The best snorkeling and diving is in the Keys. Are you going to have time to check out the Keys or do you prefer to stay locally in FLL (airport code for Fort Lauderdale)??
If you haven't checked out the topography or geography (one of those -graphies) on Google Maps, the Intracoastal Waterway, which runs from Key West to Maine, separates the "mainland" of Florida with the "barrier island". You are right on the east side of the barrier island in the Ocean Sky Hotel. To get from the mainland to the beaches, there are drawbridges about every mile or so from Port Everglades north for 5-20 miles and that's the only way to cross over and back. The main ones that cross over the Intracoastal near your hotel are Sunrise Blvd, Oakland Park Blvd and Commercial Blvd. If you are driving from the FLL airport yourself and it's before sunset, my suggestion is the scenic route. I would take US 1 north from the FLL airport to 17th Street and then go over the 17th Street bridge (almost tall enough for a cruise ship to go under). Once you cross over the 17th Street drawbridge, the road curves north and becomes Seabreeze Blvd or A1A. Head north on A1A past Las Olas (the main Fort Lauderdale Beach) and the Elbo Room and enjoy the scenery. You'll get to your hotel about 2-4 miles later.
The drawbridge closest to your hotel (south) is Oakland Park Blvd and the one closest (north) to you is Commercial. There's a nice pier and about 15 restaurants/souvenir shops at the end of Commercial Blvd. If it's night time or you're beat from the trip, you can use those to be more expeditious. That area at the end of Commercial Blvd is actually called Lauderdale-By-The-Sea. I'm not sure if it's considered its own city or just a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. At the very end of Commercial Blvd, to the left of the pier is a restaurant called Aruba's. I really enjoy the seafood there, but I'm partial because I took my wife on our first date there and for the post-dinner entertainment (keep reading). It was June about 3 years ago and after dinner, we walked down the beach and found a spot next to a palm tree and just sat on the beach talking. All of a sudden, we saw a huge female sea turtle come out of the surf up the beach to lay her eggs. I told my wife to stay quiet because if you disturb them (loud noises or pictures) in the act of trying to get to a good spot, they will turn around and go back into the ocean, at least that's what I've heard. This time of year, each morning, the beach lifeguards and local conservationists will walk the beach and find the piles of sand at the end of the turtle tracks. They plant stakes and use "caution tape" to rope off the area where she has layed her eggs, so the earth movers and tourists won't disturb the eggs until they are hatched sometime in Oct or Nov. I saw 6 new roped off areas this weekend. It was pretty cool. I've heard so much about this turtle laying behavior as a Scuba Diver and Instructor, but had never seen it before.
When you leave the hotel, you will get on the main "drag,' which is called A1A. It's the main north-south artery that connects all of the east-west streets that go back over to the mainland. If you REALLY like seafood, head north on A1A past Commercial until you see a place called "The Seawatch". It's a small 2-story restaurant, right on the beach nestled between 2-3 MUCH taller condo buildings. Their seafood is better than Aruba's but the prices are $10-$15 more/entree.
How much longer before you come down to visit us?
