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Dockside Charters

4.3 (136 reviews)
Open 7:00 am - 5:00 pm

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Heading out to see the whales

by far the best whale watching around! depoe bay dockside charters. so fun and professional.

My catch. Two lings and 5 rockfish.
John C.

Outstanding. Seriously, outstanding charter business. The boats are in great shape, the deck hands are knowledgeable, helpful, experienced. The captain, Tyler, on the boat I was on got us on the fish all day. He knew where to go, and when to move. The boat limited on rockfish in about 3 hours. Captain got us into the ling areas. Not everyone got lings, but I got my two. Outstanding day. Everything was just great. Don't forget to tip the deckhands.

Good Times!

MAN, I screwed up! After using Dockside many times, I accidentally booked with the competitor. It was purely by accident, not because I wanted to try the competition. Rather then leave the competition a negative review I just wanted to jump on here and express how important it is to book through Dockside! On every level! Nicer boats. There is actually handrails above to navigate the boat in choppy water. Nicer crew. Professionalism. They actually work to get you on the fish! The deck hand is running his ass off. They are prepared with back up rods rigged. They care about your experience on the charter and want you to leave with a good feeling. You don't have to climb up and down what seems to be a million stairs before and after the charter. I can't remember if yall bring the totes of fish up to the cleaning station but at least customers are not on their own to lugg them up a million stairs. The other company should invest in a lift or a pulley system. It would not be that difficult. Your fish cleaning stations have always been a good time & the price is not obnoxious! We always tip well when we charter with yall cause you earn it! ***Disclaimer****one time I went with you guys I limited out quick and puked the rest of the time. I seriously debated swimming back to shore that is how much I wanted off the boat. Still a better time! I will not make this terrible mistake again lol It would have been hilarious if I was wearing my Dockside hoody that day...... Attaching a pic of our last time out with you guys. So fun! Great crowd!

Some of the crab
Lisa T.

This is one of the best experiences of my life that I will never forget. And I'm going back on September 1 and I will continue to book month after month except for months that are really cold. This was my first time out on a real charter fishing boat. I had gone once before but it didn't count because I wasn't fishing. I had the time of my life and I was a little bit nervous, of course before going, but I took my Bonine/Dramamine and I was fine. People need to always take that before going. You should take it the night before and the day of and have some in your pocket if you need it. I caught three fish. I was very excited. I caught one lingcod and two rockfish. We also broke the record for crab catch that month or that week?? We got 102 crabs so out of the 12 people on the boat we all went home with the limit and I believe or hope that the crew got to keep the leftover. I met wonderful people and the crew is amazing, the guys that cut up the fish are awesome. The ladies in the office are awesome, the lady upstairs that packages, the fish her name is Sharon she's one of the best people you'll ever meet and the people that boiled crab at the very end of your experience do an amazing job. At the end, I was exhausted and kept thinking gosh I can do this again, but as soon as I got home, I realized I wanna go back again and again. I can't even find words to say how wonderful my experience was, but I will just continue to keep going, and when my husband gets home, he will go with me too because he's from Louisiana so that's all about crab!!!

Sea Lion on buoy
Bridget J.

I booked Dockside through TripAdvisor for a whale watching excursion. Our captain was Laird (everyone calls him Larry), he was super informative and just a genuinely nice guy. He kept us dry despite the active wake and we saw a beautiful gray whale several times. On our way back we saw a sea lion and a seal family. It was a very pleasant experience for my first time at Depoe Bay.

Whale fluke

The captain and deckhand were very friendly and we saw 3 different sets of gray whales! The captain got us close enough for some amazing pictures and videos but not too close to respect the animals. It was a great time and I would definitely come back again!

Beautiful boat
Melissa K.

I can't say enough great things about Dockside Charters. I was in search for a memorial charter so I could drop my dad's ashes and chose Dockside because their website was very clear that was a service they offered. I called, booked the date I wanted. A few months later, I called back and asked to add a private whale watching to the memorial and they accommodated me. The boat is a beautiful boat, the captain was great, the memorial was perfect, and we saw whales. It was a great, memorable experience. I highly suggest using Dockside Charters if you want to scatter loved ones ashes.

We would give 2 thumbs up, but our hands were full!! Great crew and awesome weather, we will be back for sure. Thank you Dockside Charters!!
Michelle F.

So impressed with the crew and lucked out with awesome weather. Great first experience for our daughter who has been itching to ocean fish. See you all again soon!

Successful fishing!
Kurt P.

Three of us went out yesterday on an hour-long whale-watching boat excursion. The place is very well run with super customer service: I screwed up and booked out trip for the wrong date, and when we didn't show they called me and corrected the date without any fuss or charges. Nice! The boat really doesn't go very far, and at least on our trip we didn't see any whales that could not be seen just as well from the roadside viewing stop. It was a nice little trip and all, I just thought we'd go a little further. There are several companies in town that do whale watching, but dockside seemed to have one of the larger boats. Good choice if you want to avoid bobbing around on the waves in a little inflatable dinghy. We did not do any fishing, but the group that was on our boat prior to our excursion looked like they had a great time and caught a lot of fish (see photo). Gotta try that next time!!

