Water bottles, bring my own or just buy there?

Buy there, and refill on the fly.

Before the advent of water bottles people traveled all over the world without dehydrating. Pack light, wear airweight clothes, carry ten pounds of water!

Sure. Even in the smaller towns you'll probably find a couple of fountains. I suggest trying the water first. 99% will be good drinking water but every once in awhile you run across a bad one.

For some reason Americans seem to have this fixation about carrying water bottles. There plenty of available drinking fountains and everyone sells water everywhere. Refill one of those bottles if you really believe you need to carry water.

I agree - buy a 2 Euro bottle of water - drink it, then refill it a few times. That way, if you get tired of carrying it around, you can just throw it in a recycle or trash bin. Coke and Fanta bottles refill with water nicely too. :)

I agree with Frank. Don't use up the space in your luggage to take a stainless bottle. Just hang on to the first plastic one you buy and reuse it. And yes, drinking fountains are everywhere, but they don't look like what we usually think of as drinking fountains. They look more like a pipe sticking up out of the ground or out of a wall.

Michael is correct. Fountains don't look like American drinking fountains. We carry some small drinking cups and will use them at the fountains. One time in Rome we were standing around a fountain and filling our cups when an American tourist with some alarm in her voice loudly asked, "It THAT really safe to drink?"

Michael says it well. If in doubt, look for Italians using the drinking water or look for "non-potable" signs. Almost all of the water you see in public in Italy is good to drink. I would skip the Trevi fountain in Rome, but that's just me.

Myriam, I wouldn't bother packing along a stainless steel Water Bottle, unless you've got lots of room in your luggage. I normally just buy a half litre plastic bottle (or other convenient size) as soon as I'm through security at the airport. I just refill that from the tap or fountains as required. I find that the plastic bottles are much lighter than stainless, and therefore easier to carry in my Vest. ¶ Regarding the water fountains, as the others mentioned it's important to note whether there's a sign near the fountain stating "Non Potabile". That indicates that the water is NOT SAFE for human consumption. Happy travels!

Thanks, everyone. I am all for scrapping the bottle [INVALID] I need all the luggage space I can use in that Rick Steves convertible pack!

This was what I was thinking too. I want to bring along my reusable bottle but at the same time I'm afraid I will loose it and if I remember correctly the last time I was in Rome there was water pretty much everywhere. Plus buying water would give me a way to break some larger euro bills :)

Hi Myriam, I just noticed that the Cinque Terre area has just banned use and sale of plastic water bottles due to millions of plastic bottles being discarded there. See "European "Headlines" on this site. They will be selling metal bottles with CT logo and providing water filling stations. Stainless steel bottles seem to be the most practical and environmentally correct way to go. Sherry

Before going we bought one .5 liter container called "platypus". When empty, it is flat and fit inside my purse or a backpack. It can be folded. When filled, as needed, with clean water at all of the fountains, it just expands. It worked really nicely and we weren't lugging bottles all the time.

WEll they may have banned plastic water bottles, but they still sell juice and pop in plastic,, so buy one of those and refill at fountains. I will add this, unless you are going in summer, when it is truly roasting hot,, do you really need a water bottle to carry around all day? I never carry one around all day when doing stuff out of my home here,, but this does exclude those that for certain health reasons need to drink all day long.

The water in Rome - and other parts of Italy - is great to drink. Thiis link gives some pictures and more info ***** http://tinyurl.com/water-in-rome *****

My husband bought his light weight plastic bottle from home, and he refilled it from the fountains as needed.

Bottled water is available all over Italy. Much cheaper when you buy it in the grocery stores vs. at tourist attractions. I wouldn't want to take up precious room in my suitcase by bringing a reuable bottle from home.

You don't have to buy a water bottle. They'll give you one on the plane flight over - already filled with water, and all the plastic knives, spoons, forks and napkins you are likely to use on the trip. Its funny, but we DO stock up on airline stuff on the way over. You already paid for it and it makes sense to use these things as much as possible before recycling them.

When in Rome you'll never be at a loss for a water fountain. You don't even need a cup- just plug the spout and it comes out of the top like a drinking fountain. The water is great and cold- don't waste your money buying bottled water! Reuse one bottle if you really want to carry it with you just in case.