Can You Drink the Tap Water Abroad? How to Check

"Can I drink the tap water?" is one of the first questions travelers ask when they land somewhere new. It's also one of the easiest to get wrong. A hotel receptionist might say yes out of habit, a forum post might be ten years old, and the answer can change after a single storm.

Getting it right matters. According to the CDC, travelers' diarrhea is the most predictable travel-related illness, affecting 30% to 70% of travelers over a two-week trip depending on the destination and season. Contaminated water and food are the main routes.

This guide explains where to find reliable guidance, why "treated" doesn't always mean "drinkable from the tap," and what to do when the answer is no.

Why the answer isn't always obvious

Safe drinking water is still not universal. The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme reported in 2025 that about 2.1 billion people, roughly 1 in 4 people worldwide, still lack access to safely managed drinking water at home.

Even where a country has good treatment plants, tap water can be a different story for a visitor:

Pipes matter as much as plants. Water can leave a treatment plant in good condition and pick up contamination from old pipes, storage tanks on rooftops, or leaks along the way.
Cities and rural areas differ. Guidance for a capital city may not apply to a beach town or a mountain village in the same country.
Your body isn't used to it. Water that locals drink without problems can still upset a traveler's stomach.
Conditions change. Floods, earthquakes and storms can damage water systems, and local authorities may issue "boil water" notices even in places where tap water is normally fine.

The CDC notes that in many parts of the world, tap water can carry bacteria, viruses, parasites and chemical contaminants. It also notes that infants, young children, pregnant women, older people and people with weakened immune systems may be especially vulnerable.

Where to check before you go

Look for official health sources rather than travel forums. Good places to start:

CDC Travelers' Health destination pages. Each country page includes food and water guidance and recommended vaccines.
NHS Fit for Travel (from Public Health Scotland) and TravelHealthPro (from the UK's National Travel Health Network and Centre). Both cover country-level health advice for travelers.
Your government's travel advice. US State Department and UK FCDO country pages sometimes mention water issues under health sections.
Local water utility or health ministry notices. These are where boil water advisories usually appear first. Your accommodation should also know about them.

If the official guidance for your destination says to drink only bottled or disinfected water, take that as the default for your whole trip unless you learn otherwise from a reliable local source.

The hidden ways tap water reaches you

Avoiding a glass of tap water is the easy part. The CDC's guidance for places where tap water may be unsafe covers several less obvious exposures:

Ice. Ice is often made from tap water. The CDC advises asking for drinks without ice, and notes that alcohol in a drink does not kill germs in contaminated ice.
Brushing your teeth. The CDC lists brushing teeth among the uses where unsafe tap water should be avoided. Use bottled or disinfected water.
Showers. Keep your mouth closed in the shower and avoid swallowing water.
Fountain and blended drinks. Fountain sodas, smoothies and iced drinks may be made with tap water.
Raw salads and washed fruit. The CDC advises avoiding salads and raw, unpeeled fruit in areas with uncertain sanitation, and choosing fruit you can peel yourself.
Contact lenses and nasal rinsing. The CDC says tap water should never be used to rinse contact lenses or for nasal or sinus rinsing, even where it is considered drinkable, because it isn't sterile.

What to drink instead

When tap water isn't recommended, you have several options:

Factory-sealed bottled water. For most travelers this is the simplest choice. Check that the cap seal is unbroken. The CDC also suggests wiping the outside of cans and bottles before drinking from them.
Hot drinks made with just-boiled water. The CDC says tea and coffee made with water that has just been boiled are generally fine to drink.
Sealed drinks. Carbonated drinks, commercially prepared fruit drinks and pasteurized drinks in unopened, factory-sealed containers are generally considered acceptable.

Bottled water creates a lot of plastic waste, and the CDC notes that in some places bottled water may not be better than tap water. If you're traveling for a long time or somewhere remote, it's worth knowing how to treat water yourself.

How to treat water yourself

The CDC ranks the options in this order:

Boiling. This is the most reliable way to kill germs, including viruses, bacteria and parasites. Bring clear water to a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes at elevations above 6,500 feet (about 2,000 meters).
Filtering, then disinfecting. If you can't boil water, the next best option is to filter it and then disinfect it. Look for a filter with a small pore size, such as one certified to NSF Standard 53 or 58, which removes parasites when used properly.
Chemical tablets. Chlorine dioxide tablets can kill parasites such as Giardia and can work against Cryptosporidium if you follow the instructions. Iodine and chlorine tablets don't work against Cryptosporidium, so filter first.
UV purifiers. These work in clear water, so filter cloudy water first.

One important limit: boiling and disinfecting kill germs, but they don't remove chemicals. The CDC advises using bottled water if water looks cloudy or discolored and may contain chemical contaminants.

When to see a doctor

Most travelers' diarrhea clears up on its own within a few days. Drink plenty of safe fluids and consider oral rehydration salts. Seek medical care if you have a high fever, blood in your stool, severe dehydration, or symptoms that last more than a few days, and take extra care with young children and older travelers.

Before you go, a travel health clinic can also advise whether you need vaccines for food and waterborne diseases, such as hepatitis A or typhoid, for your destination.

A quick checklist

Check official health guidance for your destination before you leave.
Assume ice, fountain drinks and raw salads are made with tap water unless you know otherwise.
Brush your teeth with bottled or treated water where tap water isn't recommended.
Pack a filter bottle or purification tablets for remote trips or long stays.
Watch for local boil water notices, especially after floods or storms.
Ask a travel health clinic about vaccines before you go.

Where Farhaven fits

Farhaven brings the official information you'd otherwise check across a dozen websites into one app. That includes tap water guidance for where you are, alongside vaccine and health entry rules, disease outbreak notices and natural disaster alerts that can affect water supplies.

If a flood or storm hits while you're traveling, our guide on what to do if a natural disaster or disease outbreak hits while you're traveling covers the next steps. For everything else to check before a trip, see our pre-trip travel safety checklist.

Get Farhaven for iOS and Android.

Can You Drink the Tap Water? How to Check Before You Travel