Visit Date: January 2010

First, as the this title indicates, I must say that this was my first dive trip. I have snorkeled many pristine waters in the Caribbean and so I still feel I am qualified to report on this experience.

I have chosen not to learn to dive in the past--too expensive, too many conflicting interests, and a love of snorkeling. But Off the Wall seemed to be the perfect place to learn to dive. The owners, Jim and Kendra, are both warm and fun people. The dive instructor, Bev, is competent, experienced, and patient. Off the Wall is small, on a tiny caye, on a massive atoll far out to sea off the mainland of Belize. A marine field station is on a nearby caye. Jacques Cousteau dove the wall just a short distance from the resort. The boatrides that went to many different sites for diving or snorkeling were short and certainly safe and the boats and motors were reliable. The sites themselves were fabulous--healthy coral, pristine clear water, massive fish with a huge variety of species, turtles, moray eels, nurse sharks, eagle rays, monster lobsters and conch, many Nassau grouper (all of which were frequently sited), and even a spotted drum at 5' (that was when snorkeling.

Kendra went out with us from their dock to show us an octopus and some other finds. The caye is only 3/4 mile in circumfrance, so it was easy to walk to the end of it, swim just a short distance to the then miles of reef.

So, while I am a neophyte diver, I am confident that my assessment describes the place aptly. The food was good, and alcohol is available. If anyone has any more questions, I'd be glad to answer them. In my evaluation, this is a 5 star find. I always like to go new places, but I will absolutely be returning to Off the Wall.

Visit Date: June 2009

More photos My husband and I are fairly new to scuba diving and were still somehwhat ambivalent, since our comfort level with diving isn't very high yet. We booked a 12 dive package with Off the Wall, thinking we wouldn't do all the dives. Well...after about the 5th dive, we couldn't get enough! Everyone there was so supportive and enthusiastic, it made this vacation a joyful adventure! Jim was always there to greet us when we got back from a dive and to find out what we saw. Kendra joined us at the dock at night to shine lights into the water looking for baby squid and lobsters. This led to us spotting a batfish 6 feet off the dock one night and our first night snorkel to check it out. Amazing! A couple of nights later, we did our first night dive and had an adventure with over a 1000 pound loggerhead turtle our divemaster, Ralph discovered.

The food was fantastic, the views were breathtaking, the staff was fun and friendly (we even played volleyball with the staff from Off the Wall and the resort down the beach), the water was heaven. Perfection.