I have always loved hot springs and spas. For me, there is nothing better than sinking into a pool of hot water.

The more attractive or interesting the surroundings, the better it is.

As Michael and I have traveled the world as nomads these last eight years, I have dragged him to every little puddle of warm water I can find.

But he’s always been a good sport, and we’ve ended up having some wonderful adventures in some absolutely fantastic settings.

Like that time a Turkish friend brought us to his childhood hammam — about as far from the “tourist” hammam experience as you can get.

Heck, the reason we decided to finally go to Budapest was — no joke! — because I’d heard that the city was filled with hot springs and classic old spas.

(It is, and they're great.)

Then again, there was that U.S. hot spring where someone almost killed us. But I’ll save that story for the end.

Until then, here are my top six favorite spas and hot springs from all over the world:

“Seaweed Baths” in Central Ireland

If there’s anything I love as much as hot springs, it’s a good gimmick.

What happens when you combine hot springs and a good gimmick? You get Ireland’s “seaweed baths.”

In short, these are Ireland’s famous tubs, barrels, and bins full of steaming saltwater and ribbons of actual seaweed. Supposedly, the saltwater and seaweed have “curative” effects.

There’s absolutely no scientific evidence that they do, but when it comes to a gimmick this great, who cares?

Michael and I discovered these wonderfully gimmicky spas long before we had started nomading — on our honeymoon, way back in 1996. As a result, I have no pictures of the place we first discovered them, and I’m not even sure where we were — just somewhere in central Ireland, and that they cost a whopping five dollars USD each.

But this gives us the perfect excuse to someday go back to Ireland and try all the different seaweed baths, in an effort to track down that first very magical one.

Lake Hévíz near Keszthely, Hungary

The hot springs of Budapest are great, and probably the single most interesting hot spring we’ve ever visited is in Hungary, but a bit of a trek from its capital city: Lake Hévíz near Keszthely, which is a natural hot spring that’s so large it’s, yes, an entire frickin’ lake.

It’s even full of flora and fauna. Over the years, certain algae and bacteria have evolved to be specifically suited to the lake, and humans have dutifully introduced other species that have slowly acclimatized, including several species of lily and even a variety of fish.

Lake Hévíz claims to be the largest “thermal lake” in the world, but it’s actually the second largest. Problem is, the largest, Frying Pan Lake in New Zealand, is so hot it’s boiling, and it would instantly kill anyone who tried to swim there.

Almost as interesting as Lake Hévíz itself is the massive spa that is built out over the water.

Incidentally, the waters of Lake Hévíz are also said to be miraculously restorative.

Various Spas near Reykjavík, Iceland

Iceland is famous for its volcanic fire and glacial ice, and it’s also home to possibly the most famous hot spring in the world: the Blue Lagoon, on the outskirts of Reykjavík.

Which is a lot of pressure to live up to.

And yet somehow, it does.

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