Whale Research EcoExcursions

We absolutely loved the experience. It is a more intimate experience than the big boat services, with room for just 6 in the boat. They provided jackets and waterproof blankets, and the chairs were really comfortable. What’s cool about this company is that the owner is a working Marine Biologist right there in the bay, and the info, both before and during the excursion, is really interesting and in-​depth.
Joe, our captain, was fun and kept us entertained, pointing out many other animals and telling us stories about the area. We were able to spot the whales and didn’t feel like we missed out on one second of adventure.
Well worth the money.

My friend planned our whale watching trip and I’m so glad he booked with this company!
Carrie the marine biologist who runs the operation is absolutely amazing. She is so passionate about the whales and her research that she provides such an authentic experience.
Make sure that when you schedule your trip, you ask for Captain Dan! He’s the coolest, funniest guy and we had such a great time searching for whales on the Pacific with him. I had so much fun out on the boat that I actually forgot I was even looking for whales. But we did get to see one breach in the water in the end! It was magnificent and totally worth the $ 40.

This was a GREAT experience! I loved the informational video we watched before heading out to find whales! Carrie was knowledgable, passionate, and dedicated. I learned a bunch about whales, and rafting on the ocean was SO fun! Thank you guys!

We had a terrific time on the small boat and had grey whales swim towards us!
The short lecture Carrie provided before the outing was very informative– I didn’t know whales had hair. We learned and saw whales! What a trip!

Wonderful! What a great experience– first learning the basics about resident Grey Whales from PhD researcher Carrie, then going out on the ocean in a Zodiac (raft!) through the world’s smallest harbor and into the wild Pacific to see whales. We saw whales immediately and spent 2 hours watching one of the resident whales feeding, surfacing and even a few «flukes» which are the iconic whale tail views one imagines when hoping for a view of a whale. The boat captains know how to get close enough to give you a good view, yet obey the laws and avoid harassing whales. Instead, the whales, who are apparently accustomed to seeing these rafts every day, come up and check YOU out. The whales are familiar to the biologist, and she has even named them. How cool! The Zodiac raft holds 6 people and there are no bad views from the raft. Plus, you are right on the water so sea-​sickness is less likely (no one was even remotely uncomfortable on our raft). They provide waterproof blankets and extra hats and gloves to keep you warm if needed. All in all it was a great experience, a «must-​do» Oregon trip. I should mention that I live here on the Oregon Coast and have always enjoyed watching whales from land, but this experience is amazing and will serve to enhance my appreciation for the wonder and mystery of these beautiful, giant mammals! Bravo!

You owe it to yourself to take this trip. Carrie and Kida are amazing. Educational and so much fun. Perfect!

You can’t find a better whale watching trip than with these folks. Carrie leads a great team. First, you have the expertise of a marine biologist that has done significant research. Second, they captains know their whales — by name. The boats are small, but comfortable. The video beforehand — do not skip. You’ll learn some interesting things especially about the resident whales. The tape also features Carrie with Jacques Cousteau. Museum well worth some time. On our trip out we spent a lot of time with Ginger the whale. She is such a show off with her take.

Wonderful, informative and we’ll worth the price. Carrie and Kida (what’s better than a dog who can smell whales) will take you to see the resident whales of Depoe Bay and much more. Carrie is passionate and really wants each person to have a good experience. Highly recommended.

Depoe Bay is a gem for spotting resident gray whales directly off the coast. Whale Research EcoExcursions takes you out with marine biologist Carrie Newell, who has been studying these whales for over 20 years. Carrie captains a small zodiac boat that seats 6, and takes you out for 90 minutes with her adorable dog Kita, who barks and lifts an ear when she senses a whale.
Carrie has an exceptional knowledge of these resident gray whales and of marine life in general. She gave information about birds, sea lions, and the behavior of the whales while we were watching. She answered questions throughout the trip and asked us many times if we were comfortable, if we could see everything, etc. The boat, while smaller than most whale watching boats, was comfortable and closer to the water, allowing for a more unique viewing experience that I really enjoyed. We were 10 feet from whales and practically on the water with them. So cool! We did, however, get slightly wet on the way back into the dock (if you’re expecting not to get wet when going out onto the ocean, then whale watching probably isn’t for you).
$ 40 per person for such a great experience was a total steal. Carrie’s enthusiasm for her work is infectious and made the experience that much more enjoyable. Don’t be fooled by the museum or the introductory video you’ll watch before going out on the water — Carrie is a professional and experienced guide who will do everything in her power to ensure a great experience for you.

