1. Take a sunset kayak or paddleboard tour
Park and Ocean, 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd (In Hugh Taylor Birch State Park), parkandocean.com/sunset-tours
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is Fort Lauderdale’s jungle oasis on the beach, and there are few better ways to see it than by paddling its coastal dune lake at sunset. Even better, the Friday-evening tours run through, and leave from just behind, Park and Ocean. The park’s outdoor café-bar is a fun mix of city and nature, and a great place to relax with a meal or a beverage after a paddle. For a real treat, check out the monthly full moon paddle.
2. Feed the Tarpon
15th Street Fisheries, 1900 SE 15th St. (inside Lauderdale Marina), 15streetfisheries.com
There are a lot of places in Fort Lauderdale where you can eat amazing seafood. Then there’s 15th Street Fisheries, where you can also feed amazing seafood.
Tarpon swarm around the Intracoastal institution’s dock because, well, they get fed there. If you want to do some feeding, the marina shop next to the restaurant sells shrimp for that purpose. (You can also sacrifice some of your appetizer, but that’s a bit pricier.) The dock’s cool underwater lighting gives the large, plentiful tarpon an even more dramatic look. These are definitely Lauderdale’s celebrity fish.
3. Hail a taxi
Water Taxi, Various stops around central Fort Lauderdale, watertaxi.com
This Fort Lauderdale staple is a great way to get a water-based tour of the city – but it is also quite possible to use it as transportation. A day ticket will give you the scenic route to many of the city’s most fun spots. Beachfront stroll? Fancy Las Olas dinner? Himmarshee bar crawl? The taxi will take you.
