Beach and Water Sports in Pompano Beach

Pompano Beach is truly “nature’s aquarium” with some of the best fishing, boating and diving in the nation.  The Gulf Stream comes closer to shore here than anywhere in the U.S., providing some of the clearest and warmest water for every kind of water sport.  Parasailing, kite-boarding, paddle boarding, personal watercraft, and surfing are all popular here. You won’t find this much variety at any other oceanfront community.

It’s a short walk to our wide public beach with lifeguards, playgrounds and picnic tables and BBQ grills.  There are places to rent bicycles, boats, parasails, paddle boards, kite-boarding, personal watercraft and sailboats. Grab the cooler from your Beach Vacation Rentals apartment and pack a picnic lunch, or you can walk to plenty of casual restaurants to suit all price ranges and tastes.  Go for ice cream and pizza, or nicer waterfront dining.  Then check out the beach-area shops.

The dive and snorkel boats go out three times a day and provide all the safety gear and instruction.  Kids who have never snorkeled enjoy the underwater vistas in no time. Those who wish to stay on the boat can watch the sea life by looking through the boat’s glass bottom windows. A three-tier reef system offers variety in depth for every diver’s experience level, and is within a short swim offshore.  Unique to most dive areas, in Pompano Beach you don’t have to take a boat to reach the reefs for diving or snorkeling.  But it’s the dive operators who can take you for a short boat ride to the most beautiful reefs and the best of the 100+ shipwrecks and dive sites offshore.  The snorkel/dive boats typically go out two to three times a day year round.   South Florida Diving Headquarters will pick you up and drop you off for free from our Beach Vacation Rentals properties.

For an easy and inexpensive fishing trip, try renting everything you need at the public fishing pier.  It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  Or just enjoy a walk on the 1,000-foot pier to see what everyone else is catching.  You can also go on a party fishing boat which supplies all the gear and bait for a low per-person price, and the mates help everyone bait their lines, show the kids how to cast, and clean your fish at the end of the trip.  For a more upscale experience, visit our fishing fleet just up the road, and charter your own boat and captain. Then come home to your Beach Vacation Rentals apartment or cottage, and grill your own catch on the BBQ.  There’s nothing better!

If you want to skip the fishing and just go for fresh fish, drive North, one mile up the beach road to Hillsboro Inlet.  On the West side of the road just before the drawbridge, you’ll find our fishing fleet, where captains clean their catch and sell fresh fish off the boats in the late mornings.  Your kids will love watching the pelicans eat the scraps. On the East side of the road is a lovely park where you’ll see our historic Hillsboro Lighthouse (with the brightest beam in the world), picnic tables, a playground, boat docks and another fishing pier.

For even more Things to Do while in Pompano Beach, check out the Local Activities page on this site.