We took our kids on this trip when our 8-​year old became interested in orcas while working on a school project. Even though Carrie’s research has focused on gray whales, she tailored our tour to include education about the relationship between gray whales and orcas. She even used toy replicas to show size differences, and to demonstrate how transient orcas prey on gray whales (and how the grays protect themselves). Super fascinating, and we ALL learned a ton. Taking Carrie’s tour and talking with her about her whale research was truly an awesome experience. We can’t wait for her museum to open later this month – we’ll be back for sure!

We had the most amazing zodiac ride to see grey whales, with owner Carrie and Kida (the whale-​searching dog)! Not only did we experience several sightings, but we were given wonderful information about everything from the whales to the sea lions and birds in the area. Carrie was great with my 7 year old and 10 year old companions, giving them an adventure they will never forget. The folks at the museum were also extremely knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. I cannot imagine another whale watching excursion that could compare! This is definitely the trip to take!!! Reserve ahead so you don’t miss out.

What an adventure! My girlfriend and I took a weekend out at Depoe Bay and stayed in Lincoln City at the Whistling Winds Motel. We had booked an excursion with Carrie on Saturday afternoon.
A cold front had just come through so the waves and wind were high, so we had some delays. But Carrie was super flexible and we filled the time viewing her new Whale and Shark Museum and grabbing some coffee in Depoe Bay.
Carrie is a passionate, professional, and intelligent marine biologist that is studying these «summer resident» gray whales. Her knowledge is unending. Who better to go on a whale watching tour with?
After a nice briefing about what to expect on the tour, and what to look for, we headed out on a 7 person inflatable «zodiac» boat. So much fun! The price was worth it just for the ride, let alone spotting whales with a marine biologist/​expert/​scientist!
We could not get too close to the whales due to the huge waves where the whales were feeding, so we only saw a few from about 500‑1000 yards away. Not disappointing but we still wanted more. So we booked her again on Sunday morning. Early mornings in September are supposedly the best time to go.
Sure enough, we headed out on an 8am excursion and saw 6 whales in different locations, including a fluke spotting, spy hopping, and they passed under our boat at one point, popping up on the other side of us. What a thrill!
We hope to come back every year since the «summer resident» family of whales has been growing.
I highly recommmend Carrie’s museum and excursions. They are spectacular!
But be aware that there are no guarantees in spotting whales nor having close encounters every time. Either way, the boat ride and knowledge you will learn from Carrie will make it worth your while.
Bring layers, preferrably not cotton, and somewhat water resistant, including gloves, hats, long underwear, and extra socks. You may not need all of it, depending on the day. Carrie supplies blankets and a few coats and life jackets.
Its a small operation, so be patient, give them some grace, call them with questions, sometimes a few times, and give them the respect they deserve as research scientists that give you more than just a close up look at whales, they provide the world with hard earned knowledge of an endangered species. Be grateful.

