Best Photo Spots in Port Elizabeth: 10 Locations Worth the Walk
Words by
Thandi Nkosi
The Best Photo Spots in Port Elizabeth: 10 Locations Worth the Walk
I have spent the better part of a decade walking every corner of this city with a camera slung over my shoulder, and I can tell you that the best photo spots in Port Elizabeth are not always the ones that show up first on a Google search. Some of them are tucked behind ordinary streets, down stairwells that smell like salt and old stone, or along stretches of coast where the wind will knock your tripod sideways if you are not careful. Port Elizabeth, or Gqeberha as many of us now call it, has a layered character. It is a city shaped by British colonial settlement, Xhosa heritage, apartheid-era forced removals, and a stubborn working-class identity that refuses to be polished away for tourism brochures. Every photogenic places Port Elizabeth offers carries some of that weight, and the best images you will take here are the ones that acknowledge it.
What follows is not a generic list. These are places I have returned to dozens of times, in different seasons, at different hours, and I am telling you exactly when to show up, what to look for, and what most visitors walk right past.
1. The Donkin Reserve and Lighthouse, Central Port Elizabeth
The Donkin Reserve sits on a hill in the heart of the city center, and it is probably the single most photographed landmark in Port Elizabeth. The lighthouse, built in 1861, still stands tall above the grassy slope, and the pyramid erected by Sir Rufane Donkin in memory of his wife Elizabeth is right beside it. From the top of the hill, you get a sweeping view of the harbor, the industrial cranes, and the flat-topped rooftops stretching toward the horizon. It is one of those instagram spots Port Elizabeth residents take for granted until they bring a visitor up there and watch their jaw drop.
I was there last Tuesday morning around 7:30, just as the sun was clearing the rooftops to the east. The light hit the lighthouse at a low angle and cast long shadows across the grass, which was still wet with dew. A few joggers passed by, and an old man was sitting on the bench near the pyramid reading a folded newspaper. That is the kind of frame you cannot stage. The harbor cranes in the background give the image an industrial grit that contrasts beautifully with the Victorian-era stonework.
The best time to visit is early morning on a weekday, before the city noise picks up and before the midday sun flattens everything into harsh white. Late afternoon works too, but the western glare off the harbor can be tough to manage without a lens hood. On weekends, the reserve fills up with families and wedding parties, which can be great for candid street photography but frustrating if you want a clean architectural shot.
Local Insider Tip: Walk past the lighthouse to the far eastern edge of the reserve, where a narrow dirt path leads down toward the old railway line. Most tourists stop at the pyramid and turn around. From that lower path, you can frame the lighthouse with the harbor cranes perfectly aligned behind it, and almost no one else is ever there.
One thing most people do not know: the pyramid was originally supposed to be much larger. Donkin commissioned it as a grand monument, but funding ran short, and what stands today is essentially a scaled-down version of his original vision. You can see the rough-hewn base stones that were never finished, and those imperfections make for a more honest photograph than any postcard-perfect angle.
2. The Campanile, Port Elizabeth Harbour
The Campanile is a 170-foot bell tower built in 1923 to commemorate the arrival of the 1820 British Settlers. It stands right at the entrance to the Port Elizabeth harbor on Fleming Street, and it is one of the most striking vertical landmarks along the entire Eastern Cape coast. The tower itself is off-limits to casual climbers most days, but the surrounding area, the old harbor precinct, gives you dozens of angles to work with. Rusted bollards, cobblestone patches, fishing boats, and the constant movement of container trucks create a layered industrial landscape that is incredibly photogenic.
I spent an entire Saturday afternoon here about three weeks ago, shooting from every possible vantage point. The best frames I got were from the small pedestrian bridge that crosses the Baakens River channel just south of the tower. From there, you can catch the Campanile reflected in the tidal water below, especially about an hour before sunset when the light turns amber and the river surface goes glassy calm. The reflections are not perfect, the water is often littered with debris, but that roughness is what makes the image feel real.
