Sex massage: what the search really means

The term is a plain English shortcut. People using it are usually looking for a sensual massage with a woman, done nude or close to it, with oil, slow pressure and close contact across the whole body. Some mix the phrase with other labels they have seen: nuru massage with gel on a mat, tantric massage with breathwork and a slower pace, happy ending massage as a hand finish, or a general full body massage that covers every part of the body.

None of these are the same thing, and the masseuse decides which style she practises and sets her own limits. Our directory does not promise sexual acts and no salon page on this site is a menu.

In general, an erotic massage salon is a private place with one or more rooms and a shower, where a masseuse works on a flat table or a mat, sometimes with a receptionist answering the phone. The session is sensual and intimate by nature. Each masseuse sets her own limits, and they can differ from one person to the next.

If this is new to you, start with our first time guide. For practical steps on contacting a salon, read how to book an erotic massage.

The masseuse leads. She chooses the oil, the pace and the kind of touch she practises. A good guest listens, keeps hands relaxed, and does not ask for things she has not offered. Keep messages before the visit to the time, date and length of the session; explicit messages are out of place.

Nothing on this page says that a named place performs any specific act. If you want to know what a particular salon does, ask the salon, in neutral words, and accept the answer. For a broader view of the category, see our adult massage page.

Because AdultPlaces lists salons rather than menus, the same places that come up under this phrase also appear under other sensual styles. The useful move is to pick a city, note the district you want to be in, and read the words each salon uses on its own website. Each city page brings every salon of that city together in one place.

When you write, use the salon's own words rather than the search phrase that brought you there. A message asking for a sex massage tells the salon little and can read as an explicit request; one that names a session the salon itself describes, with the day, the time and the length you want, is far easier to answer.

The city with the most salons for this search is Bangkok, followed by Prague, then London and Las Vegas. Europe is also covered through Budapest, Warsaw, Lisbon, Madrid and Athens.

North American readers will find pages for New York, Chicago and Denver, with the wider United States page as a starting point. In Asia, Vietnam covers Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.