Valencia Travel Forum

Is tap Water safe for drinking in Valencia?
thanks

safe? of course it is, as in all Spain. Tap water in Spain is totally drinkable and very controlated by sanity department, other thing is that the taste is good or not since they add products to make it drinkable and able to the human use as in all the european cities. But you can drink it without any worry.

Hi, tap water may possibly be O.K. if you are a local and used to it. We are all accustomed to the things that we have regularly but personaly I would rather buy some bottled H2O to avoid the risk. The better option is to avoid water all together and just stick to the booze !
Have a good trip.

How do you recognize a British tourist abroad? He is the one wearing an England football T-shirt, coming out of a fish & chips restaurant, on his way to the nearest English pub. Britons love feeling at home, especially when they are abroad.

Tap water is perfectly fine anywhere in Spain, expect the Canary Islands, so do not bother with bottled water. It is a waste of money and it is not tastier or healthier than tap water in any way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1309841.stm

well tricky i think you are wrong. that person was talking about SAFE not tasty. Spain, if you didn't know, have drinkable water in all the country, so if you drink water from the tap u don't have to worry about getting ill or have some stomachacke. In Morocco, africa etc u should avoid water from the tap but in spain no. Other thing is that you buy mineral water since the taste, obviously is much better and healthier too since it doesn't have chemistry products etc, but tap water in spain , valencia barcelona, madrid and other big city is the same u could find in for example London. And in the villages and in the north of spain tap water is even better.

my 2 euro-cents!

there are 2 different issues to consider here:

1) As said above, tap water is perfectly safe all over Spain (included Canary Islands, they have to comply with EU regulations even being geographically in Africa!). It may be as safe, from a sanitary point of view (non-pathogenic bacteria, nitrites, chemicals...) than in the country of mario77 (btw, it would be nice to know what is it) or more, but not less, as Western European countries are low-risk regarding this. All WE countries will be equaly "safe" for that matter. And, btw, EU regulations are stronger than in the US.

2) non-pathogenic bacteria are present in tap water all over the world. There are not dangerous for you health... if you are used to! These change according the geographical area, and this has nothing to do regarding political borders. this mean the bacteria in Barcelona may be different that the bacteria in Madrid or Sevilla but similar that the bacteria in Nimes or Touluse (just an example). So, when you travel, no mater how "civilised" your destination is, better do not drink tap water as your body may not be used to the local bacteria. This is what is know as "traveler's diarrhea":

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/travelers-diarrhea/DS00318

As said in this article, "usually isn't serious — it's just unpleasant" but it can ruin your vacation. Of course the risk is higher as lower the sanitary standards of the country you're visiting, but non-inexistent ANYWHERE in the world. The worse traveler's diarrhea I ever had was after a business trip just 600 km from home. In low-risk countries, as Spain, you can risk (the chances of getting ill are very low) of you may prefer to stay on the safe side and stick to bottled water. Bear in mind that it depends as well of the amount of bacteria you intake, so it's not the same washing your teeth or an occasional glass form the tap, than drinking 2-liters per day.

So, as in most aspects of life... be informed and use common sense!

Enjoy your trip mario77!

Hi,
Technically is it as safe as in other place, but the problem is that here the water is disgusting because it have many additives to purge it.. so if you drink it you won't get ill or die but i'd tell you to buy a good bottle of water on the supermarket.

People buy water everywhere now. Most people buy water even if the local water is safe and tasty.

I will drink the water while I'm in Valencia. And if I get sick, I'm coming after you guys and throw bottled water at ya! :)

Glen, you definitely should drink some 'Agua de Valencia', not tap water, while you're here ;)

Hey Eugene -Looks as though I may have to cancel my forthcoming trip to Spain - I don't possess a football shirt and don't intend to buy one. I've always been let in before without one!

I got a Chicago Bears football shirt.

hehehehe

that counts, right?

Hello
the tap water is safe to drink but it does not taste very nice. So best using bottled water. Especially during the summer months.

ok, don't drink the water!

I won't.

Thanks,

Glen