Fort Lauderdale - The Venice of America
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Ft. Lauderdale is one of the premier U.S. departure ports for cruises heading to the Caribbean. With its perpetual sunny temperatures, and easy access, you can see why people spend time here pre or post cruise.
The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is located approximately ten minutes away from the 17th Street area where you will find most of all the major hotel chains. Getting a room is usually not too difficult, unless it’s Spring Break (in March/April) when the college students arrive in droves.
If you have a day to spend prior to your departure, you have a few options. The most obvious is to hit the beach. Ft. Lauderdale Beach is a stretch of pure sun and sand that runs for two miles. The Promenade at the beach offers all sorts of bars, restaurants and people watching.
The Everglades provides an experience of a different sort. Take an airboat ride thru the swamps and look for wildlife, not the least of which would include birds, manatees, and alligators. There’s no shortage of tour operators in the area, so check with the concierge at your hotel and they can set you up.
A boat tour of another sort would be the water taxi on the Florida Intracoastal Waterway. While this was intended to be an alternative form of transportation with many drop-off points, it’s evolved into so much more. Hop the water taxi at Las Olas Riverfront for $13 in the late afternoon, (although that’s an all-day pass price if you want to go earlier). You can spend the next few hours, (yes, I said hours!) oogling the mansions belonging to captains of industry and the yachts Hollywood celebrities. This tour is not for the faint of heart. Your taxi driver will point out many homes of familiar people and as the sun goes down, and you can literally peek into their living rooms. Unfortunately, that’s probably as close as you will get.
You can also get off the water taxi and have dinner and then get back on. The drivers will entertain you with their stories and commentary about the area. Stops on the water taxi include the nearby Convention Center, and local waterfront hotels.
Or maybe you can stroll through Las Olas Boulevard. Las Olas is a haven for those seeking the finer things in life. The Boulevard is the destination for art galleries, clothing boutiques, and spas. There’s also enough fine restaurants and an array of entertainment venues to keep you lingering there as well.
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