Can You Drink the Water in Egypt? Bottled Water, Ice and Brushing Teeth

Is tap water safe to drink in Egypt?

No, not for visitors: Egyptian city water is treated and chlorinated at the plant, but ageing pipes and rooftop storage tanks mean it can pick up contamination before it reaches the tap, and it is a common trigger for upset stomachs.

Many Egyptians drink tap water, or filter it at home, and their gut flora is used to it. Yours isn't, and the heavy chlorine taste is off-putting anyway. On a short trip, the cost and effort of drinking only bottled or filtered water is tiny compared with losing a day in bed, so most travel health advice, including Smartraveller's, recommends it.

Showering is fine; just keep your mouth closed. Children in the bath and anyone with a weakened immune system should be a little more careful. Our Egypt travel tips cover the other basics in brief; this page goes into the detail.

What water should you drink in Egypt?

Drink sealed bottled water, or the filtered water that most good hotels and all Nile cruise ships provide, and check the cap clicks when you open it.

Supermarkets, kiosks and pharmacies everywhere sell bottled water in sizes from 330ml to 1.5 and 5 litres. Well-known brands include Baraka, Nestlé Pure Life and Aquafina, alongside Egyptian brands; any sealed bottle from a proper shop is fine. Avoid bottles with a broken seal or cloudy contents, and be wary of hawkers at monuments selling bottles out of unofficial boxes in the sun.

Indicatively, a 1.5-litre bottle costs well under AUD 1 in a supermarket at the time of writing, while the same bottle in a hotel minibar or at a site café can cost several times that. On a private tour, your driver will usually keep a cool box of water bottles in the vehicle. Most hotels leave two complimentary bottles in your room each day, and Nile cruise cabins are usually restocked daily.

Packaged ice creams from the freezers of big-brand kiosks are fine; soft-serve from street machines and homemade ices from carts are a bigger gamble, because the machines and water used are harder to judge.

Hot drinks are safe everywhere: Egyptian tea (shai) and coffee are made with boiling water. Canned and bottled soft drinks are fine too.

Is the ice safe in Egypt?

In hotels, Nile cruise ships, resort bars and established restaurants, ice is normally made from filtered water in a commercial machine and is generally safe; at street stalls and basic cafés, it's safer to skip the ice.

The ice to be cautious about is block ice, the large slabs you may see delivered to juice stands and fishmongers, sometimes made from untreated water and broken up by hand. Machine ice tends to come in uniform cubes, often with a hole through the middle. If you're unsure, ask for your drink "min gheir talg" (without ice).

Fresh juices are one of Egypt's great pleasures: sugarcane juice (asab), mango, guava, strawberry and lemon with mint. At a busy juice bar in Cairo or Luxor, the risk is mostly from added ice and from fruit washed in tap water. A juice in your hotel or on a reputable food tour is the gentlest introduction; see our Egyptian drinks guide for what to try.

Can you brush your teeth with tap water in Egypt?

Most visitors brush their teeth with tap water in hotels without any problem, because you swallow very little; if you have a sensitive stomach, are pregnant, or are travelling with young children, using bottled water costs almost nothing.

The same thinking applies to rinsing a toothbrush and to contact lenses: never rinse lenses or cases with tap water anywhere, in Egypt or at home. Bring enough lens solution, since your usual brand may be hard to find outside Cairo and the resorts.

A simple habit that helps: keep a small bottle of water on the bathroom basin each night so you don't reach for the tap without thinking.

What about water on a Nile cruise or dahabiya?

Drinking water on Nile ships is bottled or filtered and provided in cabins and at meals; the water in your cabin taps and shower is treated Nile water, suitable for washing but not for drinking.

On most cruise ships, a bottle or two of water appears in your cabin daily, and water at lunch and dinner may be included or charged by the bottle; check your inclusions. Dahabiyas usually include water and soft drinks. Salads and fruit on reputable ships are washed in treated water, and the kitchens are used to international guests. Our Nile cruises guide explains what's typically included on board.

Don't swim in the Nile or wade in canals, even on a hot afternoon. Apart from currents and boat traffic, slow-moving fresh water in Egypt has historically carried bilharzia (schistosomiasis); our vaccinations and health guide explains more.

How much water should you drink in Egypt's heat?

Much more than you would at home: in Egypt's dry heat, sweat evaporates so fast you don't feel damp, and many visitors become dehydrated without noticing.

On a summer day in Luxor or Aswan, when temperatures often pass 40°C, many visitors get through three litres or more of water over a morning and afternoon of sightseeing, while on a mild January day at Giza you might need half that. Sip steadily rather than gulping a whole bottle at the end, and add an oral rehydration or electrolyte sachet on long, hot days or after a stomach upset.

On a White Desert overnight trip or the long drive to Abu Simbel, your driver or camp crew carries a supply, but keep at least a litre in your daypack in case of a delay or breakdown. Cold water from the vehicle's cool box is the fastest way to recover between exposed sites.

Signs you're falling behind include a headache, dark urine, dizziness and unusual tiredness. Our heat and sun safety guide covers timing your sightseeing and the warning signs of heat illness. Older travellers and anyone on medicines that affect fluid balance should ask their doctor for advice before travelling in the warmer months.

Can you avoid single-use plastic bottles in Egypt?

Partly: bring a reusable bottle and refill it from large 5-litre bottles or from the filtered water dispensers that some hotels, eco-lodges and cruise ships now provide.

Egypt goes through a vast number of plastic bottles, and recycling is still limited outside the cities. Practical ways to cut back:

• Buy big: keep a 5-litre bottle in your room and refill a personal bottle each morning.
• Ask about refills: a growing number of hotels and dahabiyas offer filtered water stations; ask at reception or when you board.
• Insulate: an insulated steel bottle keeps water cool for hours at the Valley of the Kings, which also makes you more likely to drink it.
• Filter bottles: a quality filter or UV bottle is useful for desert trips and longer stays; check the product's claims cover viruses as well as bacteria, and still prefer treated sources.

For more ideas, see our responsible travel in Egypt guide.