Where to stay in Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale and its neighbours share one county tax, so the choice is about the car and the beach: where to park overnight, which drawbridge stands between the room and the sand, and how busy the beach is.
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How the areas differ
Fort Lauderdale, known as the Venice of America, has 165 miles of inland waterways. Fort Lauderdale Beach runs along A1A on the barrier island, where Las Olas Boulevard ends at the sand. Inland, the shopping stretch of Las Olas, with low and mid-rise bars, shops, galleries and restaurants, leads to the downtown towers and the Riverwalk on the New River.
North of the city, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a small town on a narrow barrier island, reached over one drawbridge at Commercial Boulevard, with Anglin's Fishing Pier and a coral reef about 100 yards offshore. Pompano Beach, beyond it, has its own pier and the Hillsboro Lighthouse at the inlet. To the south, Hollywood has about 5 to 6 miles of beach with the Broadwalk promenade along the sand.
By road from the airport, Las Olas and Downtown are about 8 km (5 miles), the beach at the end of Las Olas Boulevard and Hollywood Beach about 10 km (6 miles), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea about 23 km (15 miles) and the Pompano Beach pier about 29 km (18 miles).
Staying with a rental car
Fort Lauderdale charges USD 4 an hour at the beach, where most streets are enforced around the clock and limited to 4 hours, paid with PayByPhone. The beach lots close at night: the Fort Lauderdale Beach Park lot from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. with towing, and the North Beach lots from 11 p.m. or 4 a.m. to 5 a.m. The Las Olas Garage at the beach charges USD 4 an hour for up to 10 hours, and the downtown garages USD 3 or USD 4 with their own time limits. For a car kept for several days, a room with its own parking space avoids these limits.
The roads from the mainland to the beach cross the Intracoastal on drawbridges with federal timetables: East Las Olas opens on the quarter-hour and three-quarter hour, Sunrise Boulevard and Commercial Boulevard on the hour and half-hour, and SE 17th Street once an hour at the top of the hour in the weekday peaks.
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea enforces its meters around the clock, at USD 4 an hour east of A1A, and cites cars backed into angled spaces. Hollywood's beach garages charge non-residents USD 2 to USD 4 an hour by day of the week. Pompano Beach bans beach parking from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Rental companies bill tolls through their own programmes, with their own fees. GetCar's guide Driving in Fort Lauderdale covers the Rental Car Center, the Turnpike and the express lanes, the drawbridge timetable and Port Everglades in full.
Room taxes and rental rules for a guest
Florida's 6% sales tax applies to stays of six months or less and is added to the rent. Broward County adds a 1% surtax and a 6% tourist development tax, so a room pays 13% anywhere in the county, from Hollywood to Pompano Beach.
Florida licenses a vacation rental, a home or condo rented more than three times a year for less than 30 consecutive days. The 2026 statutes require the licence, and no rule putting its number on listings was found.
Fort Lauderdale adds its own registration. A registered vacation rental shows its certificate of compliance number in all advertising and posts the certificate inside the main door, with the responsible party's name and phone number and the maximum occupancy: two people per bedroom overnight, not counting up to four children under 13. Guest cars stay in the driveway on the property. Inside, the host posts the noise limits, the parking spaces, the trash days and the nearest hospital, and the responsible party answers the phone around the clock and can be there within an hour. The City Commission approved further amendments on 15 September 2026, on penalties and suspensions.
Hollywood licenses vacation rentals and requires a noise level detection device in each one, which alerts the owner and the guests.
When to book what
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, with its peak around 10 September. Florida publishes evacuation zones by address, so the address of a stay can be checked before booking in those months. Once the Governor declares a state of emergency, Florida law bars unconscionable prices, in the declared area, for a dwelling needed as a direct result of the emergency, for up to 60 days unless extended.
Apply for the ESTA before buying flights, then compare and book the stay with the 13% in the total and the parking arrangement in writing.
Which area for which trip
A beach-first stay: Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Restaurants and the Riverwalk, with the beach a short drive away: Las Olas and Downtown.
A small beach town and shore diving: Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
A beach close to the airport: Hollywood Beach.
A longer stay by a pier, further north: Pompano Beach.
Questions
Is it better to stay on the beach or on Las Olas?
On the beach for the sand, with USD 4 meters and overnight closures in the lots. Las Olas and Downtown suit restaurants and the Riverwalk, about 3 km from the beach at the end of Las Olas Boulevard.
How often do the Fort Lauderdale drawbridges open?
East Las Olas on the quarter-hour and three-quarter hour, Sunrise Boulevard and Commercial Boulevard on the hour and half-hour, and SE 17th Street once an hour in the weekday peaks.
Can guests park on the street at a Fort Lauderdale vacation rental?
The city code says all vehicles of a vacation rental must be parked in a driveway on the property, and registration asks for a plan of the off-street spaces marked no on-street parking.
Is the room tax the same in Hollywood and Pompano Beach?
Yes. All of Broward County pays 13%: 6% sales tax, a 1% surtax and a 6% tourist development tax.