Seven venues, more than a thousand vessels, and five days — the difference is knowing which berths to visit and when
The Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, formally the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, is a yachting event held each autumn in Fort Lauderdale, a city built around its canals and long known as a centre of the marine industry. The organisers describe it as the largest in-water boat show in the world, with more than 1,300 vessels on display.
Many boat shows are held in halls. This one is held on the water, across seven waterfront sites that include Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Pier Sixty-Six Marina, and the Broward County Convention Center. A separate Superyacht Village sits at Pier Sixty-Six South.
That scale is the challenge. Visiting properly means moving between venues by road or water, and a visitor with no plan will spend the first day finding the boats rather than looking at them.
The show began in 1959 and, by the organisers’ count, the 2025 edition was its sixty-sixth, making 2026 the sixty-seventh. It is produced by Informa Markets and owned by the Marine Industries Association of South Florida.
The 2026 show runs from Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. It opens at noon on the Wednesday and closes earlier on the Sunday, so the full five days are not equal.
Dates for the following year are announced by the organiser.
The 2026 show falls after the Monaco Yacht Show in the yachting calendar, and the two serve different guests. Monaco is where the largest yachts are presented in a single harbour. Fort Lauderdale is where the market for the whole fleet meets, from day boats to the superyacht. Our guide to the Monaco Yacht Show explains the other end of the season.
The show is open to the public on a ticketed basis, with general admission sold by the organiser. A trade credential exists for industry professionals, and a VIP club operates at Hall of Fame Marina. We do not resell tickets, and the general entry ticket is not the point.
What changes the experience is what sits around it. Which vessels can be boarded privately, which brokers and builders will host a guest, and which venue to prioritise on which day are all matters of arrangement rather than admission.
Tell us what you want to see, and we will arrange the viewings, the rooms, and the evenings
Fort Lauderdale has more than 165 miles of inland waterways and is often called the yachting capital of the world, so the hotels and restaurants worth choosing are those with a view of the water. Rooms near the main show venues fill early, so the hotel is worth settling first.
We hold tables through our fine dining and nightlife service, and for owners and buyers working during the visit, our business concierge service coordinates meetings, drivers and a private schedule.
Private viewings requested ahead of the show, a day plan that links the right two or three venues, a hotel within reach of the water, a driver or tender between sites, tables booked for the evenings, and a single contact if a viewing moves. For guests continuing to a charter or a purchase, the introductions are made at the same time.
It runs from Wednesday 28 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 at venues across Fort Lauderdale.
At seven waterfront venues across the city, including Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Las Olas Marina, Pier Sixty-Six Marina, and the Broward County Convention Center.
Tickets are sold by the organiser. We do not resell them — we arrange the private viewings, introductions, and logistics that make the visit worthwhile.
The organiser announces them on the official show website, and we will plan around them as soon as they are published.
Yes. Builders, brokers and owners’ representatives attend, and private viewings are best requested before the show opens.
