale Boat Show 2026 Las Olas: Bridge and Water Taxi Guide

The 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show opens on Wednesday, October 28, and runs through Sunday, November 1, 2026. One of the six show sites on the 2026 map is Las Olas Marina, on Las Olas Circle. The drawbridge that carries Las Olas Boulevard over the Intracoastal is in the middle of a state rehabilitation. Road traffic is down to one lane in each direction, and boats get half an opening. Over those five days, the quickest way into the show from Las Olas starts west of the bridge, at the river docks behind the Riverside Hotel.

The Bridge Is Running At Half Width

The Florida Department of Transportation lists the work as its S.R. 842 / East Las Olas Boulevard Bridge rehabilitation, project 449257-1. The scope covers a new solid-surface aluminum deck, steel painting, new electrical systems and span locks, new marine fenders and support piles, a renovated tender house, and some minor repaving. FDOT puts the construction estimate at $14,053,215, with work starting in May 2026. The project page gives summer 2027 for completion. FDOT's October traffic notice, which is newer, says late 2027.

On the road, the October 1 traffic-shift notice allows one 10-foot lane in each direction through late 2026. The north sidewalk is closed, and people on foot or on bikes cross on the south side. FDOT's notices disagree about which side of the deck cars have been moved to. Both agree that the south sidewalk is the open one.

The water side has its own restriction. Under a temporary deviation the Coast Guard has authorized, the bridge opens on the quarter-hour and three-quarter-hour with a single leaf. A full opening still happens on that schedule, but only with two hours' advance notice to the bridge tender. The deviation runs through 10 p.m. on November 13, 2026. During the same period, from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., construction equipment partly blocks the navigation channel, and the work goes on around the clock.

That covers the whole show. Every day from October 28 through November 1, the bridge between the Isles and the beach-side show sites carries one lane each way and opens on a half-width schedule. Larger yachts in that stretch of the Intracoastal need the full opening, which means booking it two hours ahead.

Boaters heading north from the Isles will find a similar arrangement at the next crossing. The East Sunrise Boulevard Bridge opens a single leaf on the hour and half-hour through 9 p.m. on November 14, gives full openings with two hours' notice, and has its channel partly blocked overnight from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The Show Comes To Las Olas Marina

The 2026 map shows six locations: the Broward County Convention Center, Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Pier Sixty-Six Marina, and Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South. According to Visit Lauderdale's 2026 guide, Las Olas Marina will hold vessels from 60 to more than 200 feet long. Hall of Fame Marina takes new-build yachts, and Bahia Mar has everything from center consoles to superyachts. The guide calls Pier Sixty-Six North, the brokerage site for yachts 100 feet and longer, newly reimagined.

Las Olas Marina was finished only recently. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that it opened December 1, 2024, and that Suntex built it under a 50-year lease with the City. The operator lists 88 slips for vessels up to 315 feet. It also describes a waterfront promenade that is open to the public. The pool, gym and lounge are for owners, captains and crew. This will be the second boat show since the marina opened. For the 2026 show, the Visit Lauderdale guide says a floating pickleball court will host a tournament for yacht crews at Las Olas Marina.

The public restaurant at the marina is Ocean Prime, at 171 Las Olas Circle. Its official page lists lunch, weekend brunch, dinner and reservations. The marina's website mentions two more dining options on site but doesn't name them, and its leasing page shows retail and office space still available.

The Water Taxis Start From The Riverside Docks

FLIBS publishes a stop called the "Riverside Hotel/Downtown Las Olas Water Taxi Stop." Its loop runs to Bahia Mar. The Visit Lauderdale guide describes the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas Boulevard as "only a water taxi ride away from the action." Valet parking is available at the Riverside Hotel Garage, 696 SE 4th St. The Las Olas Square Garage, at 515 E. Las Olas Blvd., is also on the official parking list.

These are the published routes:

Fares are $15 for one day or $65 for all five days. Children under 5 ride free, and Windward VIP ticket holders get complimentary service. The taxis start running an hour before the show opens and stop an hour after it closes. On land, a shuttle loops between the Brightline Fort Lauderdale station and the Riverside Hotel. Anyone coming downtown by train can get to the same water taxi dock without driving the boulevard.

The official starting point is the Broward County Convention Center at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. It has more than 3,000 parking spaces at $20 a day, plus free shuttles and golf carts to the other sites, and its water taxi stop runs on the paid fares above. For anyone who lives east of downtown on Las Olas, though, getting there by car is a much longer trip than walking or riding to the river.

Five Days, Two Clocks

The show hours and the transportation hours are different. The transportation schedule from the October 8 map runs longer at both ends.

Saturday is Halloween this year, and it is a full show day.

The Parts Of The Show Built For Neighbors

Some of this year's programming is aimed at people who aren't shopping for a yacht. The Hook the Future children's fishing clinics run at noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and the guide says attendees can take home a free fishing rod and reel. The Blue Wild exhibit is also on this year's list of attractions. Bahia Mar gets a new Cabana Club this year, and the Goslings Island Bar sits between Docks C and D.

Back on the boulevard, TIMBR Restaurant & Lounge at 15 W. Las Olas Blvd. is hosting a FLIBS-week event from October 28 through November 1, with dinner reservations, cocktails, live entertainment and the lounge open late. A few blocks north in Flagler Village, PATIO Bar & Pizza has a show-week happy hour from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 3 to 7 p.m. on the weekend, plus $7 espresso martinis all day Sunday.

The show is big enough to fill the whole waterfront. The 2026 visitor guide expects more than 100,000 attendees, 1,000 exhibiting brands and 1,300 boats. In its results for the 2025 show, FLIBS reported more than 100,000 visitors and a $1.78 billion economic impact in Florida.

Notices That Have Not Been Posted Yet

As of October 12, no closure of A1A or Las Olas Boulevard for the show has been announced. The latest items on the City of Fort Lauderdale news page cover other events through October 17 and 18. The Coast Guard notice dated October 7 doesn't include a no-wake or security zone for the show. FDOT's most recent weekly report lists no full or overnight closure of the Las Olas bridge, but it only covers October 2 through October 9. The City, FDOT District 4 and the Coast Guard's Local Notice to Mariners are where any show-week changes would be posted.

The bridge has already been fully closed once this year. A City advisory announced a 48-hour FDOT closure from August 3 to 5, with reopening expected August 6. The single-leaf opening schedule ends November 13, twelve days after the show closes. Lane restrictions on the bridge continue through late 2026, and FDOT's newest notice puts completion of the project in late 2027.

The Las Olas Isles waterfront will deal with this bridge long after the boat show ends, and that matters for owners who are thinking about access, dockage or when to list. Veroushka MacLean Volkert follows the project schedule closely and can walk you through what it means for a particular address on the Isles. Schedule a free consultation.