10 Best Places in Sydney to Watch the Sunrise

Whether your a local to Sydney or a visitor to this amazing city and you don’t mind a bit of an early start getting the chance to watch a Sydney sunrise can be a very memorable experience, especially if you want to grab yourself a quick snap for your Instagram page as well. So with my experience as a Sydney landscape photographer, I thought I would put together my list of some great spots to grab your next sunrise in Sydney.

The sunrise time in Sydney will vary depending on the time of year and daylight saving. But a generally sunrise will be around 6am give or take an hour. The latest it will be is 7.30am towards the end of daylight saving in April.

Now if your after your iconic view of a Sydney sunrise and it’s icons taking in the sunrise in Milsons point has got to be on the top of my list. Along here your not going to be looking into the sun (that’s not a bad thing) and the beautiful warmth of the morning light will blanket the city as well. For those keen to take a nice photo as well because your not looking into the sun your photo will turn out a lot nicer as well.

If you’re going to be in Sydney aside from visiting the city, Bondi is your next go-to place. On sunrise, the sun is going to rise almost directly at the end of the beach when your looking north. That headland is called Ben Buckler. Between the months of November to January the sun will rise to the right of the headland, all the other months it will be initially blocked by it, but this does not mean your sunrise will be any less special.

Over on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, many of the local beaches face perfectly towards the ocean for that looking into the sun photo. But many will let you angle yourself so you get a nice bit of subject matter. This is one of those angles that works perfectly on the rising sun looking into the ocean baths of Dee Why.

Fancy a stay at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Coogee ? Well if you do then this is the view that you can be greeted with on any given morning. But if that isn’t for you then heading down to the beach will be just as rewarding with the sun rising straight out in the ocean all year round. For something different Coogee has a great set of ocean baths at the end of the beach with unique blocks surrounding the baths that would make for an interesting photo.

What Bondi is for the Eastern Beaches of Sydney, Manly Beach is that for its Northern end and with the alignment of the beach you can take in a great sunrise with surfers out in the water. Then if your looking for some of the nice colour and setting look no further than taking a look up and down the beach as the view can be stunning like in this sunrise photo from the same morning.

Blues Point located in North Sydney is a perfect location to catch a sensational Sydney sunrise. You will have an uninterrupted view of the Sydney Habour Bridge with the Sydney Opera House and city as a backdrop to the right. If you’re there early enough you will have the lights of the bridge reflecting in the water. This is one of these locations that I don’t think I really have a photo that does it justice.

If you’re serious about watching your Sydney sunrise then you don’t get any more serious that staying a night in the Premium deluxe rooms of the Shangri La Hotel in the heart of the Sydney CBD. I have also been fortunate to stay in the Four Season Hotel that offers a very similar view. You can’t fault either view and you certainly get what you paid for when it comes to view. If you want to take photos from the window your going to want to be careful of reflections in the window as their double glazed.

Clovelly Beach is one of the more interesting beaches you will see anywhere in Australia. The side of it is lined with concrete and right at the end is this small little sand beach that is no more than say 60 meters wide but it is a great spot to take in the rising sun with a view that is composed and framed perfectly.

How about watching the sunrise as you take a swim in one of the pristine ocean baths on the Sydney coastline. Then Bronte Beach is your ocean baths. The ocean baths recently underwent an upgrade and many a time you see people sitting on the edge of the baths watching the sunrise or doing laps. Personally, I don’t think a sunrise can get any better than that, as long as the water isn’t freezing cold.

Cronulla is one of my favourite beaches to visit in Sydney. It’s so beautiful and out of the way from all the heavy traffic you can get on some of Sydney beaches. The beach is surrounded by great vantage points to take in the rising sun. This photo is shot from the Ocean baths behind me that are great if you fancy a morning swim while watching your first Sydney sunrise.

Fancy something different that will give you an eyeful then Lavender Bay is your place. You are surrounded by moored boats set in the bay with the city of Sydney as your backdrop. On the right kind of sunrise you can be in for a real treat with the clouds lighting up and giving you a bit of cloud porn to look at as well.