Tap water in Athens

Yes. We did this tour in May and our amazing, wonderful guide, Danae, would always tell us where tap water was good and where bottled water was better. Athens was fine.

Out of curiosity, where did you drink bottled water? Thank you. --Jul

Thanks much. Since we'll getting in a day early, we won't meet with our tour guide until the next day.

Out of curiosity, where did you drink bottled water?

Probably in a water bottle. :))

The guide recommended bottled water at two places on the tour. Unfortunately I don't remember which stops. The water would not make you sick, it just tasted bad. I was fine using it for brushing teeth, but it was distasteful enough that I wouldn't want to chug it.

Did this tour, pre covid, and never bought water. Just filled our bottles from the tap and stored them in the fridge. At the group meals is probably the only place we had bottled water.

What is "overly chlorinated tap water"?

overly chlorinated tap water for me is when the chlorine taste is distinctive. It's like drinking swimming pool water.

If the hotel provides a bottle of water, that's a clue not to drink the tap water. If there's a sign in the bathroom that the water is not potable, that's a warning.

Drinking water was not an issue on my tour. What most Americans have trouble getting used to is not putting toilet paper in the toilet.

I never had the slightest problem with the tap water or the food in Greece. That being said, I rarely drink tap water except with ouzo. :))

When hiking I drink bottled mineral water.

On the mainland, and in mountainous regions, tap water is at least as good as bottled mineral water.
On the islands the water is often heavily treated, and this is especially where bottled mineral water is the best choice.

If you have any doubt, ask for mineral water

Say: "metallico nero" in Greek

(nero = water)

If I remember correctly, it wasn't that the water wasn't safe, it just didn't taste good in many areas.

How I got around it was to bring along a Brita Sports Bottle. It will filter out the bad taste in drinkable water. It won't make undrinkable water safe.

In some areas, at the suggestion of friends who live in Greece, I bought bottled water for drinking.

If you're on a tour, I'm sure your guide will help with this.

As others have said, your guide would be most helpful in knowing where bottled will be better. We did this tour May of this year and found all of the tap water to be fine, with the exception of Gefira, where you'll stay when you visit Monemvasia. The tap water there was salty and was the only place where we stuck with bottled water.

For the most part tap water is OK but could vary depending on where you are staying.

Since we have our own well our water is thankfully clean, no smell, doesn't stain the sink/toilet and taste great.

However, we know people who have bad well water and have to use filters to use.

When in Greece I buy bottled water for drinking but use tap water for cooking, coffee/tea and washing.

Never had any issues with water while in Greece but if you have any hesitation about drinking it just go with bottled water.

The price is set by the government so you won't spend a lot of money on bottled water if you go that route.

Thanks again, everyone. Much appreciated.

When we took the Rick Steves tour of Greece our tour guide recommended bottled water when we visited Monemvasia and Hydra.