Hello all,
Drinking water in Greece? Brushing teeth in Greece? Tap water or bottled? I seem to find a variety of thoughts when I search online, etc, but I'd love to hear forum people respond. Our family of 6 will have 2.5 weeks in Greece (leaving Canada March 30): Athens, exploring the Peloponnese, and Naxos.
Thank-you!
Tracey
I wouldn’t ever worry for cleaning teeth. It’s always safe but sometimes it can be brackish. In that case it’s probably worth buying bottled although we sometimes just fill bottles from the tap and put them in the fridge. Generally they then taste reasonable, but that’s a matter of taste.
Alan
I once heard a local say the tap water is fine, its the 400 year old pipes that cause problems.
We generally use bottled water for drinking.
Naxos used to have great water but on our last few visits we could tell there was a differnce and the hotel suggested its not as good now, so you should use bottled water.
One thing, in various locations around Naxos town you will find marble frescoes with water taps and a drain. This is pure spring water flowing down from the mountains. It is pure and lovely to drink. We buy one big bottle of water and refill it from the nearest water location.
When we did the RS tour had no issue with tap water. Did not include Naxos.
No issues with drinking water when I was there a few years ago. The water was good and I also refilled my water bottles from the taps.
I always buy bottled water for drinking while in Greece. I believe the Greek Government has set prices on it so tourists won't get ripped off.
I used tap water for making coffee, tea, showering, cleaning any plates, utensils, etc.
Never had any issues with tap water on any island or the mainland and wouldn't avoid drinking it if there was no other option.
When I lived in Thessaloniki for a year I survived on tap water with no issues. Not sure about Naxos
Agree with stanbr about looking out for those Marble street taps. Since in Naxos Town/Ag. Giorgios area is mixed hotels/private residences, you often see locals filling jugs to take home .. or cafe waiters filling a pitcher. I've done what stanbr has done.
While we’re on spring water, and knowing a lot of us here are fans of Nafplio, it’s worth mentioning Agia Moni which is 3km out of town. Worth a visit anyway but it also has really good fresh water. The legend is that Hera bathed there every year to renew her youth. Locals come and fill bottles there pretty regularly and a lot of the older ones look quite spry.
Alan
Oooooooo...I could totally use the fountain of youth, and we'll have 3 nights in Nafplio so that's great. I can feel time going backward already, lol!
Thanks everyone for your insights!
Tracey
