Your Drinks, Their Floats: A Fort Lauderdale Sandbar Party Boat
A two-hour shared party boat out of Bahia Mar, past the Las Olas mansions, with a sandbar swim on the daytime runs.
This is a shared party boat on the Intracoastal Waterway, and the listing sells it that way: music on the speaker, a crew that keeps the jokes going, and a deck full of people who brought their own drinks. The route on the listing runs past the yachts and waterfront homes of the Las Olas Isles and through Port Everglades for a look at the cruise ships and cargo freighters.
On the daytime runs the captain pulls into a sandbar crowded with other boats, ties up, and the crew puts the inflatables in the water. The listing gives the whole trip two hours, dock to dock at Bahia Mar.
The operator puts the boat at up to 45 passengers, and the listing sells shared seats up to the same number. Expect strangers, a loud speaker and a lot of floating unicorns.
Booking goes through the card below. Every child, infants included, needs a ticket of their own, and an adult has to be on the booking. Infants ride on an adult's lap.
The listing marks the trip as stroller-friendly, suitable for all fitness levels and close to public transit. The operator's tour page and FAQ say nothing about access, so put stroller or mobility needs in the special-requirements box on the booking form.
Fort Lauderdale Sightseeing Cruise with Sandbar Swim StopTwo-hour shared party boat from Dock i at Bahia Mar. Bring your own food and drinks, no glass. Floats, bottled water and a restroom on board.www.viator.comWhich Departure Swims, and Which One Runs After Dark
The listing says the 10:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM departures stop at the sandbar. The 7:00 PM run skips the swim and cruises downtown instead. The operator's own page splits the day a little differently: 10:00 AM is its family-friendly run, 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM are the party and swim runs, and 7:00 PM is a downtown cruise with dancing.
The operator steers families to the 10:00 AM boat. A traveler who went in the evening wrote in November 2025: "Definitely not a kid friendly trip if going in the evening."
The listing sells the 7:00 PM run for sunset views. From late March through September the sun sets after 7:00 PM, and that holds. From mid-November to mid-January the sun is down before 6:00 PM, so the 7:00 PM boat leaves in the dark, and the 4:00 PM departure is the one on the water at sundown.
At the Sandbar: Floats, Shallow Water, and Non-Swimmers
The operator says the boat anchors in three to four feet of water and gives the stop 75 minutes of the trip. The listing describes the crew tossing in the unicorn and flamingo floats once the boat is tied up. One traveler wrote in June 2026 that the music was loud enough to hear from the water.
Two travelers in July 2026 who said they could not swim wrote that the crew made sure they could reach the floats, one of them by pulling the floating mat over to the stairs. A June 2026 review went the other way: the writer's wife asked for a life vest and was told she could stand up in the water, and most of the life rings had no air. Ask for a life jacket at check-in if you will want one. One traveler in July 2026 described the water as choppy.
Pack the Cooler Before You Leave
Food and drinks are yours to bring, and the listing asks that nothing come in glass. A shared cooler with free bottled water is on board, and the operator asks guests to bring their own ice, cups and plates. There is a restroom on the boat. Smoking is not allowed, and pets stay home; the listing allows service animals.
Bring a photo ID. The operator asks every passenger to follow U.S. law. Gratuities are not included, and the operator suggests 20 percent for the captain, in cash or Venmo.
A Light Booking Day Can Cancel the Boat
The booking terms let the operator cancel for bad weather or when too few people have booked, and either way the booking is offered a new date or a full refund. Travelers wrote in 2023, 2024 and 2025 that their trip was cancelled two or three hours before departure, and another wrote in June 2026 that a trip was called off at the last minute for too few people. One traveler whose Tuesday birthday trip was called off for that reason wrote that they would have picked a busier day of the week had they known.
On weather, the operator says it usually goes out rain or shine and cancels when conditions are unsafe. Your own cancellation through the card above is free up to 24 hours before departure, with no refund after that.
🚤 Check-in is at Dock i at Bahia Mar, 801 Seabreeze Blvd, on the north side of the hotel. The operator's directions: take a parking ticket, turn right, then right again, and look for Dock H; the operator's boat ties up at Dock i.
Parking at Bahia Mar is paid and not included, and travelers in June, July and August 2026 all mentioned a 30-dollar parking charge. One of them wrote that the parking attendant expected a QR code from the boat company, and the crew said it does not provide one. The operator itself says the rate changes with the season and with event weeks.
The operator asks guests to arrive 30 minutes early and says the boat leaves on schedule without late groups. Bring sunscreen, a towel and a swimsuit along with the drinks and ice. Then it is two hours on the water between the Las Olas Isles and the sandbar.