I'll put in my 2p worth.

Red Sea is great diving, only spoilt for me by the crowds, so from that point of view this is a fantastic time to go. It's a short flight (from the UK) and there's some very nice accommodation in Sharm (for instance) at very good prices. I really think that if the Sinai becomes a trouble spot, then the whole region will be descending into chaos, and we'll all be thinking of heading for the hills. The big downside in August would be the heat - think waaaay over 100 in the shade, and a lot more in the sun - and we didn't see a single cloud in a week.

Maldives are a top spot for diving, but there's nothing else to do at all - we were there for a week, and by the end we were going stir crazy, since you're really confined to your resort (unless you go on the Exporer, the little cruise boat - recommended by my brother, amongst others). And August is monsoon time; expect quite a lot of cloud, and daily downpours. But I did get to see a shoal of mantas, including a couple that swam underneath us at our 3m safety stop

Maybe worth thinking about Malta and Gozo in August - weather should be good, diving is good and not too busy, but don't know about hotels.

In return, we're off to Koh Samui in September - anyone got anything to say about diving there (must see's, good operators, etc).

Stewart