The angular outdoor bar is surrounded by low-lying lounge chairs and tables, hot spots to unwind with some friends and enjoy a waterside location that's comparatively mellow to what you generally find on the beach. Click on "read more" below to find out all about this unique mode of transport and our adventurous night...
Water taxi arrives at Gallery One. I got in trouble for taking this shot with flash.Darn.
I had been feeling bad for Misha because she had never before visited my two favorite classic Fort Lauderdale waterfront drinking and dining institutions (Bahia Cabana and 15th Street Fisheries), so I was excited to finally share them with her. As the Water Taxi pulled up to our stop at Gallery One, I shot a photo of its approach, which the captain and first mate didn't much appreciate. Guess I flashed ‘em blind. They were pretty humorless with our gang (but nice to everyone else on board) after that - maybe it was because we were being photo divas. See!
We handed over $7 for the ride because we boarded after 7 p.m.; an all-day adventure goes for $15 and $11 for seniors and kids 11 years-old and under. The captain and first mate told us stories about the fabulous homes all along the stretch of Intracoastal our trip covered and told us tales about the magnificent yachts parked at Bahia Mar Marina (did you know that Bahia Mar typically has hundreds of millions dollars worth of boats parked in its slips on an average day? We also have a nice sample of the world's top-200 biggest yachts here.) We got down to Bahia Cabana around 8 p.m. The scene at the Bahia Cabana Bar was an ideal match for our boating adventure. The wooden decks at this many-leveled bar, the abundance of fruity iced drinks and the ropes hanging down around the main bar make you feel like you're on a pirate ship or at some faraway location in the Caribbean. We like to pop in at all hours of the day, but the trick to experiencing Bahia Cabana is to arrive around sunset. It faces west, overlooking the Bahia Mar Marina and downtown Fort Lauderdale, so there's an especially gorgeous view at that time. They usually have live music there too. Popular dance, disco and Jimmy Buffet-style acoustic sets are the norm.
No need to pull up a chair; they're fixed to the ground!
I informed my BFFs that we had about 90 minutes to eat, drink and be merry so that we would have ample time to catch the W.T. to the next stop. Misha's ongoing obsession with French Dip sandwiches found an outlet here at Bahia Cabana. Sweet Bronco ordered a Myers and soda and the waitress almost didn't take his I.D. because he looks so young and, apparently, he's unbelievably far away from 21-years-old. What?
As you can see, waiting for drinks at Bahia Cabana is a hecka lotta fun!
After howling at the moon a bit, and trying to climb the barbed wire fence at the Bahia Cabana Water Taxi stop, we boarded a different boat than the one we came on.These guys seemed to like us better than the first boat. We only had one little trip up with them, which was that they dropped us off at 15th Street Fisheries at like 10 p.m., when it closes at 9:30 p.m. Uh oh!
15th Street Fisheries
That seems like a little time-related detail of which this taxi service would be well aware. But, no worries. After much begging, the folks at 15th Street Fisheries served us anyway. We had to promise to clean up after ourselves on the way out, which wasn't too big of an inconvenience. The dock at the restaurant has glass squares in the floor that allow you to see the fish swimming underneath the dock and they've also added lights to the water next to the dock, which illuminate it to a bright green color, so that you can see all of the fish and tarpon surface.
Our waiter told us that you can even pet the tarpon; it's safe because they don't have much in the way of teeth. We opted out on petting this famous fish because, as Lauderdale locals, we know how exciting tarpon can be, and the real danger is that you'll get so worked up in this pseudo-Sea World experience that you could just tumble right into the water. Not for us. After a long and wild night, we hailed down the next passing Water Taxi and opted for a scenic boat ride back to Gallery One. The best part: no driving.
The Water Taxi drops off and picks up at all of the must-visit spots in Lauderdale: Riverfront, Las Olas, 15th Street Fisheries, Bahia Mar, Gallery One (with access to the Galleria Mall and A1A/Sunrise area), Shooter's and Taverna Opa, and others. For schedule information, visit Intown 411's Water Taxi page.
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