Set along Florida’s southeastern edge, the city’s long-standing moniker, the “Venice of America” is not marketing flourish but geographic fact, shaped by an extensive canal system conceived in the early 1900s. Much of Fort Lauderdale’s waterways were dredged and engineered during the Florida land boom of the 1910s and 1920s, driven by developers such as Hugh Taylor Birch and later refined under the influence of visionaries including landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and planner John Nolen. Financed by northern capital and speculative investment, the canals were designed as much for drainage and flood control as for real estate value. Transforming swamp and mangrove into navigable frontage and embedding water into the city’s economic and social fabric is a legacy that continues to influence how Fort Lauderdale moves, eats and unwinds. For travelers sailing from Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale is particularly appealing to seasoned cruisers who value a little local calibration before embarking on a longer voyage. So, if you are sailing from Fort Lauderdale to the Caribbean, set aside a couple of days for exploring.
Day One
Morning is Fort Lauderdale at its most composed. The city’s 24 miles of beaches stretch along the Atlantic, each with a subtly different character. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, in particular, retains an Old Florida sensibility that feels increasingly scarce, intimate, walkable and gently removed from the resort vernacular.
Inland, the New River provides a revealing vantage point on the city’s evolution. A guided Segway tour along its banks traces a route past the usual super yachts and long-held waterfront homes that underline Fort Lauderdale’s enduring relationship with maritime life.
Food-focused walking tours provide a cross-section of neighbourhood flavours, while the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk offers a more nostalgic counterpoint, complete with a complimentary scoop of ice cream. If you’re in a larger group, try the LauderdaleGO MicroMover, a complimentary service connecting the beachfront with Las Olas Boulevard and surrounding districts.
Dining remains resolutely waterfront. Lunch is best taken at one of the city’s established seafood restaurants, where proximity to the marina dictates both menu and mood. As evening falls, restaurants overlooking the Lauderdale Marina pair local produce with polished service and cocktails that lean heavily towards rum, signalling the Caribbean just beyond the horizon.
Day Two
Spend your second day afloat. A Water Taxi day pass provides unlimited access along the historic Intracoastal Waterway. See waterfront mansions, private docks and passing vessels form a constantly shifting backdrop.
The route extends from 17th Street north to Oakland Park. Las Olas Boulevard is a natural point to disembark, where a transfer to the free water trolley opens up the New River area and its layered commercial past.
Take your Caribbean cruise vacation a step further this time. Beyond the urban edge, the Everglades offer a striking counterbalance to the urban sprawl. An airboat ride across the vast subtropical environment, part of a 1.5‑million‑acre World Heritage Site created to preserve one of North America’s most distinctive ecosystems.
Wildlife encounters are central to the experience, from alligators to rare bird species. For travellers seeking a closer interaction, the Alligator Wildlife Show is frequently offered as an in-transit option for cruise guests continuing onward or transferring to the airport.
The city’s combination of water-led living and cultural depth makes it an ideal launch point, one that feels intentional rather than incidental, and entirely suited to travelers who understand that how a journey begins matters.