The harbor area is active throughout the day, so if you want clean shots without trucks and forklifts in the frame, go early on a Sunday morning when the port operations slow to a minimum. Weekday mornings are chaotic, and the security guards can be territorial about photography near the operational berths. Stay on the public side of the fencing and you will be fine.
Local Insider Tip: There is a small fish and chips shop on the corner of Jetty Street and Fleming Street, about a two-minute walk from the Campanile. The owner, a man named Gerald, has been frying there for over 30 years. Buy a portion, eat it on the low wall facing the harbor, and shoot the Campanile with a foreground of steam rising from the paper wrapping. It adds a human element that pure architecture shots lack.
The Campanile connects directly to the story of British colonial settlement in the Eastern Cape, and the bells inside still ring on special occasions. Most tourists photograph it as a standalone monument, but if you zoom in on the stone carvings at the base, you will find settler family names and dates etched into the facade. Those details tell a richer story than the tower alone.
3. Summerstrand Beachfront and the Boardwalk, Summerstrand
Summerstrand is the most well-known beach in Port Elizabeth, stretching along the Indian Ocean coastline just south of the city center. The beachfront promenade runs for several kilometers, and the Boardwalk shopping and entertainment complex sits at the southern end. For photography, this area gives you two very different moods. The open beach to the north is raw and windswept, with wide sand, crashing waves, and very few people on most weekday mornings. The Boardwalk end is polished, colorful, and full of movement, street performers, and the large central fountain that lights up at night.
I prefer the northern stretch, past the Shark Rock Pier, where the beach narrows and the dunes are covered in dune grass that bends sideways in the wind. Early morning here, around 6:00 to 7:00 in summer, the light is soft and golden, and you might share the beach with a handful of surfers and a woman who walks her three dogs past the same rock every single day. The pier itself is a strong compositional element, a long wooden finger reaching into the ocean, and shooting it from a low angle with the waves breaking around the pilings gives you a dramatic foreground.
The Boardwalk, on the other hand, is best shot in the blue hour, just after sunset, when the fountain is lit and the surrounding restaurants glow with warm interior light. Tripods are tolerated but not exactly welcomed by security, so a fast lens and high ISO are your friends here. Weekday evenings are quieter and easier to shoot than weekends, when the area gets packed with families and the fountain area becomes a swarm of children.
Local Insider Tip: At the far northern end of Summerstrand beach, past the last lifeguard tower, there is a small rocky outcrop that locals call "The Point." It is not marked on any map, and the access path is easy to miss because it is partially hidden by beach grass. From The Point, you can shoot back toward the city skyline with the ocean in the foreground, and the perspective is completely different from anything you will see on Instagram. Go at low tide, because the rocks can be slippery and dangerous when the water is high.
One honest warning: the wind at Summerstrand is relentless, especially from September through March. I have had my tripod nearly blown over more times than I can count. Bring a sandbag or hang your camera bag from the center column for extra weight. Also, the beach gets uncomfortably hot by midday in peak summer, and there is almost no shade along the promenade, so plan your shoot for early morning or late afternoon.
4. The Horse Memorial, Cape Road
The Horse Memorial is a small bronze statue on Cape Road, just north of the city center, dedicated to the hundreds of thousands of horses that died during the Second Boer War. It was sculpted by Joseph Whitehead and unveiled in 1905, and it depicts a soldier kneeling beside a weary horse. It is one of the most emotionally charged Port Elizabeth photography locations, not because of its size, it is quite small, really, but because of what it represents. The Anglo-Boer War is a complicated chapter in South African history, and this memorial quietly acknowledges the suffering of animals caught in human conflict.
I visited on a Thursday afternoon, and the light was coming from the west, casting the bronze in a warm glow against the dark green of the surrounding trees. The memorial sits on a small paved island between traffic lanes, so you have to be careful when positioning yourself. The best angle is from the southeast corner, where you can frame the statue with the old buildings along Cape Road in the background and catch the late afternoon sun illuminating the horse's head.
