Had the most amazing time today with Dockside Charters!!! Can't thank them enough! Everyone on board I think was blown away that they went literally 7 miles chasing the orca for us to see. read more

I've fished with them several years now and I've never had a better time anywhere else. Their skippers are top notch, they cater to wounded vets (One trip we had 4 guys in wheelchairs and they had a great time), and they supply everything you need for the trip, just show up! read more

EASY 5 Stars from this Yelper! Very friendly, professional and spotless boats. The deckhand was the best of any charter I have gone out with and the process of getting your fish cleaned and sealed is very quick and efficient. When in the area, board the Samson and go nail some serious fish!!! read more

Dockside Charters - Dang rain! - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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Great experience. The crew and the captain were very experienced, and you can tell they care about the guest experience, as they went out of their way to help find whale sightings. I would recommend this tour! read more

We were able to see one or two whales but my main complaint is there were ZERO safety instructions as we began. We were never told what to do if there was a problem or where, if any, the life jackets were. Oh, they were quick to say do not throw up in the bathroom!!! read more

TLDR; bad customer service, got hung up on and had to call back about a refund. they wont refund me even though it's their fault. I booked a trip to go whale watching 5/15 and i was told two days before there was bad weather so they needed to reschedule for 5/16. the morning of 5/16 about 2 hours before they called and cancelled that trip due to bad weather as well. i understand that they cannot do anything about the bad weather to cancel. however, i booked online and paid $400 for a trip of 8 people. they only refunded me $392 and say the $8 they will not refund is an online booking fee. i think it is ridiculous that they would not refund me the full amount when they are the ones who cancelled mere hours before the trip. buyer beware, if i were the one who had cancelled less than 24 hours i would completely understand that $8 being nonrefundable. but if they are the ones who cancel on you you get screwed over. they claim this wouldn't have cancelled if i had booked over the phone but who wants to give their card information on the phone? it's 2026, everyone pays online. i know they are going to comment back and say the online fee is a different company and i should have paid over the phone but i think they are acting in good faith and if they wanted me to come back and try their services another time they should not have been so rude. horrible customer service. read more

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. read more

Dockside Charters - My catch. Two lings and 5 rockfish. - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

Complete scam and waste of time and money. With a 150 people standing on the dock waiting to go fishing. They canceled the trips. Claiming that the captains went out and looked at the bar crossing. No one not even the coast guard left that harbor. They should have canceled the day before. That way we could have saved all the money we spent on overpriced hotels, food,tackle souvenirs etc. All at their family and friends businesses in that small town. Nope they scammed all of us. How much money do you think that was for all that for 150 people. A whole lot. Complete Bullshit. read more

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

Dockside Charters - Heading out to see the whales - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

First, not a foodie, we aren't easing whales we arE watching, et a cet er a! Ok so, I don't get motion sick. But the Pacific don't care (I was fine) so be aware, even these larger boats (we gonna need a bigger boat!) pitch and heave. Personally, it is a free roller coaster with your whale watching. but be aware. These folks warn you, and make you aware, and warn you, head those advertisements. If the sea does not agree with you and you choose to face her anyway, take these larger boats. In a nutshell, it was fun. read more

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!!! read more

Dockside Charters - Some of the crab - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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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! read more

Dockside Charters - Good Times! - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

This was a great experience! We went whale watching on a one hour tour. The price was reasonable. Crew was friendly. Speed of the boat was decent. Accessibility was great! There is a moderate grade ramp to get down to the dock. Getting on to the boat was a large step over but staff was great to help. Note: Another person was on a scooter and they helped the person with her lift the scooter in. It was doable but was an obvious challenge. read more

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. read more

Dockside Charters - Sea Lion on buoy - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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We had the most Epic time whale watching! We'd never been before so didn't know what to expect. The cost was reasonable. The captain was very knowledgeable and entertaining and the crew-person was very friendly. We saw pods of killer whales. The captain and crew said it was rare to see so many. It was such a treat! We will definitely go again. read more

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! read more

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

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. read more

Dockside Charters - Beautiful boat - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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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! read more

Dockside Charters - 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!! - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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!! read more

Dockside Charters - Successful fishing! - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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!! read more

Dockside Charters - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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!! read more

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

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! read more

Dockside Charters - Dog Friendly! - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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! read more

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This is a fishing charter boat with a side of whale watching. The deck hands on the whale watching were clearly grumpy about going out with whale watchers. All smiles coming in from early fishing escapades we get on the first boat after fishing people came in and the attitude from Deckhands was too much. Hour boat ride in rough seas and learned nothing. I'm sure when the whales are there it's easy everyone gets excited. I suggest trying to at least say some whale facts or something. I've been on other whale watching boats this by far was the worse. read more

Had a great experience on a 1hr whale watching trip. They got us on the whales and kept us there read more

Dockside Charters - Whale tail near center. Lots of tail on this trip - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

Amazing, amazing experience. we were lucky enough to see 4-5 gray whales!! Although pretty rare, the experience itself was still great. Great staff, clean boats, not too crowded. 10/10 read more

I love their whale watching boat trips! I took one over a decade ago and was worried I hyped it up too much, but we went again this year on a perfect day, sunny, smooth waters, and dozens of sightings! Probably the same three whales over and over but it was amazing seeing them surface and spout a lot, and the captain and crew gave great tips on where to look and move to on the ship to see them. We took the Tackle Buster, it has a decent amount of seating, especially since most people are standing by the rails for most of the trip. There's a small inside area, and a restroom if needed - I didn't use it and it seemed very small but good to know it was there. Definitely recommended, although your sightings may vary based on weather and time of year. read more

Great experience all around! Friendly and knowledgeable. It had a great time and it was very organized and fun for all! read more

