Fort Lauderdale Boat Show 2026: Dates, Tickets and How to Actually Do the Week

Waterfront venues, five days, and one rule that catches people out every year: there is no box office. Buy online or you don’t get in.

The 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show runs Wednesday, Oct. 28, to Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. It spreads across waterfront locations, it moves people between them by shuttle and water taxi, and it is the single biggest week of the year for this city’s waterfront economy.

Below is what it costs, when the gates open, where everything is, how to get between it all, and the handful of decisions worth making before you go. We drew our own maps for the week: one for getting around, one for the debuts and premieres, and one for the parties. They’re all on this page. For the social side of the week, the galas, crew nights and brokerage receptions, we also keep a running list of Fort Lauderdale Boat Show parties.

Start here: tickets are online only

The show has confirmed there is no onsite box office. Every ticket is bought in advance, online. If you turn up at the Convention Center on the Thursday expecting to pay at a window, you will be standing outside it.

That single fact is the most useful thing on this page, so it goes first.

What it costs

Ticket	Price	Valid
Wednesday Preview	$73	Any one day, Wed–Sun
1-Day General Admission	$48	Thu–Sun
2-Day General Admission	$80	Thu–Sun
2-Day Preview + General Admission	$105	Any two days, Wed–Sun
Children 6–12	$19	One day, Wed–Sun
Children under 6	Free	With an adult
Windward VIP Experience	$459	One day, Wed–Sun

The Wednesday math is worth a second look. The $73 Preview ticket is valid any single day of the show, not just Wednesday — so it is a $25 premium over the $48 one-day pass for the option of the quieter preview day. If you want two days including Wednesday, that is $105 rather than $80.

Windward VIP at $459 includes gourmet food, a premium open bar and activations across two locations, an hour of early access to the Superyacht Village before general admission, complimentary self-parking and complimentary water taxi service. Whether that is worth roughly nine times a day pass depends entirely on whether you are there to look at boats or to meet people.

Active military and veterans get a complimentary one-day General Admission ticket, good for any show day. Request it online in advance to skip the line, or register at any entrance with a military ID. Family and friends are not included.

Hours

All times Eastern (Fort Lauderdale). Shuttle windows and public Water Taxi hours are different.

*Shuttle windows are derived from the official one-hour-before-opening/one-hour-after-closing rule, not a departure timetable. Golf carts operate during show hours only. The Water Taxi operator’s dated 2026 public schedule starts at noon Wednesday and 10 AM Thursday–Sunday; its earlier hour is for vendors only. Regular sightseeing routes are suspended during the show.

Sunday closes two hours earlier than the other show days. Sources: FLIBS shuttles and golf carts, FLIBS FAQ and Water Taxi’s 2026 service schedule.

The show venues

The show spans waterfront sites. Use the current official maps below to plan your stops:

• Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd — the indoor exhibitor floor, and the parking and transport hub
• Bahia Mar Yachting Center, 801 Seabreeze Blvd — the main in-water show
• Hall of Fame Marina, 435 Seabreeze Blvd — a five-minute walk north of Bahia Mar
• Las Olas Marina, 240 E Las Olas Circle
• Pier Sixty-Six Marina, 2301 SE 17th St
• Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South, 2150 SE 17th St

Trying to cover every venue properly in one day is a stretch. Pick two or three, and pick them by what you actually came for — the Convention Center for gear, trades and services; the marinas and the Superyacht Village for the boats themselves.

Bahia Mar, Hall of Fame and Las Olas run together as one long stretch of docks, split into color-coded zones. Our dock finder redraws the official map north-up, so the docks read the same way you walk them:

Official FLIBS 2026 maps to open or save

These are the organizer’s original venue and transport files, hosted by official sources. They are separate from the Citywide.TV & ZipYacht illustrated planning maps elsewhere in this guide. Use the official files for current dock and route planning; check the official show maps index for newer versions.

Broward County Convention Center

PDF · Revised October 15, 2026

Open or save Broward County Convention Center map (PDF)

Bahia Mar, Hall of Fame & Las Olas

PDF · Revised September 30, 2026

Open or save Bahia Mar, Hall of Fame & Las Olas map (PDF)

Pier Sixty-Six & Superyacht Village

PDF · Revised October 2, 2026

Open or save Pier Sixty-Six & Superyacht Village map (PDF)

Parking & Transportation

PDF · Revised October 16, 2026

Open or save Parking & Transportation map (PDF)

Water Taxi Routes to Bahia Mar

PNG · Dated October 28–November 1, 2026

Open or save Water Taxi Routes to Bahia Mar map (PNG)

Source: FLIBS official map files and Water Taxi information. Map links and transport guidance checked October 23, 2026.

Getting around

This is where the show is better organized than most people expect, and where a little planning saves you an hour of walking on hot docks.

Parking

• Broward County Convention Center garages are the transportation hub, with connections to show locations. Official sources currently quote conflicting parking prices, so check current parking information and confirm the rate before you arrive. Park once.
• Bahia Mar has no show parking. Don’t try to drive to the main venue. Park at the hub and ride.
• Other garages near the show include Beach Place (17 S Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd), the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina (1881 SE 17th St), the Balfour Beatty garage (1799 SE 17th St) and the small Las Olas Marina garage, which fills early. Prices are posted at each garage. Participating City of Fort Lauderdale garages take PayByPhone.
• Downtown, the Riverwalk Center garage (150 SE 2nd St) and the Riverside Hotel put you on the water taxi’s downtown stop.

