Vacation Time is Here. Enjoy It, Beach Sex and All

It's undeniable, vacation season is upon us. #vacation is trending, I'm getting out-of-office replies to half my emails, and summer dresses are on sale everywhere. From a cross-country road trip with your girlfriends to a hike up the Great Wall of China with your boyfriend, travel options are far and wide. So how do women vacation? Here's some interesting recent research that sheds light on our holiday style.

Ladies, who travel every ten months, take more vacations than men, who wait twelve months. But, according to this study, this isn't enough — most respondents said they felt the need for a vacation every six months, and nearly half said "a vacation isn't a vacation unless you pack up and leave town."

Men and women's reasons for travelling are also different. 87 percent of women report scoping out the scenery, compared to only 72 percent of men. Tanning may be another factor for the ladies, with a recent study showing women choosing a beach vacation over a trip to the mountains, while men expressed no preference.

We like our couples' retreats steamy. A recent poll showed that 43 percent of Canadian women have had sex outside their hotel room on vacation. The most popular spots were on the beach, in the ocean, and on a boat. Yes, really. And beach or bed, 53 percent of respondents said sex was better on vacation — despite the risk of getting sand in hard-to-reach places. Sex seems to be a big factor when travelling, with one third of women planning their vacations around their menstrual cycle.

OK, so what about those of us who aren't in an harlequin romance? A trip with the gals is still a popular option, with 39 percent of women planning a girlfriend getaway in the next three years. No word yet on whether these are to meet epic Thelma & Louise proportions.

But whether you have a plane ticket in hand or just a sleeping bag, you probably need to let go a bit. Women, notorious control-freaks, make 92 percent of travel decisions, from booking tickets to planning tours, whether it's for a family vacation or a steamy retreat. But maybe men are too busy getting ready in other ways: Guys are apparently more likely to get a haircut before going on vacation. So do yourself a favor: Kick back, relax, and take a true vacation, beach sex and all.