Deciding on the right place for your vacation can be difficult. It can also cause some friction as some of us, after a hard year, like to relax on our vacations, while others prefer to let off steam or look to new adventures. Whether you want to chill out and soak up the sun or do something more active, this list will describe resorts that cater to both types—with a little twist added.

The following 10 resorts offer more than the typical room service and pay-per-view movies. Read on to discover somewhere you might want to plan your next getaway—unless you’ve already sampled these spicy locations. We won’t judge, but just don’t kiss and tell…

Related: 10 Unusual Hotels Around The World

10 Puerto Morelos, Mexico

Puerto Morelos is a pretty enough place. A good location to wander around and practice your Spanish. A good place to sit on the sand and catch up on all the reading that you have been meaning to do. Or not.

Within walking distance of the town lies the Desire Riviera Maya Pearl Resort. This opulent complex caters to couples who want to spice things up a little. It has all the amenities of a luxury resort, but the emphasis is definitely on the carnal. Working under the motto “spreading sensuality throughout the year,” Desire offers entertainment, aptly named “pumping pool parties,” and a gym with cardio workouts. These cardio workouts might well be a necessary safeguard.

Desire Riviera Maya Pearl is definitely a place to pamper yourself.

9 Vera, Spain

The town of Vera, in Almeria, lies about six miles inland, but the property reaches down to the Mediterranean Sea. Vera Playa offers the usual Spanish seaside attractions—there are plenty of bars and restaurants lining the splendid beach. The northern section of the beach is open to naturists.

The local authorities have long been keen on attracting nudists to Vera. In 2013, a group of devotees organized the world’s largest-ever simultaneous skinny dip that saw 729 naturists plunging into the water. It should be emphasized that this is a resort that caters to naturists. There is no emphasis on the sexual. Good, healthy fun with no clothes on.

8 New Smyrna Beach, Florida

Surfers probably know New Smyrna Beach as they regularly rate the local water as among the top surfing spots in the world. That some people also call New Smyrna “The Shark Bite Capital of the World”doesn’t seem to put them off. There are plenty of things to do in New Smyrna, but if you want to visit another beach, you could try Playalinda. In Spanish, “playa” is beach and “linda” means cute, pretty, or beautiful.

Playalinda Beach is to the north of New Smyrna. This beach has a section for naturists, with one area popular with families and couples and another, to the north, popular with gay men. Playalinda is part of the Canaveral National Seashore and is close to the Kennedy Space Center. If you are planning to visit, please note that there are few amenities on the beach.

So, if your thing is to watch a rocket launch in the nude, this is the place for you.

7 Hollywood, Florida

Overshadowed by its neighbors Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Hollywood has many attractions. Not least of them is the beautiful beach with its long boardwalk.

If you are looking for somewhere to stay in Hollywood, you might want to consider the Rooftop Resort. If Eros were looking for a hotel, this would be the one he would choose. You know exactly what to expect when you see their slogan: “Dance Naked! – Party Naked! – Swim Naked!”

You choose whether or not you wish to wear clothes during your visit. The hotel offers great ocean views—if you have the time to appreciate them.

6 Negril, Jamaica

Negril has a small population but occupies a large area on the far west coast of the island. In general, the people of Negril let the attractions of the beautiful island speak for themselves—the wonderful beaches, watersports, and warmth year-round bring plenty of tourists without having to preach to the converted.

This reticence doesn’t apply to Hedonism II. This resort shouts and shouts very loudly. It is definitely not a place for introverts because Hedonism II is about indulgence. And sexual indulgence is very much part of the package. 

Clothing is optional around the enclosed premises. There is the Kama Sutra Palace, where you can take workshops and classes, and the Romping Shop Playroom—a place for couples, single women, and screened single men.

There’s something of a paradox behind Hedonism II. It was originally built by the government of Jamaica (although it is now in private hands), but public nudity is illegal in Jamaica. One can only assume that the authorities haven’t seen Hedonism’s publicity material.

5 Lochailort, Scotland

The hamlet of Lochailort is set in the stunning scenery of the Scottish Highlands. A great place to chill out and walk the hills. Although you can never be sure of the weather in this area, it is a dramatically beautiful part of the world.

