There are probably a few instances in which these might be interchangeable, but generally speaking, it should be clear which one a given sentence demands. Careful writers distinguish between these words, although many travel agents do not. A climate cannot be healthy.
Some dictionaries now regard the words as equivalents.
These are frequently confused, sometimes to slightly comical effect. While sensual is used to describe things that are gratifying to the body, and has sexual overtones, sensuous is used to mean 'affecting or appealing to the senses' in an aesthetic sense, without the pejorative implications of sensual . The word sensuous was, in fact, coined to fulfill the need for a word like sensual without the sexual overtones. Dave's draft of the annual report required substantial editing. Kathy's new book is a substantive contribution to the literature on childrearing.