Early morning is actually my preferred time here, though, because the traffic is lighter and the light is cooler and more even. On weekends, the area is quiet, and you can take your time setting up without cars whipping past. The memorial is easy to miss if you are not looking for it, and most tourists drive past without ever noticing.
Local Insider Tip: If you walk about 100 meters north of the Horse Memorial on Cape Road, you will pass the old St. Mary's Terrace, a row of Victorian-era houses that are some of the oldest residential buildings in the city. The facades are weathered and imperfect, peeling paint and all, and they make a stunning backdrop for portrait photography. The late afternoon light filters through the street trees and creates a dappled pattern on the walls that you cannot replicate with any filter.
The Horse Memorial connects to a broader story about Port Elizabeth's role as a logistical hub during the Boer War. Troops and supplies passed through the city's port, and the horses that died here were part of a massive military machine. Photographing this memorial with that context in mind changes the image from a simple statue shot to something with historical depth.
5. The Market Square and City Hall, Central Port Elizabeth
Market Square is the historical heart of Port Elizabeth, and the City Hall, built in 1928, dominates the eastern side of the square. The architecture is a mix of Cape Dutch and neoclassical styles, with a clock tower that rises above the surrounding buildings. The square itself has been a gathering place since the 1800s, used for everything from livestock markets to political rallies to the anti-apartheid protests that shaped this city's modern identity. For photography, the interplay between the old buildings, the open square, and the constant flow of people creates endless possibilities.
I was here on a Monday morning, and the square was alive with vendors setting up stalls, taxi drivers arguing over parking spots, and office workers cutting through on their way to the post office. The best shot I got was from the steps of the City Hall, looking down across the square with the Donkin Reserve lighthouse visible in the distance. The vertical alignment of the two landmarks, City Hall in the foreground and the lighthouse behind, tells a visual story about the city's layered history.
Mid-morning on a weekday is ideal because the market stalls are fully set up and the square has energy without being overwhelming. Avoid midday, as the open square has zero shade and the light is harsh and unflattering. Late afternoon works for golden hour shots of the City Hall facade, but the western sun can blow out the stonework if you are not metering carefully.
Local Insider Tip: Behind the City Hall, on the south side, there is a small courtyard that most people walk past without noticing. It has a few benches, a patch of lawn, and a row of old corrugated iron walls that have rusted into beautiful orange and brown patterns. I have shot some of my favorite abstract images there, close-ups of the rusted metal with the old brick wall behind it. It takes about five minutes to find, and you will likely have it to yourself.
Market Square is also where the old Slave Tree once stood, a massive fig tree under which slave auctions were held in the early 1800s. The tree is gone now, but a plaque marks the spot. Most tourists do not know this, and it adds a layer of meaning to any photograph taken in the square. Port Elizabeth's history did not begin with the British settlers, and the square holds traces of much older and much darker stories.
6. The Seaview Game and Lion Park, Seaview
The Seaview Game and Lion Park is located about 25 kilometers north of the city center along the N2 highway, in the Seaview area. It is a wildlife reserve that allows visitors to drive through enclosures and observe lions, elephants, buffalo, and various antelope species. For wildlife photography, it is one of the most accessible options near Port Elizabeth, and the landscapes, rolling grasslands dotted with thorn trees, are genuinely beautiful.
I drove through last Saturday with my 200-600mm lens and spent about three hours working the enclosures. The best images I got were of a lioness resting under a thorn tree in the late morning, when the light was strong but not yet overhead. The park is not a national park, the enclosures are real, and the animals are not wild in the true sense, but the photographic opportunities are solid, especially for visitors who do not have the time or budget to drive to Addo Elephant National Park.
Go early in the morning, as soon as the park opens, because the animals are most active before the heat of the day sets in. By midday, most of them are sleeping in the shade, and the light is flat and harsh. Weekdays are far less crowded than weekends, and you will not have to wait behind a line of cars to get into the enclosures.
