The 2026 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show runs Wednesday, October 28 through Sunday, November 1, across six sites, with the Broward County Convention Center as the hub. Tickets are sold online only. That is the logistics. The harder part is walking out of five days of docks with a short list you can actually act on, rather than a camera roll and a sunburn.
Most people at the show are browsing, and that is fine. This is for the ones who might buy. Here is how I would plan the week if I were the buyer, what the show is good for, what it cannot tell you, and what anything you sign on the dock should say.
I’ll be at the show. If you want to hang out, talk boats and walk the show, call me at 954 504 8367.
When and where is the 2026 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show?
It is the 67th edition of the show. Hours, from the show organizers:
- Wednesday, Oct 28 (preview day): 12pm to 7pm
- Thursday, Oct 29 to Saturday, Oct 31: 10am to 7pm
- Sunday, Nov 1: 10am to 5pm
One ticket covers all six sites: Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South, Pier Sixty-Six Marina, and the Broward County Convention Center. They are spread along Seabreeze Boulevard, Las Olas and SE 17th Street, so plan which sites you need before you go rather than trying to cover all of them in one day.
Which ticket should a serious buyer get?
If you want to look on Wednesday and come back another day, the 2-Day Preview plus General Admission ticket at $105 is the one to buy. It covers any two days from October 28 through November 1.
Wednesday is the day to look. It opens at noon and is a preview day, so it costs more than a regular day and usually draws a smaller crowd than the weekend. That gives you a better chance to spend time aboard and ask questions. For a boat you especially want to see, call ahead and set an appointment. Then use the second day to go back to the three or four boats that stayed on your list, this time with your questions written down.
The full price list:
- Wednesday Preview: $73. Good for one day, Wednesday through Sunday, including preview day
- 2-Day Preview plus General Admission: $105. Any two days, Wednesday through Sunday
- Adult 2-Day General Admission: $80. Any two days, Thursday through Sunday
- Adult 1-Day General Admission: $48. One day, Thursday through Sunday
- Child, ages 6 to 12, one day: $19. Under 6 is free with an adult
- Windward VIP Experience, one day: $459, which includes an hour of early entry through the Superyacht Village gate
There is no box office on site. Buy before you leave the house.
How do you get to the show and park?
The organizers recommend parking at the Broward County Convention Center, which has more than 3,000 spaces at $40 a day and serves as the show’s transportation hub. Complimentary shuttles and golf carts run from there to the show sites.
The water taxi is separate from general admission. It costs $15 for a one day pass or $65 for all five days, and it is included with Windward VIP. Brightline also runs to Fort Lauderdale if you are coming from Miami or Palm Beach and do not want to drive.
One more thing on getting around. Late October is king tide season, and the water management district’s predicted window this year overlaps the show, so check the tide and flood forecast before you head down. I wrote up what king tides can show a buyer. The short version is that high water is a good time to look at how a dock and a boat sit.
Is a boat show a good place to buy a boat?
A boat show is a very good place to compare boats, and a weak place to judge any single boat.
What the show does well:
- Side by side comparison. You can step aboard several boats in your size range on the same day, where the exhibitor allows boarding. Seeing them back to back is how you feel the difference in helm visibility, cockpit layout, head room and storage that a brochure flattens out
- New models and builders in one place. If you are buying new, the builder’s own people and the dealers are all on the docks the same week
- Your own priorities. Seeing boats in person can change what you thought you wanted. A layout that looked good online may feel different once you are standing in it
What the show cannot do:
- Most boats on display will not go out for a sea trial from the show dock. How a boat handles waves coming at it, how loud the engines are at cruising speed, and how it performs underway all get checked on a sea trial, which is arranged separately
- A show boat is presented at its best. It has been cleaned and staged for the week. That is not a criticism of anyone, it is the point of a show. It just means looking at a boat during the show is the first step. A survey, a sea trial and a look at the records still matter
- Urgency is part of the setting. Builders and dealers often run show incentives. Some are worth having. The only way to know is to compare against what the same boat costs outside show week, so do not let a deadline on a show offer set your timeline
What should you do before the show?
Before the show, set your total budget, check that you can insure the kind of boat you want, and cut your list to boats that fit how you will use one. That takes an evening.
Know the total cost of buying, not just the asking price. In Florida that starts with sales tax: 6%, with the total tax on a boat, county surtax included, capped at $18,000. Then registration, insurance and the survey. I laid out every line of a Florida closing in a separate post. When I work with a buyer I outline those closing costs and put together a first year cost of ownership before an offer goes in, because that number changes which boats belong on the list.
