Not the other Hollywood
The first thing worth clearing up: this Hollywood has nothing to do with the Los Angeles neighbourhood of the same name. Hollywood, Florida is a city in Broward County, on the Atlantic coast north of Miami, in the same county as Fort Lauderdale. It was founded in the 1920s as a planned seaside community, and its identity today is still built around the water — specifically around a long oceanfront promenade called the Broadwalk, rather than any film industry connection. If a search engine or a friend mentioned “Hollywood” and a beach in the same sentence, this is the place, not a studio backlot.
Hollywood sits between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, closer to the latter, and it functions as a day trip or a stopover rather than a base for an entire South Florida holiday. Independent visitors tend to add it onto a Fort Lauderdale day, or drive up from Miami for an afternoon on the sand and a walk along the water, then head back before evening.
The Broadwalk, the actual landmark
The Broadwalk is a paved oceanfront path running along Hollywood Beach, wide enough for walkers, joggers and cyclists to share without constantly dodging each other, with the beach on one side and a low-rise strip of cafés, ice cream stands and small hotels on the other. It reads as a promenade in the older, simpler sense of the word: a place to walk along the ocean, not a boardwalk built up with rides or amusements. That is the honest way to frame Hollywood for a first-time visitor — it is a walk-and-swim beach town, not a theme-park stop, and travellers expecting more organised attractions on top of the beach and the Broadwalk itself will be looking in the wrong place.
Because the Broadwalk is the main draw, a visit here works best as unstructured time: park or arrive by car, walk a stretch of the promenade, stop for food, spend time in the water, and leave. Guided food tours along the Broadwalk exist for travellers who would rather have a local point out where to eat than wander in on their own; a guided tasting walk along the Broadwalk covers several stops in one outing, and a similar small-group food tour through Hollywood runs on a comparable format if the first one does not fit a given day’s schedule.
Where it sits in Broward County
Hollywood belongs to the same county as Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, on the mainland side of South Florida’s coast — there is no causeway or barrier-island crossing involved here, unlike the Miami–Miami Beach split or the mainland-to-island geography around Palm Beach. Fort Lauderdale itself lies roughly 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami, and Hollywood sits south of that, closer to Miami than Fort Lauderdale is. In practical terms, a drive from Miami to Hollywood takes less time than the drive to Fort Lauderdale, and a drive from Fort Lauderdale down to Hollywood is shorter still.
This page deliberately stays on Hollywood and its beachfront. The canals, boat taxis and cruise-port activity around Port Everglades belong to the Fort Lauderdale page, and the island-versus-mainland contrast that defines Palm Beach and West Palm Beach does not apply here — Hollywood is a straightforward mainland beach city, not a resort island. For a wider view of what the whole northern region covers, see the Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach region page.
Getting there from Miami
The car remains the reference way to reach Hollywood, whether starting from Miami or from Fort Lauderdale. There is no dedicated rail stop that puts a visitor directly on the Broadwalk, so this is not a trip built around Metrorail or the Brightline the way a Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach stop can be. Driving up I-95 or US-1 from Miami is a manageable trip, under an hour outside of rush hour, and comparable to or a little shorter than the drive up to Fort Lauderdale — traffic on I-95 during peak commuting hours is the main variable that stretches that time, not distance. Ride-hailing services cover the route as well, at a higher cost than driving, and are a reasonable option for a single day trip without a rental car. For anyone planning to rent a car for the wider region, the notes on renting a car and dealing with Florida’s cashless tolls apply on this route too.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is the airport that shares Hollywood’s name, and it sits between the two cities — a detail worth knowing when booking flights, since FLL is often cheaper than Miami International (MIA) and lands travellers closer to Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale than to Miami itself.
Travellers flying in and heading straight to Hollywood should plan the transfer as part of the trip rather than an afterthought. Landing at Miami International, the routes and services covered in Miami airport and cruise port transfers apply on the way north to Hollywood even though Hollywood itself is not the endpoint discussed there. Landing at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, the guide to Fort Lauderdale airport and Port Everglades transfers is the more directly useful read, since FLL sits closer to Hollywood than MIA does and the transfer is correspondingly shorter.
Nearby: Dania Beach
Just south of Hollywood, still within the same stretch of coast, is Dania Beach — the departure point for a handful of boat-based outings that pair naturally with a Hollywood beach day. A short pirate-themed cruise from Dania Beach is aimed squarely at families with younger children, while a paddleboarding and reef snorkelling outing off Dania Pier suits travellers who would rather get in the water than stay on the sand. Neither requires giving up an entire day — both fit around a morning or afternoon on the Broadwalk.
What a day here costs
Prices below are ranges, before Florida’s sales tax and before tipping, and they move with season and demand — always check the current figure on the booking page before paying.
| Item | Typical range (USD) |
|---|---|
| Parking near the beach (per day) | $10-$25 |
| Casual lunch on the Broadwalk | $12-$25 per person |
| Guided Broadwalk food tour | $50-$90 per person |
| Short family boat cruise from Dania Beach | $25-$45 per person |
| Paddleboarding or snorkelling outing | $50-$80 per person |
As everywhere in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the sticker price is not the final price: Florida’s sales tax applies on top, and restaurant staff, tour guides and boat crews expect a tip in the 18-20% range. Nothing here is included by default — treat every quoted figure as a starting point, not a total.
