It is surrounded on three sides by water – the Indian Ocean to the west, the Harvey Estuary to the east and the Dawesville Channel to the south – and is home to the Port Bouvard development.

The Northport estate to the suburb's west lies close to Avalon and Village beaches and consists of modern townhouses based around a small shopping centre surrounded by a network of canals and modern mansions.

Meanwhile, the Eastport estate is home to the Port Bouvard Marina, which is a popular area for activities such as boating and fishing.

[6] Wannanup is located within the federal seat of Canning, currently held by Liberal Party member Andrew Hastie, and within the state seat of Dawesville, currently held by Lisa Munday The suburb does not have a polling place of its own, but at the nearby polling place at Dawesville, the two-party preferred vote favours the Liberal Party over the Labor Party.

[9] Wannanup is bisected by Old Coast Road in a similar manner to neighbouring suburbs Falcon and Dawesville.