I believe the City of Fort Lauderdale puts on or used to put on a fireworks show off the coast which could be watched from the beach.

Other than that, there are a ton of venues down here that launch massive fireworks shows that can be viewed for free for miles.

Unless your group are partiers or the clubber type, I'd avoid South Beach. Just a tourist trap full of night clubs, overpriced boutiques and hotels.

-LPDAL