Practical notes for the day
A few practical points apply to Hollywood the same way they apply everywhere else in South Florida. Every price quoted on this page and on booking pages is before Florida’s sales tax, and the region runs on tipping norms that catch some international visitors off guard — the numbers behind both are laid out in Miami’s tipping, taxes and resort fees. Visitors arriving from a Visa Waiver Program country need an approved ESTA before travel, not a visa; the rules are covered on the ESTA and entry requirements page and apply the same way whether the first stop is Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood itself. Packing for a day on the Broadwalk is no different from packing for a Miami beach day — the sun protection, light clothing and other essentials covered in what to pack for Miami all carry over without changes.
Best time to visit and what to expect
Hollywood shares South Florida’s broader climate pattern: hot and humid for much of the year, with a wetter, stormier stretch running roughly from May through October and a drier, sunnier season from November through April that also happens to be the region’s high season and its highest-priced months. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 (per NOAA), with the highest activity typically between August and October — this is a fact of the calendar, not a forecast for any specific date, and it is worth factoring into travel insurance and refundable bookings if visiting during those months. Outside of storm activity, the Broadwalk is a year-round destination; the difference between seasons is mainly comfort (heat and humidity) and crowd levels rather than whether the beach is open.
Sun protection matters here as much as anywhere else on this coast — sunscreen, a hat and water are not optional extras for a few hours on an unshaded promenade and beach.
A realistic itinerary
For most independent travellers, Hollywood is a half-day to full-day add-on rather than a standalone destination. A workable pattern: drive up from Miami in the morning, park near the Broadwalk, spend a couple of hours on the beach or walking the promenade, have lunch at one of the cafés along the water (or book the guided food tour if a curated route sounds more appealing than picking blind), and either head back to Miami in the afternoon or continue north to spend the rest of the day in Fort Lauderdale. Travellers who want a fuller regional loop can look at the five-day Miami and Fort Lauderdale itinerary, which has room to fold in a Hollywood stop without dedicating an entire day to it.
Anyone weighing Hollywood against a full day in Fort Lauderdale, or wondering whether the two beach towns feel meaningfully different, will find a direct comparison in Miami Beach versus Fort Lauderdale, which also touches on how Hollywood fits into that choice. For a broader sense of what else counts as a beach day in the region, see the best beaches in Miami and South Florida.
Fitting Hollywood into a longer trip
For travellers building a longer South Florida trip rather than a single day trip, Hollywood rarely justifies an overnight stay of its own — it works better folded into an itinerary anchored on Miami or Fort Lauderdale. A four-day Miami itinerary or a weekend in Miami has room for a half-day detour north without reshuffling the rest of the plan, and travellers spreading a full ten days across South Florida can treat Hollywood as one stop among several on a drive that also touches Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach further north.
Questions about visiting Hollywood, Florida
Is Hollywood, Florida the same as Hollywood, California?
No. They share a name and nothing else. Hollywood, Florida is a beach city in Broward County on the Atlantic coast, north of Miami; Hollywood in Los Angeles is a neighbourhood on the other side of the country with no administrative or historical connection to it.
How far is Hollywood, Florida from Miami?
Close enough for a comfortable day trip by car. It sits north of Miami and south of Fort Lauderdale, which itself lies about 30 miles (48 km) north of Miami — so the drive from Miami to Hollywood takes less time than the drive to Fort Lauderdale, typically under an hour outside of rush-hour traffic on I-95.
What is the Broadwalk?
The Broadwalk is Hollywood Beach’s oceanfront promenade, a paved path for walking, jogging and cycling that runs alongside the beach, with cafés, ice cream stands and small hotels lining the inland side. It is the main organised attraction in Hollywood — there is no separate boardwalk of rides or amusements to add on top of it.
Do I need a car to visit Hollywood, Florida?
A car, or a ride-hailing trip, is the practical way to reach Hollywood from Miami or Fort Lauderdale. There is no direct rail line onto the Broadwalk, so this is not a trip built around Metrorail or Brightline the way some Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach visits can be.
Can I combine Hollywood with Fort Lauderdale in one day?
Yes, and that is how most independent travellers approach it. Hollywood sits close enough to Fort Lauderdale to add a few hours on the Broadwalk before or after time spent in Fort Lauderdale itself, without turning the day into a long drive.
What is there to do in Hollywood besides the beach?
The Broadwalk and the beach are the core of a Hollywood visit. Guided food tours along the Broadwalk add structure for travellers who want a curated route, and nearby Dania Beach offers short boat-based outings — a family cruise or a paddleboarding and snorkelling trip — for those who want time on the water rather than the sand.
Is Hollywood, Florida affected by hurricane season?
Yes, along with the rest of South Florida. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, with activity typically peaking between August and October. This does not mean a storm will affect any particular trip, but it is worth keeping flexible bookings and travel insurance in mind for visits planned in those months.
Is Hollywood Beach good for families?
Yes. The wide, calm promenade and gentle beach suit families well, and the short boat outings from nearby Dania Beach — including a family-oriented pirate cruise — are aimed specifically at travellers with younger children. For broader family planning across the region, see Miami with kids.
Does Hollywood, Florida charge the same sales tax as Miami?
Yes. Every price on this page, and every price quoted at restaurants and on tours in Hollywood, is before Florida’s sales tax, the same as in Miami-Dade and the rest of Broward County. See Miami’s tipping, taxes and resort fees for how that tax stacks with the tipping expected at restaurants and on tours.
