2 days in Fort Lauderdale

Day by day

1. Day 1: Fort Lauderdale Beach and the A1A promenade and Jungle Queen Riverboat

   Fort Lauderdale Beach and the A1A promenade, Jungle Queen Riverboat and Bonnet House Museum and Gardens, then Las Olas Boulevard in the evening.

   1. Breakfast

      Breakfast: Cafecito and pastelitos

   2. Morning

      Fort Lauderdale Beach and the A1A promenade

      Las Olas Beach, where the boulevard meets the sea, was the 1960s spring-break scene made famous by the film Where the Boys Are; today it is a family and resort beach.

   3. Late morning

      Jungle Queen Riverboat

      Some cruises stop at a riverside attraction with an alligator show.

   4. Lunch

      Lunch: Stone crab claws

      Seafood restaurants in season, roughly mid-October to early May.

   5. Afternoon

      Bonnet House Museum and Gardens

      The house is full of his and his wife Evelyn's art and collections, and the grounds include an orchid house, a lagoon and native coastal hammock.

   6. Snack

      Snack: Smoked fish dip

   7. Evening

      Las Olas Boulevard

      Walk the boulevard in the early evening, then cross to the Isles for sunset over the canals.

2. Day 2: Water Taxi and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

   Water Taxi, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and Riverwalk and Stranahan House, then Fort Lauderdale Beach in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Water Taxi

      Captains narrate along the way, pointing out the mansions and superyachts of the 'Venice of America'.

   2. Late morning

      Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

      A paved loop suits cycling and inline skating, short trails pass through the hammock, and a tunnel leads under A1A to the beach.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Grouper or mahi-mahi sandwich

      Beach bars on A1A, marina restaurants and dock-and-dine spots on the Intracoastal.

   4. Afternoon

      Riverwalk and Stranahan House

      At its eastern end, Stranahan House, built in 1901 as Frank Stranahan's trading post with the Seminole, is the oldest surviving structure in Broward County and can be visited on guided tours.

   5. Snack

      Snack: Conch fritters

   6. Evening

      Fort Lauderdale Beach

      Open-air bars facing the sand on A1A, often with live music, busiest on weekend nights.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Museum of Discovery and Science (Las Olas and Downtown): Use it as your rainy-afternoon or hottest-hour plan; it is on the Riverwalk next to a Water Taxi stop.
• Swap in NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale (Las Olas and Downtown): Combine it with lunch on Las Olas, two minutes' walk away.
• Swap in Sawgrass Mills (Sunrise): Pick up a map and plan by section; the mall is far too big to walk end to end in one go.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 14–21 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 10.5 hours in December to 13.8 hours in June.

Getting between stops: Boat. The Water Taxi runs hop-on, hop-off routes along the New River and the Intracoastal between downtown, Las Olas, the beach hotels and other stops, doubling as a sightseeing tour.

More or fewer days

• One day in Fort Lauderdale
• 3 days in Fort Lauderdale
• 5 days in Fort Lauderdale

Questions travellers ask