Show shuttles and golf carts

Shuttles are included with a show-ticket purchase. Use the official transportation map for route planning and confirm your destination with the shuttle team before boarding. FLIBS’ map and online route descriptions currently differ.

The Superyacht Village–Bahia Mar golf cart connection operates during show hours: Wednesday noon–7 PM, Thursday–Saturday 10 AM–7 PM, Sunday 10 AM–5 PM. Check the official shuttle and golf cart information for updates.

Water Taxi

Published fares are $15 per day or $65 for all five days. Children under five, Windward VIP ticket holders and annual pass holders ride free. The dated 2026 operator page lists current stops, tickets and public service hours: Water Taxi’s FLIBS information. The earlier service hour is vendors only, not general public boarding.

For accredited media, the official FLIBS press FAQ confirms complimentary show Water Taxi access; that benefit does not establish early boarding. Regular sightseeing routes are suspended during the show.

Coming by train

Take Brightline to Fort Lauderdale station, use the shuttle connection to the Riverside Hotel, then the separately ticketed Water Taxi from the Riverside docks to Bahia Mar. Confirm the shuttle destination before boarding. Check FLIBS’ Brightline connection details and the operator’s current Water Taxi stops and tickets.

The practical version: park at the Convention Center, do the indoor floor first, then take the water between the marinas. Bahia Mar and Hall of Fame are a five-minute walk apart, so don’t wait for a ride between those two.

Accessibility and travel questions

Confirm your specific stop and vehicle before travelling; do not assume every connection is step-free. See the Water Taxi FAQ and accessibility guidance or call 954-467-6677. FLIBS visitor support: 954-463-6762 · cxteam@informa.com.

A plan that works

One day, first time. Buy the $48 Thursday or Friday pass. Convention Center at opening, water taxi out to Bahia Mar and the Superyacht Village by early afternoon. Weekends are busier.

Two days, doing it properly. The $80 two-day pass, split indoor and on the water, plus the $65 five-day water taxi pass if you’ll ride more than four times. Or $105 if you want the quieter Wednesday preview as one of the days.

Here to do business. Wednesday preview, and think hard about Windward VIP — the value is the room, the early access, the parking and the water taxi, not the open bar.

With kids. $19 for 6–12, free under 6, and the water taxi is the part they will remember.

Notable boats at FLIBS 2026

The show has named its headline boats. The biggest is the 305-foot Oceanco Draak, an exploration and research yacht with a dive center and a hyperbaric chamber. It is joined by Feadship’s 223-foot Lady Christine and Hakvoort’s 209-foot ice-class explorer Scout. Organizers expect more than 50 debuts, including the Pearl 100 Hybrid and four Viking and Valhalla world premieres.

We’ve mapped the debuts, premieres and panels announced so far, numbered by day, from the Princess C48 Open on the Face Dock on opening morning to the Pearl 100 Hybrid premiere on F Dock on Friday evening:

And then there are the parties

The boats are the reason the show exists. The evenings are where a fair amount of the business actually gets done, and almost none of it appears on the official schedule.

Boat show week carries two black-tie galas — the International Superyacht Society awards on opening night and the SeaKeepers Founders Event at the Ritz-Carlton on the Thursday — plus the annual crew nights that the chandlers and yards throw every October: Yacht Chandlers at DAER, National Marine Suppliers‘ Yacht Bikers Poker Run, Safe Harbor Lauderdale Marine Center‘s Halloween party, Bradford Marine‘s captain and crew party. Most of those dates land two to three weeks before the show.

We keep a running list — who throws one every year, what it costs, and how you actually get on the door: Fort Lauderdale Boat Show Parties 2026.

Take the maps with you

• Interactive maps — tap any stop, venue or party for the address, time and a Google Maps link. Built for your phone.
• Printable map poster (PDF) — five pages, one map each, with the key.
• Official FLIBS show maps — the organizer’s own dock and venue maps.

Before you go

• Buy online. There is no box office. This is the one that ruins days.
• Don’t drive to Bahia Mar. Use the Convention Center hub—check current parking arrangements and rates—or come by Brightline.
• Buy the water taxi pass ahead at WaterTaxi.com/FLIBS — $15 a day, $65 for the week.
• Check Sunday’s early close if that is your day.
• Decide your venues before you arrive, not in the queue.
• Military and veterans: request your free one-day ticket online before you go.
• If you are here for the week, sort the evenings early — the party list is updated as hosts announce.

Full details, ticket purchase and venue maps are at flibs.com.

Maps and transport checked Oct. 23, 2026: added individual official map downloads and quick navigation, separated shuttle windows from public Water Taxi hours, qualified conflicting route and parking information, and added accessibility contacts. Existing illustrated planning maps are retained and labelled separately. Other editorial content and ticket information were not comprehensively reverified in this update; confirm current details with the organizers before you go.

Citywide.TV covers business, technology and marine across South Florida. FLIBS is the biggest week on our calendar, and we will be back with coverage from the show itself.