Fort Lauderdale for Families

Fort Lauderdale is a short getaway from the New York City area, with several direct flight options to this wonderful Florida city, allowing you to dip your toes in the ocean within just a few hours--or board a pirate ship, ride an air boat in the Everglades, or watch mermaids swim underwater while you sip a cocktail. Fort Lauderdale has a little something for everyone, and many fun things for families with kids. Here's how my family recently spent four days visiting Fort Lauderdale.

Day 1 in Fort Lauderdale

Water Taxi

We began our trip by exploring the area via the Water Taxi. This water taxi service has been taking locals and tourists through the Intracoastal Waterway through Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood for more than 20 years. Its fleet consists of 19 different types of boats that shuttle you through a total of 22 different stops (if you take them all). You can hop on and off at any of the stops to explore, then continue your journey when’re you’re ready to see the next port.

We parked our car in the free parking deck across from Flip Flops restaurant, where we grabbed a delicious and moderately priced casual lunch before walking through the restaurant to the dock where we caught our water taxi. The taxi ride includes tour guides who provide great narration, pointing out celebrity homes, mansion, and yachts. Space is limited, but they accommodated collapsible strollers with no problem. Although we never had to wait for a water taxi, occasionally the boats are full and you will have to wait for the next one. Our favorite stop was The Shops & Restaurants at Las Olas, where we browsed through art galleries, did a little shopping, and splurged on sweets at Kilwins candy store. Overall, the boat is a little pricey but we made a whole day of it, so it was worth it. Be sure to bring a sunhat, sunscreen, and a camera.

Fort Lauderdale-By-The-Sea

After spending the day sightseeing and boat hopping, we drove to Fort Lauderdale-By-The-Sea for some shell collecting and saw a gorgeous sunset. The charming town encompasses just 1.5 square miles and is part of the "Gold Coast" in Broward County, between Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach. We spent most of our time in the center of the town, where an open plaza features giant Lego bricks and a super-sized Connect Four game for kids to play with as well as lots of benches to relax on and shops to browse.

The beach itself has powder-soft sand and lots of little shells my daughter loved collecting. There is also a pier extending from the shore out into the ocean, but there is a $2 cost per head to access this, so we opted to enjoy what was free. This is a very colorful, adorable area of Fort Lauderdale.

Related: Discover all the best things to do with kids closer to home.
 

Day 2 in Fort Lauderdale

Flamingo Gardens

The following day, we began our morning by driving out to Davie, FL, to explore Flamingo Gardens. This gorgeous wildlife sanctuary is home to permanently injured and non-releasable Florida wildlife. This sanctuary has alligators, bobcats, panthers, otters, eagles, peacocks, and flamingos. Flamingo Pond was one of our favorite areas in the park, home to vibrant Caribbean flamingo. Their habitat is a lagoon surrounded by lush vegetation.  We also loved watching the playful otters swim and climb around their playful habitat, which included a slide, picnic table, and chairs. The highlight was probably the 25,000-square-foot free-flight aviary house. This atrium allowed us to walk freely among 250 different birds, all contained within a lush, swampy, cypress forest. We spent a long time in here watching the birds and discovering unusual vegetation. There is a garden tour available via shuttle, which we did not do, though it is included in admission. The facility is stroller accessible. Bring sunscreen, bug spray and a hat.

Southport Raw Bar

After Flamingo Gardens we grabbed a bite at Southport Raw Bar. This restaurant boasts it's the oldest raw bar in Fort Lauderdale and sells more oysters than anyone else. We sat dockside and loved the oysters as much as the view. They also had a nice children's menu.

Bluefoot Pirate Adventures

Of all things we did in Fort Lauderdale, this was probably our favorite. Bluefoot Pirate Adventures is a swashbuckling good time for any family with young children. Upon arrival our 5-year-old daughter picked out a pink bandana, eye patch, and plastic sword, and then was allowed to rummage through a trunk to finalize her costume with a smock and belts. Once dressed, the adventure crew painted her face, and then we were ready to board. This adventure takes place in the Intracoastal Waterway, where you discover that your ship's key to its treasure chest has been taken by Barnacle Bill. Mate Cannonball KiKi, along with Captain Sparrow, help lead the kids through an interactive adventure, including squirting Barnacle Bill as he rides by in his smaller boat and celebrating once they captured the key. The treasure chest held goodie bags for all the kids.