Lochailort has few amenities, but it does boast the West Highland Retreat Naturist Resort. The center organizes nude hiking, fishing, boat trips, and much more. This is a family resort that caters to those brave souls who want to spend their time naked in Scotland.

But the resort didn’t start out as a naturist center. Originally, a children’s charity converted the spacious property to serve as a retreat for disadvantaged families that had children with a variety of needs. Many of the kids had (and have) a short life expectancy. This resort offered rest to families under the stressors of raising their children.

But there were times of the year when the place was empty. The owners, Jan and John, were looking for something to fill the gaps, and then, in 2013, a member of British Naturism contacted them and asked if he could stay. Jan and John still run the center primarily for severely disadvantaged children. The naturist center works around the dates that are free and plows the profits back into the charity. So, if naturism is your thing, you can practice it here and help those in need.

4 Salinas, California

I’m not sure what Salinas’s favorite son, John Steinbeck, would have made of the Stay and Play bed and breakfast in his home city. If he were looking for a safe place where he could explore his fantasies and fetishes, then he had one on his doorstep.

Billing itself as”Your Dungeon Away From Home,” Stay and Play is geared toward those who enjoy bondage and dominance. All activities take place in a separate building, but the owners are always nearby to keep an eye on things and help you out. If you are new to BDSM, the owners are available to offer you all the guidance that you need.

It is a popular spot, so it is advisable to book well in advance.

If you have the energy, there are many great restaurants and attractions nearby. Although it’s probably best to change clothes before you venture out.

3 Mount Poconos, Pennsylvania

The small town of Mount Poconos enjoys a beautiful location. A nature lover’s paradise, it attracts visitors who want outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, and camping. But for romantic couples who are concentrating more on indoor activities, it is also the home of the Paradise Stream Resort.

This is a large complex with 143 suites, 2 restaurants, 2 bars, and a nightclub. The owners bill the resort as a”honeymoon hotspot,” where you are”entering the land of love.”

Heart-shaped tubs, romantically decorated rooms, and a full program of entertainment keep even the most jaded lovers engaged.

Definitely a place for newlyweds or those looking to add an extra spark.

There are two other resorts nearby that belong to the same company.

2 Cottbus, Germany

Cottbus is a small city in Brandenburg, Germany. It has its attractions but is probably not on most people’s bucket list of must-see locations. But there is a place nearby that attracts couples from all over the world.

The Schloss Milkersdorf is a renovated castle surrounded by mysterious, foggy woods. Every Friday and Saturday evening, it opens its doors to visitors who enter an erotic fairyland. Everything is possible here—you and your partner decide on your own limits. Theme nights such as a Roman orgy or erotic castle night set the tone and encourage even the most reticent to join in the fun.

Schloss Milkersdorf limits the number of guests, so it is always best to book ahead. It is not a hotel; it is a club. As you can’t stay overnight, the management has made arrangements with nearby hotels.

To protect the identity of its guests, you are not allowed to enter with mobile devices or cameras—these must be checked in at the cloakroom…along with any inhibitions.

1 Dodgeville, Wisconsin

So far, we have spent our time looking at resorts that cater to those with more daring human appetites. All well and good, but sometimes we want to enjoy our experiences in the privacy of our rooms. This is where the Don Q Inn comes into the picture.

You won’t find naked pool parties or strip anything here, but you can enjoy living out a few fantasies in their many themed rooms. Just know that it’s BROK! Bring your own kink. So remember to pack your toys and leave your inhibitions behind.

The inn—while definitely not as luxurious as dome others on this list—offers a variety of spaces, including two Roman-themed dens of debauchery, a Geisha-themed room, and what they call their “Mid-Evil” room, equipped with shackles on the bed. Maybe you wonder what’s it like to “sleep” in a hot air balloon or experience your own Arabian night. From rooms themed liked a prehistoric cave to a moon landing capsule, you’re sure to find something to share with your partner.

Oh, and they even have a Boeing C-97 on the property. While it’s not available for overnight stays (so no indulging in that mile-high fantasy), it is open for tours.

