Where you can drink from the tap — and where you shouldn't
29 regions rated safe, varies, or avoid, each listing the countries it covers and the local caveats that actually matter — ice, brushing teeth, hotel bottled water, and the places where treated mains water is fine but tastes wrong. Ratings describe city mains water; rural supplies, older plumbing, and small islands can differ, so follow local practice when in doubt.
Nothing matches your search.
Austria · Belgium · Denmark · Finland · France · Germany · Iceland · Ireland · Luxembourg · Monaco · Netherlands · Norway · Sweden · Switzerland · UK
Tap water meets EU drinking water standards and is safe to drink in all major cities. Iceland tap water is glacier-fed and among the cleanest in the world. In France, free drinking fountains (fontaines Wallace) are plentiful in Paris.
Estonia · Latvia · Lithuania
Tap water is safe to drink in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. Meets EU standards. Locals drink it without hesitation.
All major cities
Tap water is regulated and safe to drink in all US and Canadian cities. Older buildings in some US cities may have lead pipes — use a filter or bottled water if the building is pre-1986. Flint, MI remains an exception.
Australia · New Zealand
Tap water is safe and well-regulated across all major cities. No precautions needed anywhere in Australia or New Zealand.
Japan · South Korea
Tap water in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Seoul is safe to drink and routinely rated among the best in Asia. Filtered water dispensers are common in hotels. Japan's tap water is extensively treated and excellent-tasting.
Singapore · Hong Kong
Tap water meets WHO standards in both cities. Singapore's water is among the most rigorously treated in Asia, using multiple purification stages. Safe to drink directly from the tap.
Taiwan
Tap water in Taipei meets international safety standards, but locals typically boil it or use filters due to old pipe concerns in some buildings. Most hotels and restaurants serve filtered or boiled water. Bottled water is inexpensive and widely available.
Croatia · Greece · Italy · Malta · Portugal · Spain
Technically safe in major cities but often heavily chlorinated and poor-tasting. Most locals drink bottled water. Stick to bottled in rural areas and islands — especially Croatian islands and Greek islands. Spain and Portugal tap water is safe in cities and fine to drink. Malta meets EU drinking water standards but has a distinctly salty taste from desalination; most visitors prefer bottled.
Czech Republic · Hungary · Poland · Slovakia · Slovenia
Prague, Budapest, Warsaw, Bratislava, and Ljubljana all have safe, clean tap water. Bottled water is widely used by locals in smaller cities and rural areas as a habit, not a necessity.
Albania · Bosnia & Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Montenegro · North Macedonia · Romania · Serbia
Technically treated in capital cities (Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, Podgorica) but water quality varies by neighborhood and pipe age. Kotor and coastal Montenegro have generally safe water sourced from protected mountain springs. Most travelers use bottled water. In Albania and Bosnia, tap water outside Tirana and Sarajevo is unreliable. When in doubt, stick to bottled.
Georgia
Tbilisi's tap water meets WHO standards and locals drink it daily. Soviet-era building pipes in older apartments can affect quality before it reaches the tap — most travelers use bottled water as a precaution. Bottled water is widely available and very cheap throughout the country.
Israel · Oman · Qatar · UAE
Israel tap water is safe and of good quality — drink freely in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Muscat technically meet WHO standards but taste strongly of desalination; bottled water is universally preferred and cheap.
Argentina · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Mexico · Peru · Uruguay
Avoid tap water in Mexico, Peru, and most of Brazil. Chile (Santiago), Argentina (Buenos Aires), Colombia (Bogotá), and Uruguay (Montevideo) have generally safe tap water, but most travelers use bottled out of caution. Bogotá's water meets international standards in major neighborhoods; outside Bogotá, use bottled. Lima tap water is not safe — use bottled for drinking and brushing teeth.
Aruba · Barbados · Cayman Islands · Curaçao · Puerto Rico · Sint Maarten · Turks & Caicos · USVI · Bahamas
Aruba, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, USVI, Curaçao, and Turks & Caicos have safe tap water. Bahamas and Sint Maarten water is technically treated but most visitors use bottled as a precaution. Follow hotel guidance — resort properties typically use filtered systems regardless.
