Most posters here are from the US, but from England, you have a direct "flying bus" to points South including the Red Sea and Maldives. Much as we look at the Caribbean, you have the much more exotic Red Sea, as we look at the Glapagos, this would be your Maldiives~ at least in terms of approximate travel time and level of grief.
The Red Sea hosts a lot of newer divers. That said, the liveaboard boats and day-dive operations are on a fairly comparable footing for pure diving (liveaboard) versus a comfy hotel and nightlife in Sharm (day dive op) and loading up every morning for a splash.
Maldives is a bit different. If you stay at a resort, the diving will obviously be highly localized. Not a bad thing, but many newer diver will likely become bored with the doing generally the same dive sites repeatedly. They are used to divers of lower abilities, and we all have to start somewhere. On a liveaboard, you are dragged about to theoretically selected dive sites based on wind and wave. Many liveaboards are also toned down and low key, featuring watersports that include knee boarding, deep sea fishing, and oh yes- SCUBA diving, too.
Any diving that you do beyond your experience and training is advanced diving . Not to worry, as there is always a first time for a small boat dive, current diving and a drift recovery. No one can say for sure what you are likely to encounter in advance, but on a liveaboard, you can bet that there will be small boat recoveries. This would involve the deployment of a safety sausage marker (preferably from 20' during your safety stop). This is after you depart from the "led" dive where the DM is towing a similar marker from depth- just so the chase boat can pick you up. That kind of thing will be the standard on any Maldives liveaboard.
Most Maldives liveaboards are really geared towards the European (vs English or American) dive style and tempo. Two a day is what they are quite used to providing, unless they are considered an American or British boat. Due to the back and forth transfers every dive outing between the host boat and the "diving dhonis" (the little wooden boats that hold all of the gear and the compressors), it is a lot of fussing about.
The Red Sea is designed to get you 2 or 3 dives in a day and then back to Sharm. A liveabaord out of Sharm can easily get you 4 if not 5 in a day, but the crew will likely look at you funny as you suit up while the rest of the guests are drinking beer on the Lido Deck. Quite often, dives begin and end at the mother boat. I would consider either Egyptian option in the Red Sea to be much less challenging than the Maldives which are, by comparison, quite primitive. Just something to consider.
The Maldives is a "must do" kind of experience- you know you're in for something different from the get go. Landing on an island that is only one thing- an airport, then getting popped into waterborne taxi cabs that ferry you across the channel to Male, the major city. Then- to transfer to your resort or catch up to your liveabaord, you get into Canadian Otter Float Planes or Cigarette Boats. Quite a start to a unique trip!
feature which may be of some help.
Thanks again!
