Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi: Routes, Fares, and Everything You Need to Know

What is the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi?

The Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi is a privately operated hop-on, hop-off passenger boat network that runs along the New River and the Intracoastal Waterway, linking over 30 stops from downtown Fort Lauderdale to Pompano Beach and Hollywood. It is not a guided tour but a working on-water transit system with live captain narration on many boats. All-day passes are valid from 10am to 10pm and ride frequency averages every 30 to 45 minutes depending on route.

Think of it as a combination of a city bus and a scenic cruise. The boats are open-air with shaded sections, and the captains often point out landmarks like the Stranahan House, the megayachts at Bahia Mar, and the celebrity homes along Millionaires’ Row. Because the service covers both sides of the Intracoastal, it is a genuine alternative to driving and parking in beach districts where garage rates run $20 to $30 a day (checked September 2026). Families, cruise passengers with a short pre- or post-cruise window, and anyone who wants to avoid Fort Lauderdale’s weekend beach traffic use it as a practical way to get around.

The service is run by Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale, and more than a million passengers a year use it according to the operator’s own figures. On a typical day you can spot tourists hopping from Las Olas Boulevard to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, or locals heading from the Riverside Hotel area to a restaurant on the Pompano waterfront. Because the boats run on a continuous loop, there is no fixed starting point; you board at any designated stop and ride in either direction until you reach your destination.

This Dinner Cruises in Fort Lauderdale guide covers the water taxi on its own terms, but the system also connects to the departure docks for most Fort Lauderdale dinner cruises and sunset cruises, so it can be the first leg of an evening on the water.

Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi routes and stops

The Water Taxi operates three primary routes: Fort Lauderdale (10 stops), Pompano Beach (12 stops), and the Hollywood express (1 stop), plus the free LauderGO! Water Trolley on the New River (8 stops). Passengers can transfer between routes at several shared docks like Marina Village/Bahia Mar and the Hilton Marina. The system also includes whistle stops along the way that are flagged by riders.

The Fort Lauderdale route is the busiest and most useful for visitors. It connects the downtown Riverwalk area (Riverside Hotel/Stranahan House, stop F1), the Las Olas dining and shopping district (stop F2), the 15th Street Fisheries waterfront restaurant (F3), the Hilton Marina and Convention Center area (F4, also the hub for the Hollywood express), Marina Village and Bahia Mar (F6), the Galleria Mall and GalleryOne (F8), and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (F9). Several of these stops are a short walk from major hotels and the Fort Lauderdale Beach strip.

The Pompano route extends the reach to the north, with popular stops like Shooters Waterfront (P1), Lauderdale‑by‑the‑Sea (P3), and the Pompano Beach Pier area (P7). The Hollywood express runs a dedicated schedule from the Hilton Marina to Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort (H1), right on the Broadwalk, making it possible to visit Hollywood Beach for the afternoon and return by boat.

Stop locations and live vessel positions are updated continuously on the official website and the FLWaterTaxi app (checked September 2026). Because waterway traffic and bridge openings can delay boats by a few minutes, the app’s real‑time ETA is more reliable than a printed schedule.

How much does the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi cost?

An all‑day unlimited‑ride pass covering the full Fort Lauderdale and Pompano network costs $38 for adults and $18 for children ages 5 to 11 (checked September 2026). An evening pass from 5pm is $25 for adults. Multi‑day and annual options exist, and the free LauderGO! Water Trolley on the New River requires no ticket. Single one‑way fares are not sold separately on the primary routes.

Tickets are valid for one year from purchase and can be bought at any major stop, online, or through the FLWaterTaxi app. The all‑day pass is the only choice for anyone who plans to board more than once; taking a conventional rideshare between three or four coastal districts would quickly exceed that same $38, (checked September 2026) and parking near Las Olas or the beach often runs $25 to $30 a day from December to April. That makes the water taxi genuinely competitive for a day of sightseeing.

Children under 5 ride free across all services. Tickets purchased online display a QR code that crew scan directly from your phone, so there is no need to print anything.

Many visitors use the water taxi to reach the departure docks at Bahia Mar and then board a dinner cruise for an entirely different on‑water experience. The two dinner cruises that depart from that area are covered fully in the live listings on this site (see Can I take a dinner cruise in Hollywood, Florida?).

Is the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi worth it?

For a full day of car‑free Fort Lauderdale exploration, the water taxi is worth the $38 (checked September 2026) adult pass whenever you would otherwise spend more than about $30 on rideshare trips or parking. The on‑board narration, open‑air views of Millionaires’ Row, and direct access to the beach and Las Olas give it clear value over driving.

A comparison with driving makes the value equation explicit. Parking at the Galleria Mall or near Fort Lauderdale Beach usually costs $20 to $30 a day (checked September 2026), and moving the car from one district to another means hunting for a new space each time. Rideshares between downtown, the beach, and Las Olas can easily hit $35 or more round‑trip during peak hours. The water taxi covers those same zones for a fixed all‑day price, adds live narration that no Uber driver provides, and puts you on the water rather than in traffic on A1A or the 17th Street Causeway.