South Africa
Cape Town and Johannesburg tap water is technically treated and meets national standards, but aging infrastructure means quality varies widely by neighborhood. Most travelers and many locals use filtered or bottled water. Outside major cities, stick to bottled.
Belize · Costa Rica · Guatemala · Panama
Costa Rica (San José and major tourist areas) has generally safe tap water, one of the best in the region. Panama City tap water is treated and safe in the city. Guatemala and Belize: avoid tap water and use bottled throughout. Rural areas in all countries: always bottled.
Fiji · Hawaii · New Caledonia · Tahiti
Hawaii tap water is safe (US-regulated). Tahiti and Papeete tap water is treated and generally safe in the city. Fiji tap water in Suva is treated but most tourists use bottled; outer islands — always bottled. New Caledonia (Nouméa) tap water is safe.
Seychelles
Tap water on Mahé and the main islands is treated and officially meets WHO specifications, but bottled water is routinely recommended due to inconsistent treatment on outer islands. Resort properties use filtered water — follow what your accommodation provides.
Cambodia · Indonesia · Laos · Myanmar · Philippines · Thailand · Vietnam
Do not drink tap water anywhere in Southeast Asia. Use bottled or filtered water for drinking and brushing teeth. Ice at restaurants is typically made from purified water, but skip it at street stalls. Bottled water is extremely cheap throughout the region.
Beijing · Chongqing · Shanghai · Zhangjiajie
Tap water is not safe to drink. Hotels provide complimentary bottled water daily. Boiled water from hotel kettles is safe if the kettle is clean. In-room hot water dispensers are standard in Chinese hotels and are safe to use.
India
Never drink tap water in India, regardless of city. Use sealed bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth, and rinsing. Avoid ice in drinks unless you are certain it came from purified water. Sealed bottled water is available everywhere and very cheap.
Bhutan · Nepal · Sri Lanka
Do not drink tap water. Use sealed bottled water or water purification tablets. In Nepal, trekking lodges often have filtered water available for refilling bottles at low cost — a good option to reduce plastic waste. In Bhutan, hotels provide bottled or boiled water; tap water is not safe for visitors. In Sri Lanka, bottled water is cheap and universal.
Egypt
Do not drink tap water in Cairo, Luxor, or anywhere in Egypt. Stick to sealed bottled water for all drinking and teeth brushing. Nile River pollution and aging pipes make tap water unsafe for travelers. Bottled water is inexpensive and available everywhere.
Jordan · Saudi Arabia
Tap water is technically treated in Amman and Riyadh but is not considered safe to drink due to desalination by-products and aging infrastructure. Bottled water is the universal standard. Use bottled for teeth brushing too.
Ghana · Morocco · Nigeria · Senegal
Do not drink tap water. Use sealed bottled water throughout. Avoid ice, salads washed in tap water, and fruit you haven't peeled yourself at street stalls. This applies across Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana, and Senegal equally.
Ethiopia · Kenya · Rwanda · Tanzania · Uganda
Do not drink tap water in East Africa. Kigali has modern water treatment infrastructure but tap water is not recommended for travelers due to distribution variability. Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, and Kampala have aging infrastructure with inconsistent treatment. Use sealed bottled water or water purification tablets. Safari camps typically provide purified water — confirm at booking.
Turkey
Do not drink tap water in Istanbul or anywhere in Turkey. The water is chlorinated but heavy metal content and pipe age make it unsuitable for drinking. Bottled water is cheap and widely available. Use bottled for teeth brushing as well.
Cuba
Do not drink tap water in Havana or anywhere in Cuba. Infrastructure is aged and water treatment is inconsistent. Bottled water is available at hotels and stores. Bring water purification tablets as a backup since bottled water can occasionally be scarce outside resort areas.
Maldives
Tap water on most Maldivian islands is desalinated but not reliably safe to drink. Resort islands provide sealed or filtered water — always use what the property provides. On local islands, sealed bottled water only.