From Wednesday, October 28, through Sunday, November 1, 2026, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show takes over Bahia Mar, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Pier Sixty-Six Marina, Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South and the Broward County Convention Center. In the official 2026 transportation plan, parking, shuttles and water taxis all run through the Convention Center at 1950 Eisenhower Boulevard, beside the SE 17th Street Causeway. For anyone who lives here and isn't going to the show, the week depends on that southern corridor and on one drawbridge with a new schedule this year.
The free boat on the New River sits out the week
The City of Fort Lauderdale has posted a notice on its LauderGO! Water Trolley page: the service will not run from October 28 through November 1, 2026, because of the Boat Show.
In a normal week, the Water Trolley is free and runs daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. along the New River. The city operates it with Water Taxi of Fort Lauderdale and Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale. Its stops include Riverwalk Laura Ward Park, Esplanade Park, Tarpon River, New River Yacht Club, Downtown and Smoker Park. For those five days, the free ride that links the Riverwalk neighborhoods is gone. The only scheduled boats on the water are the show's own routes, and those cost money.
According to the FLIBS water taxi page, a one-day pass is $15 and a five-day pass is $65. The routes are built around show venues: Riverside Hotel to Bahia Mar, Convention Center/Pier Sixty-Six North to Bahia Mar, GALLERYone to Bahia Mar, and Shooters Waterfront to Las Olas Marina. That's handy if you want a waterborne trip to the barrier island. It doesn't replace the trolley's stops along the river.
The show's real front door is on Eisenhower Boulevard
The show calls the Broward County Convention Center its transport hub. The official parking page lists more than 3,000 spaces at $20 a day, linked to the venues by water taxi, shuttle or golf cart. If you live near the 17th Street corridor, Harbor Beach or the streets off South Andrews Avenue, expect the heaviest attendee arrivals on your side of town, not on A1A.
The shuttle network confirms it. The 2026 shuttle plan runs four lines:
- A Convention Center to Bahia Mar loop
- A Convention Center to Superyacht Village to Bahia Mar loop
- A Brightline station to Riverside Hotel shuttle
- A West Marine to Bahia Mar shuttle
Golf carts also run between Superyacht Village and Bahia Mar. According to the show's parking and transportation map, dated October 8, 2026, the West Marine stop is at 2401 S. Andrews Ave., and that route is shuttle-only. Expect show traffic at a South Andrews retail corner as well as on the barrier island.
The infrastructure behind the hub is new. Broward County says the Convention Center East Expansion and Connector opened on October 20, 2025. The Connector runs directly from US 1 and SR 84 to the Convention Center, bypassing the Port Everglades security checkpoints, and was built to ease congestion on the 17th Street Causeway. It opened nine days before the 2025 show began on October 29, so 2026 is its first full year of local use going into a show week. The same county page says the public waterfront plaza is opening in 2026 but gives no date. Until the county confirms an opening, don't plan on using it during show week.
The 17th Street bridge runs on a new clock this year
The hub sits on the 17th Street Causeway, so the drawbridge on that road matters more than anything else during the week. Its rules changed this year.
In January, the Coast Guard published a final rule in the Federal Register changing the schedule of the SE 17th Street (Brooks Memorial) Bridge over the Intracoastal. The stated goal is to "assist with vehicle congestion during weekday rush hour periods by limiting drawbridge openings." The rule took effect February 19, 2026. The regulation reads:
The draw shall open on the hour and half-hour; except that from 6:50 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. and from 3:50 p.m. to 6:10 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, the drawbridge shall open once an hour at the top of the hour.
Before the rule, the bridge opened at the top and bottom of every hour all day. Under the rule, vessels that fit under the bridge can pass at any time, and exempt vessels can still request an opening whenever they need one.
This is the first boat show under the new schedule. October 28, 29 and 30 fall on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and none is a federal holiday, so the rush-hour limit applies on three of the five show days. During those windows, drivers on 17th Street face at most one scheduled opening an hour. The bridge has run on these rules since February 19. What's different is that this is the first time those rules meet a week when the Convention Center hub and Pier Sixty-Six are drawing show traffic onto the causeway.
On Thursday and Friday, the show runs until 7 p.m. The afternoon rush window closes at 6:10 p.m., so attendees leaving at closing time hit the bridge after it has gone back to two openings an hour.
What last year's beach parking looked like
The beach side still matters. It just has less to do with transit. We found no 2026 road-closure or parking advisory from the city as of today, so last year's pattern is the best guide. Treat it as a 2025 precedent, not a 2026 rule.
The Miami Herald reported in October 2025 that the city told drivers on the barrier island and Las Olas Boulevard to expect delays, with the heaviest traffic on the barrier island and near show sites. According to the same article, from October 30 to November 2, 2025, the Fort Lauderdale Beach Park lot was closed to the public. North Beach, the Las Olas Garage and on-street spaces between Vistamar and Las Olas charged a $30 special rate. The Sun Sentinel also reported the beach park closure that year and recommended parking off the barrier island.
Put together, the 2025 parking rules and the 2026 transportation plan point the same way. The beach lots are expensive or closed, and the official arrival point is a garage beside the 17th Street Causeway. For a resident planning a beach morning, a Las Olas dinner or a run to the Riverside Hotel, how hard each trip is depends on whether it crosses the show's path, not on how far it is.
The week, hour by hour
The show and its transit run on different hours. Shuttles and water taxis start before the gates open and keep running after they close.
| Day | Show hours | Show shuttle and water taxi | 17th Street bridge rush-hour limit | Water Trolley |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Oct. 28 | 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., preview day | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Applies | Not operating |
| Thu., Oct. 29 | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Applies | Not operating |
| Fri., Oct. 30 | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Applies | Not operating |
| Sat., Oct. 31 | 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Does not apply | Not operating |
| Sun., Nov. 1 | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Does not apply | Not operating |
The table points to two light windows. Wednesday morning runs ahead of a noon opening, and Sunday evening comes after a 5 p.m. close. The rest of the week, show transit runs about an hour past the gates on both ends.
Saturday, October 31, has a second event on the calendar. Wicked Manors, produced by The Pride Center at Equality Park with the City of Wilton Manors, is listed for 6 to 11 p.m. that night along Wilton Drive between NE 21st Court and North Dixie Highway, and the street will be closed to traffic. That leaves two traffic draws on the same Halloween evening, one on the barrier island and one up the Dixie Highway corridor.
The show also has some programming aimed at the local marine trades. The RefitX seminar preview lists sessions on October 28, 29 and 30, ahead of a full RefitX launch planned for 2027. Organizers put the scale of the event this way: in its 2025 closeout release, FLIBS said the 2025 edition generated $1.78 billion in statewide economic impact.
Before the gates open, check the city's site for a 2026 traffic advisory. The Water Trolley notice is the only show-week change the city had posted as of October 12.
The 17th Street corridor is where Boat Show traffic concentrates, and it is also home to some of Fort Lauderdale's most sought-after waterfront streets. At Chad Bishop Group, we follow how bridge schedules, marina activity and new infrastructure like the Convention Center Connector affect daily life on the water. If you own near the Intracoastal and want to know how those factors shape your home's value, request a White Glove Consultation and we'll go over it with you, street by street.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
