The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show opens October 28 and runs through November 1. Its south end will meet a 17th Street that didn't exist a year ago. During the 2025 show, the 801-room Omni next to the Broward County Convention Center was still shut, and the Sun Sentinel had just reported its opening delay. Hula Kai Tiki Bar was still under construction a few blocks west. Both are open now, and Pier Sixty-Six has had nearly two full years to build a local following.
The garage the show uses as its transit hub sits beside a new hotel with six dining rooms. Some of those rooms welcome neighbors and some don't. Those access rules will decide where someone from Harbor Beach or Rio Vista can still get a table once more than 100,000 visitors arrive.
What changed between the 2025 show and this one
The show's format is familiar. Most of the changes are in the neighborhood around it.
| 2025 show | 2026 show | |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | Oct. 29 to Nov. 2 | Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 |
| Omni Fort Lauderdale | Not open | Open since Dec. 18, 2025 |
| Hula Kai Tiki Bar | Under construction | Opened Sept. 25, 2026 |
| Official venues | Seven, including the 17th Street Yacht Basin | Six on the official map |
| Windward VIP Cabana Club | Hall of Fame Marina | Bahia Mar |
| Adult one-day ticket | $46 | $48 |
The official 2026 map page lists six sites: the Convention Center, Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Superyacht Village and Pier Sixty-Six Marina. Visit Lauderdale also says six. A third-party ticketing listing still includes last year's seventh site, the 17th Street Yacht Basin at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina, 1881 SE 17th St. Until the show settles it, that dock on the west bank is unconfirmed for 2026.
The transit hub now has a neighbor
The show tells visitors to park at the Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd. The garage has more than 3,000 spaces at $20 a day. From there, free shuttles for ticket holders run four routes:
- Purple: Convention Center to Bahia Mar
- Green: Convention Center to Superyacht Village to Bahia Mar
- Red: Brightline Fort Lauderdale Station to the Riverside Hotel
- Blue: West Marine's Marine Center at 2401 S. Andrews Ave. to Bahia Mar
Golf carts link Superyacht Village with Bahia Mar. Water taxis cost $15 for a day or $65 for five days. One route runs from the Convention Center and Pier Sixty-Six North to Bahia Mar, and another from Shooters Waterfront to Las Olas Marina.
In past years, a hub crowd arrived at a convention center with little else around it. This year it arrives next to the Omni Fort Lauderdale at 1850 SE 17th St. The hotel opened to the public on December 18, 2025, according to the Sun Sentinel. Omni's grand-opening announcement in March 2026 described direct access to the Convention Center and said the hotel was designed for local guests as well as travelers. The show's busiest arrival point and the corridor's newest set of restaurants now share a sidewalk.
Who gets a table where
This is where the access rules matter. Each venue on the south end sets its own policy, and the policies vary.
At the Omni, according to the hotel's dining pages and opening announcement:
- Reef 76 Kitchen & Bar is the signature ground-floor restaurant, serving coastal food with Caribbean notes.
- Fair Ketch is a social hub with a Topgolf Swing Suite.
- Hidden Key Bar & Lounge and Leeward Market, a coffee and provisions counter, sit off the lobby.
- Ibis Sky Lounge is on the 29th floor. Omni bills it as the highest bar in Fort Lauderdale, and it's 21 and over.
- Tide Coastal Kitchen, the poolside spot, is for registered hotel guests only.
The kitchen is led by Executive Chef Cristian Mosquera, a Fort Lauderdale native. One more room is announced. Barchetta, a coastal Italian chophouse, will be at 1880 SE 17th St. Omni's site still lists it as "Opening Fall 2026." With the show about two weeks away, no source confirms it has opened.
At Pier Sixty-Six, across the 17th Street Causeway, the show takes over more ground. The resort reopened on January 10, 2025, after a billion-dollar renovation. During the show, Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South holds the largest yachts. Pier Sixty-Six North displays brokerage yachts longer than 100 feet. The resort's restaurant roster is Calusso, Sotogrande, Garni, Pier Top, Windows on 66, Elate, Saltbreeze and The Nectar Room. The resort FAQ says some outlets welcome non-guests but doesn't name all of them. It does say Saltbreeze and pool-deck service are for resort guests. Pier Top, the revolving lounge on the 17th floor, is the one with a published walk-in policy. It takes walk-ins as well as reservations.
Pier Sixty-Six counted on local business before this show. In March 2025, the resort's manager told Miami New Times that more than 80 percent of its food and beverage business came from people not staying at the hotel. That figure is from the resort's first spring and may have changed. Either way, it describes a business that regular local diners help support, and show week brings in a very different crowd. Pelican Landing, the next addition, is scheduled for "late 2026" with no exact date.
West of the bridge, the corridor runs on its own clock
The other new openings don't belong to a resort. Hula Kai Tiki Bar, at 1075 SE 17th St., opened September 25 after four years of construction delays, the Sun Sentinel reported. It's a 5,000-square-foot, 200-seat space with bars on three levels and a shaded rooftop bar that looks toward the downtown skyline. It comes from James Flanigan of Old School Hospitality, the group behind the Quarterdeck restaurants and Whiskey Neat lounges. The boat show will be its first big week.
A little farther along, Ethos Greek Bistro opened at 1465 SE 17th St. in June 2025. Its announcement pitched it to the people who live, work and keep boats nearby. Neither place appears on a show map or shuttle route. The show's own transportation points visitors from the Convention Center toward Bahia Mar and Superyacht Village.
What hasn't been announced yet
Questions about streets are still open. On October 8, local outlet Fort Lauderdale Journal reported that neither the show nor the city had posted 2026 street closures. That reflects the date it was checked and doesn't promise an easy week. Last year, the Fort Lauderdale Beach Park lot was closed to the public for the full show, and the show told visitors to park off-site rather than drive onto the barrier island. No 2026 notice says that will happen again. The City of Fort Lauderdale's notices are where any A1A, Seabreeze Boulevard or 17th Street restrictions will appear.
Show-week transportation hours are published, and they show when the crowds arrive and leave. The 2026 parking and transportation map sets water taxi and shuttle service for:
- Wednesday, Oct. 28: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., on preview day
- Thursday, Oct. 29 through Saturday, Oct. 31: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 1: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The show floor closes at 7 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and at 5 p.m. Sunday. Service runs an hour past closing each day, so the busiest dinner window on 17th Street is likely to begin right after the docks close. On Sunday, everything ends earliest.
Las Olas Marina adds a floating pickleball court and a tournament for yacht crews this year. At the Convention Center, the FLIBS Kids Corner runs all week, and Don Dingman's "Hook the Future" fishing clinics run at noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, with a free rod and reel for young anglers. Tickets are sold online only, with no box office at the gates.
For owners near Harbor Beach, the Intracoastal and the 17th Street corridor, show week is when a year of new openings meets the city's biggest crowd. Whether you're thinking about a waterfront condo near Pier Sixty-Six or planning a sale around next season, The CBG Luxury Team follows these blocks closely, from the marina to the rooftop. Who You Work With Matters. Schedule a Private Consultation.