Local Insider Tip: Ask the gate staff which enclosure the lions were moved to that morning. The park rotates animals between sections, and the staff will tell you if you ask politely. The smaller secondary enclosure often has younger lions that are more active and photogenic than the older ones in the main drive-through section. Most visitors just follow the main route and miss this entirely.
One thing to be aware of: the roads inside the park are unpaved and can be rough, especially after rain. If you are driving a low-clearance vehicle, take it slowly. Also, the park does not have a café or restaurant on site, so bring your own water and snacks. There is a small curio shop at the entrance, but the selection is limited.
7. The Art2Be Gallery and Street Art, Govan Mbeki Avenue
Govan Mbeki Avenue, formerly known as Main Street in the New Brighton township area, has become one of the most visually striking corridors for street art and community-driven murals in Port Elizabeth. The Art2Be gallery, located along this stretch, is a nonprofit art space that showcases local artists and has been instrumental in commissioning the large-scale murals that now line the avenue. For photography, this area is a goldmine of color, texture, and human expression.
I walked the full length of the mural corridor on a Wednesday afternoon, and every few meters there was something new. Portraits of struggle heroes, abstract patterns in bold primary colors, scenes of township life rendered in a style that blends realism with graphic boldness. The light in the afternoon, coming from the west, hits the murals on the south side of the avenue and makes the colors pop against the concrete. Shooting from a low angle, looking up, emphasizes the scale of the larger pieces and creates a sense of monumentality.
Weekday afternoons are best because the light is good and the street has a steady flow of people that adds life to your frames. Mornings work too, but the murals on the south side are in shadow until about 10:00. Weekends can be quieter, which is fine for clean shots but less interesting if you want the human element.
Local Insider Tip: Stop at the small spaza shop on the corner of Govan Mbeki Avenue and Ntshekisa Street. The owner, a woman named Nomonde, sells cold drinks from a fridge painted with a mural that is not on any tourist map. It is one of the smallest and most personal pieces in the entire corridor, and she will tell you the story of the artist who painted it if you ask. Buy a Coke, sit on the bench outside, and shoot the mural with the everyday life of the street moving past it.
This area connects directly to the history of forced removals and resistance in Port Elizabeth. New Brighton was one of the oldest urban townships in South Africa, established in the early 1900s, and it was a center of anti-apartheid activism. The murals are not decoration, they are statements, and photographing them with that understanding changes the weight of the image.
8. The Shark Rock Pier, Summerstrand
Shark Rock Pier is a concrete pier that extends into the Indian Ocean at the southern end of Summerstrand beach, near the Boardwalk complex. It is one of the most popular instagram spots Port Elizabeth has to offer, and for good reason. The pier is long, straight, and symmetrical, and when the ocean is calm, the reflections on the wet concrete create a mirror effect that is almost surreal. At the end of the pier, you are surrounded by water on three sides, and the view back toward the city skyline is one of the most iconic in the Eastern Cape.
I have shot this pier in every condition, fog, rain, blazing sun, and the images are always different. My favorite session was on a Sunday evening in June, during winter, when a thick fog rolled in from the ocean and reduced visibility to about 50 meters. The pier disappeared into the mist about halfway out, and the city lights behind me created a warm glow that contrasted with the cold grey of the fog. It looked like something from a film set, and I was the only photographer there.
The best time for the classic pier shot is during the blue hour, about 20 to 30 minutes after sunset, when the sky is deep blue and the city lights are just beginning to dominate. A tripod is essential for this. During the day, the pier is fine for wide-angle shots, but the midday sun creates harsh shadows and the concrete reflects a lot of light, so expose for the highlights and pull up the shadows in post.
Local Insider Tip: Walk to the very end of the pier and turn around to face the city. Now look down at the concrete surface. There are dozens of small padlocks attached to the railing, left by couples over the years. Most photographers ignore them, but if you get low and use a shallow depth of field, you can focus on a single padlock with the city skyline blurred behind it. It is a small detail, but it adds a layer of human story to an otherwise landscape-dominated composition.
