The Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi runs 12 stops across the Intracoastal Waterway and the New River. An adult day pass is $32. The service connects the beach corridor, Las Olas Boulevard, downtown Fort Lauderdale, and the marina district without a car, a parking spot, or a traffic delay.
For visitors, it is a practical way to move between the city’s primary destinations. For residents and buyers, it is a daily amenity that changes how certain neighborhoods function.
This guide covers pricing, stops, hours, and what water taxi access actually means for specific Fort Lauderdale addresses.
How Much Does the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi Cost?
An adult day pass is $32 and covers unlimited boarding and re-boarding at any of the 12 stops throughout the day. A child day pass (ages 12 and under) is $20.
Annual passes are available for residents who use the service regularly, which reduces the per-ride cost substantially compared to buying day passes individually.
The Water Taxi does not accept individual ride fares. You purchase a day pass and use it as many times as needed during the operating window.
For a resident in a waterfront neighborhood who uses the service three or four times per week, the annual pass pays for itself within the first two months compared to day pass pricing.
Where Does the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi Stop?
The service operates on two connected waterways: the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs north-south through the beach and marina corridor, and the New River, which runs east-west through downtown. Together they cover the destinations most residents and visitors use regularly.
Intracoastal Waterway Stops
The Intracoastal stops connect the beach corridor to the marina district. Key stops include Bahia Mar Marina at the southern end of the beach strip, Beach Place on A1A adjacent to Fort Lauderdale Beach, Marriott Harbor Beach, the Las Olas Marina at A1A and Las Olas Boulevard, 15th Street Fisheries in the marina district, Pier 66 Marina, and Shooters Waterfront in the Oakland Park area to the north.
The Intracoastal stops serve residents in Las Olas Isles, Seven Isles, and the beach corridor neighborhoods most directly. Properties within a few blocks of these stops have walkable water taxi access as a genuine daily amenity.
The Las Olas Intracoastal Promenade runs adjacent to several of these stops, which means residents boarding at the Las Olas Marina stop can walk the promenade before or after the ride.
New River Stops
The New River stops connect the Intracoastal to downtown Fort Lauderdale. Key stops include the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas Boulevard, Stranahan House in the heart of downtown, and the Fort Lauderdale downtown waterfront.
The New River route gives Intracoastal-side residents access to the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, the Riverwalk corridor, and downtown employment without driving.
For residents in Rio Vista and Colee Hammock, the New River stops matter most because those neighborhoods back onto the river. Boarding downtown and disembarking at a riverside stop is how many Rio Vista residents reach Las Olas or the Broward Center for evening events.
What Hours Does the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi Operate?
The following hours are from prior scheduling and should be verified at water-taxi.com before publishing.
The Water Taxi operates Sunday through Thursday from approximately 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM and Friday through Saturday from approximately 10:00 AM to midnight.
Service frequency varies by season, with more frequent departures during peak tourist season from November through April.
The extended Friday and Saturday hours are the primary reason the Water Taxi functions as an evening transportation option for residents.
Leaving a Las Olas restaurant after dinner and boarding the Water Taxi back to a marina-adjacent home is a routine that residents in the right neighborhoods actually use. It removes the car from the equation entirely for an evening out.
Which Fort Lauderdale Neighborhoods Benefit Most From Water Taxi Access?
Water taxi access is a real daily amenity for neighborhoods that sit directly on the Intracoastal or New River with stops within a 5 to 10 minute walk.
For neighborhoods further from the water or from a stop, it functions as an occasional-use service rather than a daily one.
Las Olas Isles has the most direct water taxi access of any residential neighborhood. The Las Olas Marina stop is at the eastern end of Las Olas Boulevard, and most Las Olas Isles properties are a short walk or brief canal-front boat ride from boarding.
Residents regularly use the Water Taxi to reach the beach, the marina district, and the New River corridor.
Rio Vista sits on the New River with access to the New River stops. Residents can board downtown and reach Las Olas Boulevard, the Broward Center, and Stranahan House without driving.
The Beach Corridor neighborhoods between Beach Place and Bahia Mar have the most Intracoastal stop density.
Residents here use the Water Taxi to reach Las Olas Boulevard restaurants and the marina district without parking on A1A.
For buyers evaluating what to consider before purchasing a waterfront home, water taxi stop proximity is a practical walkability factor worth mapping before committing to a specific address.
What Does Water Taxi Access Mean for Buyers Evaluating Neighborhoods?
Water taxi access is a lifestyle filter, not a commute solution. It matters most to buyers relocating from cities where ferry service and water transportation are part of daily life, and to those purchasing specifically for the waterfront lifestyle Fort Lauderdale is known for.
A property listed as “waterfront” in Fort Lauderdale can mean a range of things. Direct Intracoastal frontage with a deep-water dock and a Water Taxi stop within walking distance is a different asset than a canal-front property two miles from the nearest stop with shallow-draft water access only. Proximity to a Water Taxi stop is one variable within the broader waterfront evaluation.
Fort Lauderdale’s vacation rental market also reflects the Water Taxi’s value: properties marketed to short-term rental guests consistently highlight water taxi access as a primary amenity because it solves the “how do I get around without a car” problem that visitors arriving at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport consistently face.
Understanding why Fort Lauderdale is so popular with both buyers and visitors comes back to the same infrastructure: the canal system, beach access, the walkable Las Olas corridor, and the Water Taxi as the thread that connects it all without requiring a car.
Dotoli Group Works Exclusively in Fort Lauderdale
Dotoli Group works exclusively in Fort Lauderdale residential real estate. If water taxi access is a priority for a neighborhood or a specific property, tell us at the start of your search.
We know which streets in Las Olas Isles and Rio Vista put you within a genuine 5-minute walk of a stop versus which ones technically share the neighborhood name but require a 20-minute walk to board. That difference matters for daily use.
Start Your Fort Lauderdale Waterfront Home Search with Dotoli Group
