By T. Jensen Lacey

Known as “The Venice of America,” the Sunshine State’s own city of Fort Lauderdale has numerous ways in which to get around. Although many of its citizens and visitors move about the city by auto or bicycle, a large number of people navigate the city by boat. 

On any given day in Fort Lauderdale, the many rivers and nearly a dozen canals are teeming with boats of all sizes, amenities, and descriptions. You might be on a one-person jet-ski, following behind a 210-foot, four-story yacht with fore-and-aft towboats, or in a kayak in front of a water taxi or even a gondola (yes, Italy’s Venice can’t lay exclusive claim to those).

For those who want to find their way around one of the many waterways of Fort Lauderdale, here is some information and basic “rules of the road”—er, river.

According to Fort Lauderdale’s city hall staff, within the town’s environs, there are a total of 128 miles of canals that meander through and around the city. There are a number of drawbridges and even one train bridge, the latter of which runs alongside the Riverwalk, a popular downtown park that visitors and tourists enjoy strolling, walking their dogs, or jogging through.

Water taxis are available on an hour-by-hour basis (starting at 10 a.m., and ending at 10 p.m.) and are “hop on, hop off,” offering several dozen destinations (beaches, restaurants, shopping centers, and museums) for people to disembark. All the water taxis have knowledgeable and amusing narrators on board, who inform their passengers about well-known and little-known stories about Fort Lauderdale’s history and culture. 

Water taxis also offer special event cruises. For example, during Christmas, they offer a nighttime Holiday Lights Tour, so you can see all the lights from the comfort of a boat (and the light show is doubly entrancing, with the holiday lights reflected off the water). Ticket cost for water taxis is usually $35 per person, but the price changes for special events, such as for the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (this year it ran from October 30-November 3). Pre-purchasing tickets are required; you can get them at www.Watertaxi.com.

In addition to the water taxis, there are several boat tours, private charters, sunset cruises, and more available. Lauderdale Water Trolley offers free, scenic rides along the New River. The trolley is one level (water taxis are double-decker), and, unlike the taxis, don’t offer restroom facilities. They also make fewer stops, so it’s free but with limitations. The aforementioned gondolas are not quite as romantic as those in Italy’s Venice; these are totally electric, so no costumed gondolier is paddling you around town, only a boat operator.

Some of the other ways to explore Fort Lauderdale by water are via several cruises led by tour guides, and some even offer food as an added amenity to the entertainment of a narrated ride. One, a two-story, 115-foot riverboat named The Carrie B., is part of a company called the Venice of America Tours, which offers canal tours that last 1 ½ hours. This cruise includes fares such as cocktails, soft drinks, hot dogs, and popcorn; the cost is $32 per adult. This tour boat also offers night cruises of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Their website is www.CarrieBCruises.com.

A party (pontoon) boat called Island Time Boat Cruise is slated more for adults (‘nuff said). A family-friendly adventure can be had via the vessel Pirate Cruise, where your kids can interact with the pirate-attired crew; this cruise lasts about an hour. The double-decker riverboat Jungle Queen offers a 1 ½ hour tour. This cruise includes dinner, such as an all-you-can-eat barbecue, and offers entertainment such as fire dancers; it is quite reasonable at $32 per adult. For more information or to purchase tickets for any of these, go to www.viatour.com.

Now for those adventurous souls who explore the waterways by private boat: if you’re on a small vessel no taller than 20 feet, most of the drawbridges can allow you passage without having to raise the bridge to do so. All the drawbridges operate on a fixed schedule, but they don’t raise them if there is not a vessel in the area needing clearance, so if you need them to open you must call them by radio (channel 16) to let them know you’re heading their way, identify your vessel (by type, length and name) and then…wait. 

Most of the drawbridges’ raising times are usually a quarter after and a quarter before the hour, so if you have a tall vessel, and you’re in a hurry, you’re out of luck. As always, manners and patience are important in situations like this. We’ve seen many disruptive, demanding vessel captains be put off and even ignored by drawbridge operators.

When navigating the canals, the rule is: that larger vessels have first priority, as do vessels under tow (in distress). Smaller crafts need to pull out of the main channel and allow these vessels to go ahead of them. Again, patience and the ample application of manners are paramount for everyone to be safe, and navigate the waters in a fun way and without incident. 

The drawbridges are under the authority of the Lauderdale Isles Water Management District. For more information, go to www.FortLauderdale.gov.

Editor’s note: The prices mentioned, and the schedules for cruises, are subject to change.