The pier gets slippery when wet, and the waves can crash over the sides during rough seas. I have seen people get soaked to the waist when a unexpected swell came through. Wear shoes with grip, not sandals, and keep your camera in a bag when the ocean is running high. Also, the pier is a popular fishing spot, so early mornings you will share the space with local anglers who have been coming here for decades. Be respectful of their space, and they will often let you shoot around them without issue.
9. The Van Stadens River Bridge and Wildflower Garden, Van Stadens
The Van Stadens River Bridge is located about 30 kilometers west of Port Elizabeth along the N2 highway, and it is one of the most dramatic natural landscapes in the immediate area. The bridge crosses a deep river gorge surrounded by dense Afro-montane forest, and the Van Stadens Wildflower Garden, a nature reserve managed by the local municipality, sits on the eastern bank. For landscape and nature photography, this is one of the most rewarding Port Elizabeth photography locations within a short drive of the city.
I was there two weeks ago, just after the winter rains, and the river was running high and brown, churning through the gorge below the bridge. The wildflower garden was in bloom, with proteas, ericas, and watsonias covering the slopes in bursts of red, pink, and yellow. The best shot I got was from the pedestrian walkway on the bridge itself, looking down into the gorge with the forest canopy filling the frame. The scale is immense, and no photograph fully captures the depth of that drop.
Go in the morning, between 7:00 and 9:00, when the light filters through the gorge at a low angle and the forest is still damp with mist. By midday, the sun is directly overhead and the gorge loses its depth. The wildflower garden is best from August to October, during the spring bloom, but even in winter there is plenty to shoot. Weekdays are quiet, and you may have the garden entirely to yourself.
Local Insider Tip: There is a small trail that leads down from the wildflower garden to the riverbank, about a 15-minute walk through dense bush. The trailhead is not well marked, it is behind the last row of planted beds on the eastern side of the garden, but it leads to a rocky beach where the river widens and slows down. The reflections in the still water, with the forest on both sides, are extraordinary. I have never seen another photographer down there.
The Van Stadens area is also historically significant as a boundary zone between the territories of the Khoisan peoples and the Xhosa-speaking communities who moved into the region over centuries. The river itself was a natural barrier and a resource, and the gorge has been a landmark for far longer than the bridge has existed. Photographing it with that temporal depth in mind elevates the work.
10. The Red Location Museum, New Brighton
The Red Location Museum is located in the New Brighton township, on the corner of Olof Palm Street and Tonjeni Road. Designed by Jo Noero of Noero Wolff Architects and completed in 2006, it is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in South Africa. The museum is dedicated to the history of apartheid resistance in the Eastern Cape, and its design, using raw concrete, corrugated iron, and reclaimed materials from township houses, is a deliberate reference to the living conditions of the people whose stories it tells. For architectural and documentary photography, it is unmatched in Port Elizabeth.
I visited on a Friday morning, and the building was nearly empty, which allowed me to move through the spaces without interruption. The interior is a series of concrete boxes, each containing a different exhibition, and the light enters through narrow slits and overhead openings, creating dramatic shafts of illumination that shift throughout the day. The best images I got were in the main gallery, where a single beam of light fell across a wall of old identity documents, the infamous dompas that Black South Africans were forced to carry under apartheid.
Mid-morning on a weekday is ideal because the light angles are most dramatic between 9:00 and 11:00. The museum is closed on Sundays, and Saturdays can be busy with school groups. Check the opening hours before you go, as they have been inconsistent in recent years due to funding issues. There is a small entrance fee, usually around R20 to R30.
Local Insider Tip: Before you enter the museum, walk around the entire exterior and photograph the building from the back, where the raw concrete walls meet the corrugated iron roofs of the surrounding township houses. The contrast between the museum's brutalist architecture and the informal settlement behind it is one of the most powerful visual statements in the city. Most visitors only photograph the front entrance, which is the least interesting angle.