Archaeology reads like a book. Some chapters are mysterious, and others are littered with bodies from past calamities. But some stories are downright ironic. Discover the famous archaeologist who might have been a tomb raider, a bloody battlefield with one body, and how the first bird farmers didn’t start with the chicken but instead a deadly creature.

Here is a list of ten ancient discoveries… with a twist.

10 Bread Came Before Agriculture

When shoppers load bread into their shopping carts, they know it’s a product of agriculture. Somewhere, a farmer grew wheat on a farm, and after some grinding, baking, and packaging, the bread landed on the shelf. In 2018, archaeologists discovered that the humble loaf wasn’t the product of agriculture. It was the other way around.

While excavating in Jordan, researchers found a flatbread made by hunter-gatherers. This nibble was 14,400 years old. The age was significant because agriculture wouldn’t come into practice for another 4,000 years. Interestingly, the flatbread’s ingredients included the wild ancestors of domesticated cereals like oat, barley, and einkorn. Researchers believe this early form of bread, which was also prepared from a grounded, sieved, and kneaded dough, eventually encouraged people to farm cereals.^[1]

2 Medieval Warhorses Weren’t Brawny

Paintings and movies depict medieval warhorses as large and robust animals. But according to a large study, the reality was different. Instead of rippling with bulging muscles and towering over a giraffe, the average warhorse was significantly… well, reduced.

The study analyzed the biggest data bank of English horse remains. The bones came from 171 archaeological sites and belonged to animals that had lived between AD 300 and 1650. Many of the horses were under 14.2 hands high (4.8 feet or 1.4 meters), which technically made them ponies.^[2]

8 Not All Ancients Loved Gold

The love affair between humans and gold is ancient. The precious metal is so widely revered in modern times and throughout history that it’s hard to imagine any civilization that doesn’t value gold. But according to archaeologists, this happened to a group of people who, ironically, produced some of the finest gold artifacts 4,000 years ago.

These communities were herders who roamed the lands between the Caspian and Black Seas. Despite being nomadic, they were expert goldsmiths during a time when most other societies hadn’t yet mastered the art.

But in 2021, when archaeologists studied 4,500 artifacts from the Caucasus, it showed that the civilization had a change of heart because gold had disappeared from their art and graves. Neighboring cultures continued to fill their own tombs with the precious metal, so it’s unlikely that the region’s gold was depleted. For some reason, the herders decided to reject this valuable commodity—for a whopping 700 years between 1500 and 800 BC.^[3]

7 Farming Triggered Astonishing Violence

It wasn’t uncommon for some hunter-gather communities to express their frustrations violently. One particular group of fisher-gatherers in ancient Chile was no exception. When researchers looked at their skeletons, it became clear that people from this coastal area had punched the occasional face and also stabbed each other (but rarely fatally).

But around 1000 BC, changing weather patterns made seafood scarcer, and some people broke away to try farming. In the past, when hunter-gatherers upgraded to agriculture, most societies became more stable as food pressure reduced.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/neolithic-agricultural-revolution
But in Chile, things went the wrong way. Its first farmers tried to cultivate crops in the driest desert on Earth, the Atacama Desert, and probably due to scarce fertile land and dwindling resources, violence exploded. For centuries, they killed each other with knives, maces, and hunting weapons.^[4]

6 Howard Carter the Tomb Raider

In 1922, Howard Carter found the tomb of Tutankhamun—and instant fame. What made this burial so special was the fact that the site was untouched. For once, researchers had beaten looters to the prize. This was a surprising turn of events, as tombs were often looted soon after the person was buried, sometimes even just days.

Then rumors began that Carter had pocketed some of the treasure. As ironic as it would be to have a famous archaeologist loot the most remarkable royal tomb in Egyptian history, there was no proof. At least none that came to light during Carter’s lifetime. But recently, a letter surfaced that might prove his guilt.