Dockside Charters - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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We had a great experience from the booking and ongoing communication through the whale watching excursion There was a fishing group that came in on our boat prior to us We were first impressed watching how thoroughly the boat was cleaned The boat was perfect. We appreciated being elevated enough for sightings especially with the swells The captain and first hand were professional and terrific guides. We definitely saw whales, and it seemed like some of the other boats in the area were following our captain's lead. Highly recommended! read more

Worth every single penny. Love, love, loved whale watching with Dockside Charters. The captain was so funny and helpful finding whales. We did get to see a few and it was wonderful. Not just that but the view is amazing and they take you along the coast to get some cool pictures. Just be prepared it will get rocky out there! If your double thinking about booking tickets, don't. You'll definitely enjoy this! read more

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While visiting the Oregon coast we wanted to take our grandkids on a whale watch for their first time. We went with Dockside Charters (boat was the Tacklebuster) due to the good ratings on their website. Unfortunately for all of us, the trip was terrible! There were several boats that all go out at the same time from the Dockside's Fleet of ships. They radio to each other on any "sightings" and then all of the boats race to the area for the possibility of seeing a whale, or part of a whale. We saw the "back" of one whale on our entire trip. To say the least the captain didn't make any real attempts to spot whales or move to other areas to possibly see whales. He did however make excuses that due to the colder weather in mid-July the whales were not coming around as often. We've been on some great whale watches out of CA and MA, unfortunately this was definitely not a great one. No discounts for an infant - still full child's rate had to be paid - really? I would not recommend this company at all. Look elsewhere, and also look up the coast for better companies. They are not the only one on the Oregon Coast. read more

How much fun this was! I've lived in Oregon forever but had never gone whale watching. Strolling through Depot Bay, wife says "Let's do this!" The next trip was in 9 minutes, only $30. Super friendly guy at the Dockside Charter desk had us hooked up and on board in no time. SO much fun! Will definitely do this again and again and again. I can't believe I've lived in Oregon for 30+ years and didn't do this before. Do this! read more

Coming from Pennsylvania, We were ecstatic that we could see the whales from the wall with our binoculars and decided to see if there were any tours available. I approached the space they have along 101 and was pleased to see they had spots open for a tour leaving in approximately 45 minutes. We booked a tour for 4 and went to their parking lot. There were plenty of parking spots. Everyone working there was so friendly and took time to speak with our talkative 13 year old. We enjoyed watching a harbor seal working its way around the docks and had plenty of opportunities to snap some pictures. The captain and first mate of the Tacklebuster were so pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable. We saw a couple of whales just offshore. There was plenty of room on the boat so we could easily move from side to side to see the whales. We 100% recommend Dockside Charters and will definitely go directly to them when we come back. Thank you for a wonderful memory! read more

Dockside Charters - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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We just spent the weekend in Depoe Bay, loved the restaurants and especially our hotel, but the purpose of our visit was mainly for hubby and some of his friends to go fishing on a Charter boat. There were very few fish caught and they only set crab pots when they went out that morning rather than the day before. I think everyone was quite disappointed by this Charter boat trip and I know for certain that we won't use them again. There were young men in charge of the charter and they didn't seem to have a clue about what they were doing. read more

From the lady that and the phone to make the reservation to the boat crew, these guys were awesome! I would highly recommend! read more

Dockside Charters - Whale watching - Boating Near Me - Depoe Bay, Oregon

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Fun time out whale watching! The crew was efficient and kind, they took us where the whales were (which they only have so much control over but still), and when my nine year started puking they were sweet and good humored and rinsed out his bucket like a champ. Smooth sailing and a fun ride despite the rain. read more

This place was awesome. The Captain made sure we all had a good time and got to see as many whales as possible. Weather was great and the sun was out. Wanted to give a shout out to the ladies in the office. Sweet ladies. Great place. read more

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So nice, we booked TWICE! My family was out from Arkansas for 2 weeks for their anniversary, and we decided to go out on a 5hr rockfish/Ling cod charter on the SAMSON. Our first trip was so much fun and such a memorable experience that I booked a second trip for the next week and brought 2 more people! The reservations were super easy, I even called and added 2 people later on, added crab at the counter, licenses, and off we went! The check in was pretty fast and painless. They were cordial and humorous while working with everyone. Our group pretty much took over the bow of the boat both times and had an amazing view of the sunrise, fog burning off, seals, sea lions, and a massive amount of little moon jellyfish that disappeared and turned into an invasion of sea nettles literally everywhere. Whales randomly popped up as we went as well. The captain did a fantastic job of keeping us right on top of the fish, and wasn't afraid to move if no one had a bite in about 3 minutes. The Captain handled all of the fish for us so no one would end up getting hurt with the spines, and gaffed the keeper fish for us to bleed them out and not let them ''suffer'' and flop around. First trip, we caught our limit of rock and ling cod for all 3 of us, second trip we caught a few less, but MUCH larger fish, and several were copper or china rock that had to be thrown back, but still a lot of fun to catch! Only a couple of us added crabbing, and we still ended up with limit for those 2. The Captain and Deckhand stacked all of the fish totes up and brought them up for us to the cleaning/cooking stations at the dock. Fully filleted cod and rock for both trips was 30 pound of fish that we had vacuum packed there as well and shipped back to Arkansas for them to have a fabulous fish fry when they got home! We really had an amazing time and intend to make a run or two on the Samson whenever they visit! They truly made it a LOT of fun and had amazingly charming attitudes that kept everyone smiling and pulling fish the entire time! We went home happy and SORE from reeling up so many fish! That's a hell of a fun workout! Thank you Dockside and Samson Capt and crew! We will be back!!! read more

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