Elisabeth P.

We went on the 1 hour whale watch and had a great time!! The captain and deck hand were both wonderful and very informative, and we were able to see a few whales and some sea lions. The tour is listed as 1 hour, which in our experience with other companies usually means maybe 30 mins of actual whale watching, but we stayed out by the whales for a whole hour and then headed back to dock. The boat was very nice and incredibly clean. Would definitely recommend!!

Cabezon
Nikki S.

We went out 7-16-23 for my birthday and had a total blast fishing for rock fish and lingcod. We caught our limit in rock fish in the first two hours. Caught a huge Cabazon also! Didn't catch a lingcod but still so much fun! The captain knew exactly where to go and he delivered, recommend these guys!!

Dog Friendly!
Christopher P.

I was nervous about this whale watching tour only because it was a beautifully sunny day, reaching around 60 degrees and there was no shady spot to park our car and we had our dog with us. I asked the people at the desk if they could recommend a shady spot to park and they did but then they also said that we could bring our girl with us on the boat as long as she's people friendly. The crew kept us engaged, we had numerous whale sightings, and we got to see some harbor porpoises and some seal lions on the buoy! They were very accommodating with our dog and she didn't get sea sick! It was really the highlight of my whole trip and I can't wait to do it again someday! Thank you all so much!

The boat
Jennifer S.

I saw whales!!!!! This charter was just magnificent, and the boat was so clean. The captain and the crew were kind and informative and helpful and great at pointing out where to look. There was also a great amount of information about the local area and where the whales could be. It was great to know that whales can be seen when it isn't migration time. Another plus - the bathroom at the charter office was clean! Like really clean. Cleaner than a very nice restaurant that we had been to the night before. Cannot recommend this company more, as it was an outdoor day!

Whale tail near center. Lots of tail on this trip

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11 months ago

Whale Watching tour cancelled due to weather. I can understand the cancellation , but they only refunded $43 of the $45 I spent.

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3 years ago

Oh wow what an experience! We saw a grey female whale & it was amazing! The hour went by so fast! So much fun!

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Friendly, nice, knowledgeable people making your reservations and the crew on The Tacklebuster was top notch.

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Whale Research Eco Excursions - Bouy in the bay with sea lions

Whale Research Eco Excursions

(95 reviews)

I reserved this trip for my best friends birthday and it did not disappoint!! We went out on the…read moreKrazy Koda and Andrew was our Captain. We were expecting rain and really cold weather for our trip given the forecast and we almost rescheduled anticipating rough conditions. We were so glad we didn't reschedule! From the lady that greeted us and checked us in, the wonderful lady volunteer that went out with us and of course, our Captain - they all made the experience so amazing! Captain Andrew had an amazing sense of humor and was so nice. Captain Andrew talked about the seals, sea lions, birds, Depoe Bay history and of course - the whales. We got to experience several sightings and are pretty sure we saw a female and male. The one whale got much closer than we expected and we absolutely loved it all! The entire experience was amazing and we absolutely would recommend it to anyone. If we really had to stretch for any critique at all, it would be to update the short video you watch just before your tour. It explains what to look for and the different types of whales that frequent Depoe Bay. Also, we absolutely recommend the smaller boats like the 6 seater we rode. The larger boats had no seating and it didn't feel as personal due to the amount of passengers they had. And lastly, my bestie said it was the coolest experience yet and best birthday ever!!

Carrie and the entire team at Whale Research Eco Excursions are amazing! I was pleased to see how…read moremuch effort is placed on education, with an informative video presentation prior to the tour. Don't skip the video or the opportunity to view the exhibits in the museum, there is much to learn about these amazing creatures. Depoe Bay is blessed with a plentiful food source, and a protective environment for grey whales. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest most of my life and have taken for granted just how accessible whales really are in this region. During peak migration months it's possible to view the whales right from your car as you're driving down Highway 101! From the moment we booked our $55 tickets for a six-person, 90-minute whale watching tour along the coast, everyone at Eco Excursions made us feel welcome. It's evident these folks really love what they do, because everything just fell into place. Booking tickets was easy, checking in was a breeze, any concerns about locating and boarding the boat were taken care of. Our guide was friendly and informative, and really went out of his way to make sure we had a pleasant experience. There's something so magical about viewing these gentle giants in their natural habitat. Experiencing whale breath, viewing them so closely you can count the barnacles attached to them, and repeatedly seeing them surface and fluke... nothing compares! It's difficult to explain the pure joy I felt out on the water with a team who clearly bring their A-game to work every day! Thank you so much, Whale Research Eco Excursions - your tour ranks very highly in the list of my most treasured life experiences.

Dockside Charters - boating - Updated May 2026

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