Fort Lauderdale

I wrote about my experiences in South Beach, Miami a few days ago. With Florida sunshine on my mind, in this post I’m writing about my past trip to Fort Lauderdale.

Fort Lauderdale is about 37 km (23 miles) North of Miami. You can combine visiting Miami and Fort Lauderdale in one trip. I went with my sister in June and spent three full days there.

My favourite experiences in Fort Lauderdale:

1. A stroll along Fort Lauderdale oceanfront promenade. Good exercise, fresh ocean air and fun people watching. Remember your sun protection!

Fort Lauderdale oceanfront

2. Sun and swim at the beach which was across the street from where we stayed.

3. Cruising the Fort Lauderdale waterways by water taxi from late afternoon to early evening. Fort Lauderdale is known as “Venice of America”. This is a relaxing way to view the beautiful homes, the marina and some expensive yachts. The boat captain provided entertaining stories during the ride.

Water taxi, Fort Lauderdale

Nice house, Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale waterway

Expensive yacht

Fort Lauderdale Marina at dusk

Lights on!

4. Visiting the Everglades by airboat. We rode an airboat for the first time, and saw fierce-looking gators in their natural habitat up close. There was also a small zoo at the Sawgrass Recreation Park where we saw more gators, big lizards, Florida panther, peacocks and other animals.

Airboats at the dock

Airboat ride

Gator in sawgrass

5. Enjoying good eats along Las Olas Boulevard.

Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale

6. An evening stroll along the Riverwalk which is lined with restaurants and small shops. After sunset, when the lights came on, it was very pretty.

Riverwalk, Fort Lauderdale

7. Shopping for good deals at Sawgrass Mills, advertised as the largest outlet and value retail shopping destination in the United States.

Getting from Toronto to Fort Lauderdale is easy with frequent, non-stop flights that take about three hours. Fort Lauderdale International Airport is simple to navigate. Savings tips: We boarded the water taxi after 5 pm and got $10 off per ticket. For our airboat ride in the Everglades, I got a 2-for-1 ticket deal from Travelzoo.

Have you been to Fort Lauderdale? If you have, what were your experiences when you were there?