The Red Location area was one of the first sites of organized resistance to apartheid in Port Elizabeth, and the museum stands as a physical record of that struggle. The name "Red Location" comes from the red oxide paint that was used on the iron roofs of the original houses, giving the area a distinctive color that is still visible in some of the older structures. Photographing the museum without understanding this context would be like photographing a war memorial without knowing the war.
When to Go and What to Know
Port Elizabeth's climate is temperate, with warm summers from November to March and cool, wet winters from May to August. For photography, the best months are April and September, when the light is soft, the wind is manageable, and the landscapes are either lush from winter rain or warm with autumn color. Summer is good for beach and ocean photography but brutal for midday shooting due to the heat and harsh overhead light.
The city is generally safe for photographers during the day, but I would avoid carrying expensive equipment in isolated areas after dark. In the township areas, particularly New Brighton and Zwide, it is respectful to ask before photographing people, and in many cases, a small conversation beforehand will result in far more authentic images than any candid shot. Most people are proud of their communities and happy to be photographed if you approach with genuine interest.
Parking is generally not an issue at most of the locations listed above, except at Summerstrand on weekends and at the Boardwalk area during holiday periods. The harbor area has limited street parking, so arrive early. For the Van Stadens area, you will need your own vehicle, as public transport options are limited and unreliable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best free or low-cost tourist places in Port Elizabeth that are genuinely worth the visit?
The Donkin Reserve and lighthouse area is completely free to visit and offers some of the best views in the city. The Horse Memorial on Cape Road is also free and takes less than 15 minutes to appreciate fully. Market Square and the City Hall exterior are free to walk around, and the street art along Govan Mbeki Avenue costs nothing to view. The Red Location Museum charges a small entrance fee, typically between R20 and R30. Summerstrand beach and Shark Rock Pier are free public spaces open 24 hours.
How many days are needed to see the major tourist attractions in Port Elizabeth without feeling rushed?
Three full days is a comfortable minimum. One day for the city center, Donkin Reserve, Market Square, the Horse Memorial, and the Campanile. A second day for Summerstrand, Shark Rock Pier, and the Boardwalk area. A third day for the Van Stadens gorge and the New Brighton township, including the Red Location Museum and the mural corridor. Adding a fourth day allows for the Seaview Game and Lion Park or a day trip to Addo Elephant National Park, which is about 70 kilometers away.
Is it possible to walk between the main sightseeing spots in Port Elizabeth, or is local transport necessary?
The city center locations, Donkin Reserve, Market Square, the Horse Memorial, and the Campanile, are all within walking distance of each other, roughly a 15- to 20-minute walk at most. However, Summerstrand is about 6 kilometers south of the city center, and the Van Stadens area is 30 kilometers west. For anything beyond the central area, you will need a vehicle or a ride-hailing service. Public minibus taxis operate throughout the city but are not practical for photographers carrying equipment.
Do the most popular attractions in Port Elizabeth require advance ticket booking, especially during peak season?
Most of the outdoor photo spots listed here, the Donkin Reserve, Shark Rock Pier, Summerstrand beach, the Horse Memorial, and the street art corridor, do not require tickets or bookings at all. The Seaview Game and Lion Park sells tickets at the gate, and advance booking is not necessary except possibly during the December holiday period. The Red Location Museum has had irregular hours, so calling ahead is recommended. The Campanile tower climb, when available, may require booking, but the surrounding harbor area is freely accessible.
What is the safest and most reliable way to get around Port Elizabeth as a solo traveler?
A rental car is the most practical option, as it gives you flexibility to reach locations like Van Stadens and Seaview without depending on public transport. Ride-hailing services operate in the city and are generally reliable during daytime hours. Minibus taxis are the most common form of local transport but are not recommended for visitors unfamiliar with the routes or those carrying valuable equipment. Walking is safe in the city center during daylight hours, but avoid isolated areas and the beachfront after dark.
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