Tradewinds Charters - Best Whale Watching & Fishing Charters - Oregon - Depoe Bay, Oregon

Vanessa R.

I went on a fishing charter for rock fish with 4 other ladies and we had a FANTASTIC time! Captain Chris and Deckhand Nick were so nice and patient with us. We all limited out on rock fish pretty quickly and we all caught lingcod as well! I feel like Captain Chris really tried hard to get us on fish and it was probably one of the funnest times I've had on a charter....and I've been out around 6 times on a different charter outfit. Most of the ladies in our group had either never been fishing or hadn't done it in awhile and they all said they really wanted to do it again! We spent the majority of the time fishing with very little moving around to different spots which I appreciated. Thank you to the whole crew!!!

Salynn81

We had a lot of fun on this trip! We got to see whales surface a few times! The deck hands were very helpful in pointing out where to look for the whales. I would suggest taking something for motion sickness before going out, it is a bumpy ride!

Amethyst K.

Expect to get wet towards the front of the boat. We didn't see any whales but it was still a fun experience. There are a lot of stairs to get down to the dock.

Frances ?. S.

The location we visited was right next to the bridge across the 101 from the whale watching center in Depot Bay. We purchased our tickets on their website and went to the ticket booth for our bording pass, only to secure a spot before making the drive down from Lincoln City. From what I saw, they also take "walk-ins” so long as there's a room on the boat.

There are some stairs to deal with, I'm fat and tired but managed, just took them one step at a time. We ended up on "Mr. Max” and I was so excited to see there were 2 dogs on board! Come to find out they could have cared less about scratches or pets, but I tried LOL!

The 2 man crew got us out of Debot Bay and on the ocean - we were on the "hunt” for some whales! The captain was quite informative the whole way there were even some jokes added in for fun!

My boyfriend got "seasick” meanwhile I was enjoying myself, the waves and swells effect on the boat made me feel like I was on a carnival ride and I couldn't have been happier!

We did see some whales on our one hour tour (my old man said we wouldn't have gone if it was a 3 hour tour because he didn't wanna end up like Gilligan LOL) I think we saw 2 or 3 (maybe 4) and I was even able to get a picture of the tail!

I would go again (for sure) my fiance, not so much. The kelp flies were really bad but they are all over along the coast and no fault of Tradewinds or the crew of Mr. Max.

Bryan G.

Saw no whales, but had a whale of a time! 🐳🐳🐳

The crew was very courteous and persistent in trying to find whales, but no luck. Saw other sea creatures, the harbor seals were the cutest.

Smooth ride all day and couldn't have asked for better conditions. No boots were ruined! Would do it again!

Stacy S.

We had the most horrendous experience on Mr Max whale watching with our three children and by reading other reviews we can see that this has been an issue. NOT KID FRIENDLY— DO NOT BRING SMALL CHILDREN. I picked this charter specifically because there was “kid friendly” reviews, this was far from the case. We were going to book a fishing trip but wanted to try it out first so booked the whale watching to start. I am SO glad we did and were only stuck for an hour.
The boat was so over crowded the five of us were pushed to the front of the boat with two other couples. One being an elderly couple. We were never warned that the captain was going to floor it as fast as he could straight into the waves absolutely drenching us immediately. This was not our first time out and I have never experienced anything like this. You can expect to get a little wet but we were literally drowning. Every single wave engulfing us and getting a breathe in just to be hit by the next one. We expected him to stop flooring it once we got past the initial wakes, but he didn’t. The elderly couple almost flew out multiple times, by husband had to grab them and pull them back. My husband and I were laying on top of our kids trying to shield them from the freezing water and from flying off. All our kids were crying and begging to go back including our 11 year old who NEVER cries. Not to mention it was very much intentional, the captain made more jokes about us “animals in front” than any “facts” about whales. Which we barely saw one from a mile away, then turned immediately back. Before we turned around, we tried to get to the back but the sides were packed with people we couldn’t get by so we were stuck up there again. We left absolutely miserable, shocked, and traumatized. We had to cancel everything else for the rest of the day because we had to drive to a laundry mat to dry our clothes (which all got completely ruined by the salt water, including my $180 Hunter rain boots) ended up having to buy all new clothes and shoes for our family of five. We will NEVER be back and the other two couples agreed.

Teresa D.

It's Wonderful! Had a great experience, saw Whales several times -Yay! Loved the sea breeze in my face. They gave us a great experience! Recommend this to all and can't wait to do it again!

Michelle M.

Husband and I had a very enjoyable trip fishing. Captain and crew were great. Put us on fish several times and everyone in the boat caught something. We even had a chance to see a couple whales while out.