Carter gave an amulet to Sir Alan Gardiner and assured him that the artifact wasn’t from the boy-king’s tomb. But when the amulet was assessed, experts told Gardiner in no uncertain terms that it had been stolen from the famous grave. In 1934, Gardiner wrote to Carter, lamenting the embarrassing position he now found himself in. However, he also assured the celebrity archaeologist that he never told anyone where he got the amulet.^[5]

5 A Tsunami in the Desert

Chile has an unfortunate history of being manhandled by strong earthquakes. This is no accident. The South American country is located inside the notorious Ring of Fire, a region marked by scary seismic activity. Chile also has a long coastline, heightening the danger of strikes by quake-related tsunamis. Thus, in order to assess future risk, a comprehensive study looked at how often such disasters had struck Chile in the past.

The researchers discovered something remarkable. About 3,800 years ago, a monster earthquake struck the area. The 9.5-magnitude event also triggered a tsunami that crashed into the shoreline with waves measuring up to 66 feet (20 meters) tall. Ironically, this deluge hit the driest desert in the world, the Atacama Desert.^[6]

4 Black Death Mortality Wasn’t Widespread

Europe was a grim place to call home during the 1300s. During this time, the world’s most infamous plague, the Black Death, is said to have killed nearly 50 percent of the region’s population. With such a high tally, modern perception is that bodies piled up wherever there were people.

In 2022, the Max Planck Institute completed a study that proved the notion wrong. Yes, the plague decimated certain cities, towns, and villages. But pollen showed that the devastation wasn’t the universal event across Europe that history buffs believed it to be.

The study gathered pollen from medieval-era farming crops and wild plants. Where crop pollen was abundant, agriculture flourished. Where wild pollen was low, people had cleared the land for farming. Since both agriculture and land-clearing depended on healthy people, the pollen could identify the areas that escaped the full horror of the Black Death. These lucky regions included Ireland, Iberia, and large swathes of Central and Eastern Europe.^[7]

3 The First Bird Farm Was Deadly

Chicken farming became a thing about 9,000 years ago. But chickens weren’t the first to lend their drumsticks to domestication. Thousands of years earlier, humans chose another bird. Did they choose something as manageable and harmless as chickens? Nope. They tried to raise the world’s deadliest bird.

Cassowaries are large, dinosaur-like creatures. Armed with an anger problem and deadly claws, these birds can eviscerate and even kill humans. But recently, archaeologists found that our ancestors gave cassowary farming the good old college try. Although this line of farming went nowhere (eventually), fossilized eggshells from 18,000 years ago showed strong evidence that people from New Guinea stole cassowary eggs. Some appeared to have been cooked over a fire, but others showed signs of hatching, indicating that the chicks were possibly raised for meat.^[8]

2 The Waterloo Body Count Mystery

When Napoleon clashed with the Duke of Wellington at Waterloo, the two armies fought for eight horrifying hours. On that day, June 18, 1815, almost 50,000 soldiers met with an unfortunate end. The body count cemented the battle as one of the worst of the century, and written accounts also described how the dead were buried in mass graves on the battlefield.

But when archaeologists arrived, they found the opposite of what they expected. Instead of countless bodies, only one complete skeleton was ever found. How could such a deadly battle leave one guy? Where were all the mass graves, said to hold thousands of soldiers each?

In 2022, research suggested a possible explanation. During the 1800s, bone-meal companies in Europe used animal and human bones to make fertilizer. Thieves had no qualms about digging up bodies to sell to these companies, and mass graves, like the ones at Waterloo, were probably scavenged until they were empty.^[9]

1 Neanderthal Presence Peaks Today

The first Neanderthal bones were discovered in 1856. As more remains were found and scientists did the math, it became clear that modern humans and Neanderthals had lived together in Europe for thousands of years. Then Neanderthals went extinct, and we forgot all about them for 40,000 years.

Artifacts proved that Neanderthals were highly intelligent, inventive, and cared for the vulnerable members of their society. But their genetics provided the most stunning insights. Not only were they 99.7% identical to humans, but the two groups also interbred.

Many people alive today carry between 1% and 4% Neanderthal DNA. Ironically, with a world population of more than eight million, there is currently more Neanderthal DNA in circulation than when the Neanderthals were alive.^[10]