Destination Focus
FORT LAUDERDALE
Fort Lauderdale makes an excellent and somewhat exotic
choice for a beach holiday where Brit's can get a taste of the
American Dream. This low-rise, high-end residential stretch of
south Floridian coastline has a white sand beach stretching as
far as the eye can see, great shopping, excellent restaurants,
a nightlife to rival that of Miami and impressive modern hotels.
It also makes the perfect start or finish to a cruise holiday with
many ships sailing from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale
instead of the Port of Miami. Miami was once the cruise capital
of the world - but this has now been overtaken by the much
larger Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.
Top 10 Tips:
1: Spend the day on the beach
2: Shopping At Sawgrass Mills
3: Shopping on Las Olas Bouelvard
4: Jungle Queen paddle-wheeler
evening BBQ excursion
5: Visit the Everglades
6: Join a fishing charter boat excursion
7: Party the night away
8: Tour the Waterways to view the
yachts and huge mansions
9: Al-Fresco Dining on the beach
promenade
10: Take a drive down to Miami Beach.
10
Fort Lauderdale is known as the Venice
of America with lots of inland waterways
lined by multi-million dollar mansions
and flotillas of white super yachts. For
many years the only direct route to
reach Fort Lauderdale was to fly into
Miami Airport and drive the 25 miles
up Interstate 95. Recently however the
low cost European airline - Norwegian
Air has introduced a direct service twice
weekly during the Winter months from
London Gatwick - making this hotspot
of Florida infinitely more affordable and
far more accessible.
SHOPPING & DINING
There are a number of excellent
restaurants, bars and shops to be found
overlooking the beach along the main
palm tree lined beach promenade.
La Galleria Mall has some top name
brands and upmarket stores for air
conditioned comfort. While the main
shopping street is Las Olas Boulevard
- the Rodeo Drive of Fort Lauderdale.
Sawgrass Mills is a huge factory outlet
shopping mall - the biggest in Florida
and indeed on the East Coast USA.
Have breakfast in the Floridian Diner
on Las Olas Boulevard - a favourite of
the locals at the weekend. For dinner
try the Casablanca Restaurant on the
beach promenade overlooking the sea
or Coconuts overlooking the marina for
a magnificent sunset. You can also visit
the evening dining and entertainment
area called Riverwalk overlooking the
canals and waterways.
www.jetlinecruise.com
WHERE TO STAY
North Fort Lauderdale Beach is the
area north of Port Everglades and
is our recommended area for your
Fort Lauderdale hotel stay. Here
numerous four-star hotels cover the
beach promenade (officially known as
the A1A) with the nightlife, marinas
and waterways close by. While a
hotel at the airport or close to the
port is not near the beach and in a
more industrial area. You should only
choose this area for a convenient
overnight stay and if you are not
planning to explore Fort Lauderdale!
Our preferred hotel is the four-star
Sonesta Beach hotel - this new
240 room hotel is located on Fort
Lauderdale Beach on the corner of
Sunrise Boulevard and A1A. It is just
across the road from a park, opposite
the beach and within walking distance
of La Galleria Mall. It is also only a
few minutes walk to Beach Place with
countless dining and entertainment
options. Upon entering any one of the
contemporary designed guestrooms,
guests will be mesmerized by the
stunning views of the sandy white
beaches and colourful shoreline
of the Atlantic Ocean. All rooms
are furnished with either one Kingsized or two Queen-sized Blissful
Beds. The hotel features a 24 Hour
reception, outdoor swimming pool,
two restaurants, pool bar, gym and
coffee shop.
