The SE 17th Street corridor is Fort Lauderdale’s working waterfront, the reason the city wears the yachting capital of the world title without irony. Along the causeway and its side basins sit thousands of slips: the superyachts at Pier Sixty-Six, the sportfishers at Lauderdale Marina near the 15th Street boat ramps, and the sprawling docks of the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which takes over the neighborhood every fall. The Broward County Convention Center and a strip of business hotels round out the district.
From MIA the drive is about 27 miles and 35 to 50 minutes, straight up I-95 to I-595 East and onto SE 17th Street. It is one of our most common runs, carrying an unusual mix of passengers: crew joining vessels with duffels and sea bags, owners meeting their captains, convention delegates, and couples starting a charter week in the islands. Fares are fixed from $89, with the MIA meet and greet, waiting time, tolls and parking inside the price.
Marina drop-offs reward local knowledge. A yacht basin address is rarely the same as the street gate you actually need, and a crew member reporting to a boat at Pier Sixty-Six South versus the Hilton Marina docks is a half-mile apart on foot with heavy bags. Give us the vessel name and marina when you book and the driver will get you to the correct dockmaster office or security gate, not just the neighborhood.
If you are staying rather than sailing, the district makes a practical base: restaurants and provisioning line the causeway, the beach is one bridge east, and Las Olas is ten minutes north. During boat show week, when the corridor moves at idle speed, pre-booked fixed-fare cars with drivers who know the shuttle-lane workarounds are simply the sane way in and out.
What to expect
- Route: I-95 North to I-595 East and SE 17th Street
- Vessel-name and marina-gate drop-offs for crew and owners
- Convention center and causeway hotel runs from $89
- Boat show week routing handled by drivers who work it yearly