Call your insurance agent this week. In Florida, insurance can hold up a closing, and some boats are harder to cover than others. It is better to find that out before you fall for one. More on that in why insurance has become the hardest part of buying a boat in Florida.
Write down how you will use the boat. How many people, how often, day trips or overnights, the Intracoastal or offshore, Bimini or not. Then cut the list of boats to ones that fit that answer. Five to eight boats is a good list for two days.
What should you look at on the dock?
At the dock, look at the layout, the view from the helm, the engine room, the equipment and the paperwork. You are deciding whether a boat is worth a full survey and sea trial, not doing the survey yourself. The survey comes later and usually means an in-water inspection, a haul out to see the hull below the waterline, and a sea trial, with the engines often surveyed separately.
- Ask to see the engine room. On a used boat it shows leaks, corrosion, how easy things are to reach, and signs of past repairs. It is one of the most important places to look, though the records and the survey matter too. Here is what a genuinely clean one looks like versus one detailed last week
- Write down engine hours and generator hours if the boat has been used, and compare them against the boat’s age. How many hours is too many depends on the engine type
- Ask what warranty is left, and who stands behind it. Get the terms in writing, including whether any remaining coverage transfers to you. Confirming warranties is part of what I check on any purchase
- Sit at the helm and look forward. Then sit where your guests will sit. Then open every hatch you will use in a normal day
- Take one photo of the boat’s spec sheet or listing for every boat you like. By Friday they will blur together
If a used boat stays on the list, these are the questions I ask sellers before my client buys. Most of them can be asked at the show.
What should a contract signed at the show say?
Before you sign a purchase agreement at the show, check four things: the survey and sea trial conditions, the financing and insurance conditions, the deposit and how you get it back, and the deadlines. People do sign at shows, and it can be sensible, as long as the agreement protects you while the real checking happens afterward.
- Subject to survey and sea trial, with your own surveyor and enough days to schedule them. Include an engine survey, not just a hull survey. In my experience the engine survey is the one most likely to change the price or end the deal
- Subject to financing and insurance, if you need either
- The deposit. 10% of the price is common on brokerage deals, though the amount and terms vary, and new boat contracts can differ. Ask who holds it, and get in writing the exact conditions under which you get it back
- Acceptance deadlines. Make sure the dates for accepting or rejecting the boat after survey are dates you can actually meet once the show is over and surveyors are busy
After the show, the deal goes through the same steps as any other. The sea trial checklist and what a marine survey covers walk through both. I go over survey findings with my buyers on a call or a Zoom, finding by finding, because that is where the decision gets made: repair, renegotiate, or walk away.
Should you bring a broker to the boat show?
You do not need a broker to walk the show. If you are serious about buying, decide who represents you before you start making offers, not after.
The dealers and brokers on the boats know those boats well and can answer detailed questions about them. A buyer’s broker works across every boat on your list, whoever builds or lists it. On many brokerage sales the seller pays the commission and it is shared between the listing broker and the buyer’s broker, but confirm the arrangement up front. I explained how that works in who pays the yacht broker commission.
One piece of etiquette worth knowing. If another broker has already shown you a boat or started a negotiation for you, stay with them on that boat. I will not step into a deal someone else started. So make the call early, while your list is still a list.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show 2026?
Wednesday, October 28 through Sunday, November 1, 2026. Wednesday is a preview day from 12pm to 7pm. Thursday through Saturday run 10am to 7pm, and Sunday runs 10am to 5pm.
Can you buy tickets at the gate?
No. Tickets for the 2026 show are sold online only, and there is no box office on site.
What is the best day to go to the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show?
For a buyer, Wednesday. It is the preview day, it usually draws a smaller crowd than the weekend, and people on the boats have more time to talk. If you can only go on the weekend, set appointments ahead for the boats you most want to see.
Where should you park for the boat show?
The Broward County Convention Center, which the organizers list at $40 a day with more than 3,000 spaces and complimentary shuttles and golf carts to the show sites.
Can you sea trial a boat at the boat show?
Usually not from the show dock. Boats are berthed tightly for the week, so a sea trial is arranged separately, and any agreement you sign should be subject to one.
What is the best way to plan a visit to FLIBS 2026?
If you plan to look on Wednesday and come back later in the week, buy the $105 two day preview ticket. Know your total cost and your insurance answer before you walk the docks. Treat the dock walk as a filter, not a verdict, and do not sign anything that is not subject to survey and sea trial.
I’ll be there. If you want to hang out, talk boats and walk the docks together, give me a call.
Frank Christopher, 954 504 8367.
Show dates, hours, ticket prices, parking and water taxi fares checked against flibs.com on 24 October 2026. Prices and routes can change, so confirm with the organizer before you go.