I booked a 1.5 hr whale watching trip. Their website is only a homepage with none of the links working. I was looking for more info on the tour, boat, and suggested clothing. The day before they called to (I assume) confirm my reservation, but didn’t leave a message. I was told I should call the day of the trip to confirm they were running because it’s dependant upon weather. That was not a problem, except that I tried to call a few times and no one answered the phone. So we took a chance and drove the 2.5 hrs and made sure to get there a half hour before our reservation (they never suggested arriving early though). They had issues locating our res, but made sure to make note that we arrived. After waiting for our departure time we were told that there wasn’t room for us (we also weren’t the only ones who were not going at our scheduled time). They were not in the least bit apologetic and told every person a different waiting time (30 min — 1 hr). I knew it was going to be AT LEAST an hour at that point. If they’re running behind they should call customers to tell them at the very least. So now I have to kill an hour and decide to take a look around at the «museum». One area has a lot of little things, but none identified (ie different crab shells, etc). Other than that there was not much and a lot of it were like plastic toys and such. So that took about 10 minutes and then I sat in my car for a bit because there was nowhere to go. They don’t even have much in the way of a gift shop. For the inconvenience you would think they’d at least offer a gift shop credit though. But if you can’t offer an apology I guess $$ is out of the question. So after just over an hour waiting they take us outside to wait another 15 – 20 minutes (told it would be 5 min). Then we’re getting ready to get on the rafts (they are not the bigger boats you see everyone else on) and they have 13 people and can only take up to 12. So now someone else has to wait some more. We got ready and the staff is less than pleasant. They gave blankets to the people in the front, but didn’t offer them to us in the back. Good thing I left my purse in my car because there was no place to keep it on the boat and this is when you should have info on your website. I also would have brought a change of clothes had I known it was a low raft and I would get soaked. My friend ended up a little seasick too because of the small craft. The ride was rough and uncomfortable. You have to hang onto not much to stay in the boat and the seats in back had low backrests which left me quite sore (front had tall ones). We did see whales, but so did people on other company’s excursions. It’s not like they know something no one else does. This type of craft is also not conducive to taking photos either. We were in the second boat, so Carrie’s boat always got better position to see the whales. Then we head back and our 1.5 hr excursion was not even 1 hr. Nice to know they’re okay shorting us 40+ min to try to get things back on schedule. I wouldn’t mind 10 min, but cutting it in half is ridiculous. I heard someone complaining and they were told to go the front desk where they could get a coupon for $ 5 off they’re next visit. As if they’d want to come back, but that’s not much in the way of compensation anyway. On our way back from the dock they were taking the next group down and were completely blocking the path. Bad timing. My friend hadn’t eaten in case of seasickness (never been on a boat before), but due to the extended wait time started having low blood sugar issues. All in all I would say to go absolutely anyplace but here. Seriously, how can you not apologize? Awful! Just awful.

TL;DR: The owner and team working there overbooked themselves, were stressed out and busy, and decided to take it out on us and refused us a refund when they refused to take us out at our reserved time.
Our family had made a reservation several weeks in advance to make sure we would be able to plan out when we would be able to go. We called the day before and the morning of our scheduled reservation to confirm that we would be able to go out at our scheduled time since it’s a 3+ hour drive. We arrived on time and were told there was a backlog due to the weather and that we’d just have to an hour before we’d be able to go. They told us to just hang out in the «museum» and they would come find us when they were ready. No big deal. An hour and a half goes by so we walk back up front to see the receptionist prepping two other groups who had just arrived. Then he proceeds to walk them down to the dock so they can get ready to go out. We walk out to follow them and ask one of the boat drivers why other groups were being taken out before us when we’d already waited more than an hour. He rudely responds with «Well, that’s not really my fault, is it?» Then we hear Carrie, the owner, yell at this guy over the radio to come help her. He says he’s got people on the dock waiting and she says «Forget about them, and just come help me.» She proceeds to pull up to the dock with 4 people sitting in the boat and hops out to help take one of the other groups. We stop her and ask when we can expect to go out and are told that she can only accommodate us at the end of the day or on another day. We explain we can’t go much later because of the long drive back and we can’t come back another day, again, because of the long drive. She starts to rant at us about how things have been going wrong all day with the weather and the fuelling situation, how she and her colleagues haven’t eaten and haven’t gone to the restroom because they’ve been so busy. We’re not upset or anything, we just want to know why other people are being taken ahead of us and why we’re being asked to wait another several hours. Instead of explaining, she starts yelling at the other people on the dock that they won’t get to go, and that she’ll have to take us out first. We stop her just to ask for a refund, and she refuses, telling us that we’re going to have to ask Living Social for the refund. We left really upset, not because there was a wait or that we had wasted a lot of time and gas, but because they gave us no communication prior to our arrival when we confirmed our reservation that morning and because we were treated so poorly.

I totally agree with the other reviewer– Whale Research EcoExcursions is the only place to go whale watching in Depoe Bay. In fact, it’s the best tour I’ve had in both Oregon and California. The boat was small, but felt very sturdy on the water and I didn’t get seasick like I have from the big boats that rock and sway. We were able to ask Carrie Newell – who is a real marine biologist and whale researcher – questions and she gave us experienced and knowledgeable answers about behavior.