Best Photo Spots in Sharm El Sheikh
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Most of Sharm’s best photography is underwater, but there’s a reasonable land-based list too, from sunset over Naama Bay to sunrise from a mountain summit. Here’s where to point the camera.
Underwater: the Yolanda wreck and the Thistlegorm
The Yolanda wreck near Ras Mohammed, a Cypriot freighter that sank in 1980, scattered a cargo of bathroom fixtures, toilets, sinks and bathtubs, across the reef slope, and it’s one of the Red Sea’s most photographed dive sites for exactly that reason. The SS Thistlegorm, sunk in 1941 and holding Bedford trucks and motorcycles still visible in its holds, is the other underwater must-shoot, though it needs a proper dive certification and an underwater housing to do justice.
Naama Bay at sunset
The bay’s promenade faces west across the water, and the combination of moored boats, palm-lined walkways and a colored sky makes for an easy, reliable sunset shot without needing to travel anywhere. Arrive 30-45 minutes before sunset to get set up before the light gets good.
Ras Um Sid and its lighthouse
At Sharm’s southern tip, the lighthouse above Ras Um Sid’s reef gives a clean, elevated vantage over turquoise water, one of the better clifftop shots in the area, and it pairs naturally with an afternoon at the reef below if you’re bringing dive or snorkel gear anyway.
The Old Market’s harbor color
Sharm el-Maya’s fishing harbor, with its mix of traditional boats and the souk backdrop behind it, gives a more textured, local shot than anything in the resort zone, worth an early morning visit when the boats are still out and the light is softer.
Mount Sinai at sunrise
For anyone doing the overnight climb, up via the camel path or the 3,750 Steps of Repentance, the summit sunrise is the reward: a genuinely dramatic view over the Sinai’s mountain ranges as the sun comes up, though the climb needs a licensed guide and the full Egyptian visa since it’s well inland from the resort strip. Bring a warm layer for the wait, it’s cold at altitude even in a hot country.
Desert safari golden hour
Quad-bike and jeep safaris timed for late afternoon put you in the dunes right as the light turns gold, and a Bedouin camp dinner afterward gives a genuinely dark sky for anyone bringing a tripod for night photography.
For excursion logistics behind several of these spots, see our day trips from Sharm el-Sheikh guide, and our main Sharm el-Sheikh guide covers the diving and reef access in more depth.
One concrete tip: bring a dry bag or waterproof case even for a surface-only camera on any boat trip. Spray off Sharm’s marinas is more constant than it looks from the dock, and salt water ruins electronics fast.