The water taxi is less practical for a single, quick point‑to‑point ride when a $10 (checked September 2026) rideshare would be cheaper, but that is not the use‑case it is built for. The evening pass at $25 works well for a pre‑dinner sail to a waterfront restaurant north of Las Olas, and the free Water Trolley fills the gap for short New River hops at zero cost.

For a deeper look at whether this system fits a short visit, see our blog post is the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi worth the money. That breakdown includes specific ways cruise passengers and day‑trippers use the pass to replace a rental car entirely.

On TripAdvisor, the Water Taxi ranks in the top 40 boat tours in Fort Lauderdale with 7,447 reviews (checked September 2026), and visitor feedback consistently praises the captains’ commentary and the relaxed pace. If you're planning a broader itinerary, our guide to things to do in Fort Lauderdale covers the best attractions reachable by water taxi and on foot.

The Jungle Queen Riverboat is the most established dinner cruise on the same waterway and departs from Bahia Mar, a dock served by the F6 water taxi stop. It pairs an all‑you‑can‑eat BBQ with a live variety show on the private Tropical Isle.

How to use the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi app and live tracker

The official FLWaterTaxi app, free for iOS, provides real‑time boat locations, stop‑specific ETAs, and the option to buy and store passes in a digital wallet. The live boat tracker goes active each day around 10am, showing every vessel’s position on the route map, which eliminates the guesswork of printed schedules that bridge openings and waterway congestion can throw off by 10 or 15 minutes.

The app is the most practical tool for planning a day of multiple stops. You can see at a glance how far the next northbound or southbound boat is from your stop and whether you have time to grab a coffee on Las Olas before walking to the dock. Passes bought through the app generate a QR code that crew scan on boarding; you do not need to visit a ticket kiosk. For visitors without an iOS device, the same tracker map is embedded on the operator’s website, and tickets can be bought through that page or directly at major stops like Marina Village and the Riverside Hotel.

Captains also announce upcoming stops, and the stop signs are clearly marked with the water taxi logo and a letter‑number code matching the route map. If you are boarding at a whistle stop, a dock without staff, simply stand visibly at the end of the dock and signal the captain. The 30‑ to 45‑minute headway means you are rarely waiting more than 20 minutes once you have arrived.

The Fort Lauderdale Intracoastal dinner cruise with Sea Rocket is a smaller, quieter 2.5‑hour option that departs from the same Bahia Mar area and includes a sit‑down dinner at Bokamper’s after a narrated waterway cruise.

Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi schedule and hours of operation

The full Fort Lauderdale and Pompano routes operate seven days a week from 10am to 10pm, rain or shine. Boats arrive approximately every 30 to 45 minutes along the loop. The Hollywood express runs on a fixed timetable with specific departure windows from the Hilton Marina and Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. There is no gap in service for a midday lunch break, and the last boats of the evening reach their distant stops by about 10pm.

The 30‑ to 45‑minute frequency is the real‑world average; during peak periods such as holiday weekends or the December Winterfest Boat Parade the operator sometimes adds extra vessels, while weekday mornings can be toward the longer end of that range. Bridge openings take priority on the waterway and can pause boats for five to ten minutes, so planning with a 15‑minute buffer is sensible if you have a dinner reservation.

LauderGO! Water Trolley – the free New River alternative

The LauderGO! Water Trolley is a free City of Fort Lauderdale service operated by Water Taxi, running daily 10am to 10pm on the New River with eight stops. It covers the Riverwalk corridor from Laura Ward Park to Esplanade Park and uses distinct yellow‑wrapped vessels; headway is roughly 20 to 30 minutes and it is subject to the same bridge delays as the paid water taxi.

The free trolley is the best tool for short hops within the downtown core. If your plans are limited to the Riverwalk, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Museum of Discovery and Science, and a few restaurants along the New River, you can do the whole loop without buying a water taxi pass at all. The stops include Huizenga Plaza/Bubier Park, Esplanade Park, and several docks accessible from Las Olas Boulevard.

Because the trolley does not cross the Intracoastal, it does not serve the beach, Bahia Mar, or any of the Pompano or Hollywood stops. For those destinations, the paid water taxi is the necessary complement. The free trolley is funded by the city and operates on the same daily schedule; no ticket, app, or registration is required, you simply step aboard.

If your day on the water taxi inspires a longer evening, the Jungle Queen Riverboat departs from Bahia Mar with a 4‑hour dinner cruise that includes a private‑island BBQ and Polynesian‑style show.

To pull a full day of waterfront sightseeing into a single itinerary, consider pairing the water taxi with one of the traditional Fort Lauderdale boat tours that depart from the same docks. The official Water Taxi website lists current stop details and ticketing, but all the core routes and fares remain consistent year‑round. The winter high season from November through April (checked September 2026) is the busiest period, so buying an all‑day pass online the morning you plan to use it helps guarantee boarding at popular stops.

Here are the questions we see most often about the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi.

Common questions about the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi