Can You Drink Tap Water in Slovakia? Yes — But Here’s What You Need to Know

Can you drink tap water in Slovakia, or will it ruin your holiday?

It’s an important question to ask, no matter where you are visiting – the last thing you want on your holiday is to get sick!

We’ve got the answer, but we’ll also tell you what the AI Overview in your Google search results doesn’t know – read on for extra tips and secrets.

This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please read our Disclaimer.

Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.

After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆

During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅

And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful tips and info with you!

Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own adventures too!

Why should you trust us?

This is important because in this post we are talking about safety and, ultimately, your health, right?

The last thing you want on your holiday is to end up spending it in the bathroom, because some muppet told you the tap water was safe to drink… when it wasn’t. 😬

So let us reassure you first.

This is why you can trust us and our advice on tap water in Slovakia:

• We are locals! Mirka is originally from Slovakia, and we even set up a homebase here after full-time travels almost unalived us.
• If anyone overthinks travel, it’s us. You can bet we always research whether tap water is safe to drink wherever we go. Also, just in case, we usually carry our filter reusable water bottles with us (gotta be hydrated AND sustainable!)
• We are all about travel safety on this blog – sharing all the tips we have discovered over the years so you can stay safer as you explore the world too!

Btw, if you are worried about how safe Slovakia is in general, we wrote a whole post on that. Of course we did! Wouldn’t want you not sleeping at night! (Unless you are staying up because you can’t stop thinking about the unlimited wine event you will go to when in Slovakia. If that’s the case, we totally get it.)

Can you drink tap water in Slovakia?

TLDR?

Yes, you can drink tap water in Slovakia.

But you already knew that from the title of this post, right?

If you are looking for more reassurance, we’ll say it again:

Tap water is perfectly safe to drink in Slovakia.

The irony?

Slovakia is a landlocked country, so its people are OBSESSED with water, especially the sea. The country gets mega hot in summer these days, and most people try to escape to a beach abroad at least for a week or two – it’s what everybody talks about during summer.

But funnily enough, when it comes to drinking water, Slovakia is more than sorted – it has loads of surface and groundwater resources. If only we could swim in our bathtubs or sinks! 😂

Wild fact about Slovakia

Did you know that in Slovakia, drinking water is used to flush toilets? 😳

Apparently, it comes down to a few reasons, such as a lower risk of cross-contamination, lack of infrastructure and the fact that back in the day, people just didn’t care about the environment the way we care now.

So yes, drinking tap water in Slovakia is definitely safe – we don’t even risk poisoning our toilets with unsanitary water, so you have nothing to worry about! 😂

The problem with tap water in Slovakia

The one issue with drinking tap water in Slovakia?

You might not like the taste of it, especially if you visit the west of the country, like Bratislava or the beautiful little town that is an absolute hidden gem, and you absolutely should visit it (just a 30-min train from Bratislava!).

Why does some water in Slovakia not taste good?

Parts of the country have very hard water.

It sucks to live with it – everything is covered in limescale – our kettle, taps, sinks, toilet tank etc. We have to clean the limescale regularly, otherwise things would eventually break.

It also totally ruins your hair – it’s one of the things we have been battling since setting up a home base in Slovakia.

Is it safe to drink?

Yes, hard water is safe to drink; some studies even suggest very hard water might support heart health, thanks to the extra minerals that are in it.

It’s just not the best taste, especially if you come from a place with a really tasty tap water.

If you come to Slovakia, especially the west, and you are struggling with the tap water at your hotel or apartment, there is a solution though – we’ll tell you in the next section.

Oh, and if you want to see how hard the tap water is in the area you are visiting, check this map.

What do Slovak people do?

Not many foreigners know this, but Slovakia has more than 1,500 mineral springs.

!!!!

1,500!

Isn’t that wild?

So yes, water in Slovakia is pretty good.

What does this mean for you?

Here is why having 1,500 mineral springs should matter to you:

• You can visit many health spas – these are spas with healing water, not just a jacuzzi and 5 sad sun loungers.
• You can find mineral springs in nature as you explore the country – check for these, especially if you head into the mountains. Locals often use them to get healthy water from there!
• You can buy mineral water in shops, and the price and variety might shock you. Let’s talk more about this.

Mineral water in Slovakia

If you don’t like the taste of the tap water in Slovakia, because you are visiting the hard water region, just head to your nearest supermarket.

This is what many Slovak people do – in fact, the mineral water is so good and cheap here, many drink it instead of tap water in general, not just in the hard-water areas.

Here is what you need to know:

• Most of the mineral water sold in shops is Slovak brands. The popular ones are, for example: Baldovská, Budiš, Fatra or Mitická.
• The mineral water usually comes in 3 types: “tichá” meaning still, “jemne perlivá” meaning slightly bubbly and “perlivá” meaning quite bubbly. They are always colour-coded, though the colours are not universally used among brands, so make sure you check the actual word, not just the colour.
• Many mineral waters highlight their main minerals or health benefits, so if you are in need of something specific, such as better digestion, have a look and you should be able to find a suitable mineral water.
• Aside from these “plain” mineral waters, many brands also offer flavoured versions. These are super tasty and a healthier alternative to soft drinks, so consider getting these if you struggle with the plain water taste, don’t like the taste of the minerals in mineral water or want a healthier mixer for your alcoholic drinks.
• The price? When on offer, you will be able to find mineral water for as little as €0.39 for a 1.5L bottle! And when it’s not on offer, it’s still very cheap, so you don’t have to worry about spending a fortune on it.

Don’t make this mistake

There is one common mistake that travellers in Slovakia make.

This might be quite surprising, but Slovakia is ahead of many countries in sustainability.

Since 2022, all plastic bottles and beverage cans come with a deposit.

What does that mean?

Every time you buy a plastic bottle, such as the mineral water we told you about, it will cost you 15 cents more than the price listed in the shop.

Why?

This is the returnable deposit – to motivate people to recycle, all plastic bottles and beverage cans cost extra and you will get the money back if you return them to the recycling machine in the shop once you’ve drunk them!

Here is what it means for you:

• Don’t freak out if you see extra charges on your shop receipt. If it’s €0.15 and you bought bottles or cans, it’s the returnable deposit.
• If you buy a lot – for example, you decide to drink mineral water during your whole stay in Slovakia – it might be worth returning the bottles to the shop to not waste your money.
• You get the money back in the form of a money-off voucher, so you will have to buy something else in the shop to use it (sneaky marketing, we know!) (shamelessly promoting Mirka’s marketing Substack channel here, because if you are a marketing weirdo aka you nerd out over cool ads, come hang out!)
• You can only return bottles and cans to a shop that sells them. So if you get a Lidl own-brand mineral water, for example, you can’t return it in Tesco. (Most common brands are okay, though.)
• If you only have a few cans and bottles and can’t be bothered going to the shop/are not able to go return them, don’t throw them out. Leave them next to the bin in your hotel room or apartment so the cleaners or owners can return them. It gives them a few cents back and helps protect the planet!
• Not every bottle or can is returnable. Check the label for a Z symbol to figure out whether you can return it for recycling or not.

Just a thought: Maybe Slovakia is trying to do its bit with the bottle and can recycling to compensate for flushing with drinking water? 😉

A note on water fountains

Water fountains are slowly becoming a thing in Slovakia.

Slowly, meaning you won’t find them in all cities and even the ones that do have them usually only have a few in the city centre.

So it’s not something you can rely on, but if you do see one, make sure to top up your water bottle to save money and the environment.

If in need, remember you can get cheap mineral water in all supermarkets.

Bratislava airport fail

You would think, with all that good water and caring about the environment, Bratislava airport would have a water fountain or two. 

Nope. Shame on you, Bratislava airport.

One of the worst features of the Slovak culture?

Trying to make money wherever you can – not in an entrepreneurial way, but in a “I don’t care about you, as long as I make money” kinda way.

It doesn’t mean you will get scammed – the country is super safe.

But you will have to pay for ridiculous things sometimes, such as water at the airport.

The airport is also very small, so there are only a few shops available. 

Alternatively, if you are all about saving money, like us, we wrote a whole post on how to get free water at airports, so check it out!

A helpful resource

Whenever we are flying from a new airport, we always check whether it has water fountains, so we can top up our water bottles once we go through security.

There is a handy, albeit spammy-looking, website called Water At Airports which has all this info. 

Scroll past the ugly intro text to the list of countries. Pick the country you are flying from. Pick the right airport. 

You will then be able to see info from other travellers on water fountains. This is so useful, because you can get up-to-date information – water fountains often get moved around airports, so it’s good to know where you should go, if you want to save the planet and your money.

And if you wanna do a good deed? Add info on water fountains at airports you fly to or from to the website, to you help out other travellers.

Planning a trip to Slovakia?

Are you heading to Slovakia?

Awesome! We tell everyone to go while it’s still such a hidden gem!

And now that you know that you can drink tap water in Slovakia AND you know all the extra tips too, you are almost ready to go!

Here are a few more things you can do to prepare for your trip:

• Check out our posts on Slovakia – from how to stay safe to the 19 wild things you can do there
• Hit us up with any questions on our Instagram (where we post all unhinged stuff that happens to us almost DAILY. Life in Slovakia is not for the faint-hearted. 😅)
• If you need more help planning your trip to Slovakia, why not book a call with us, so we can work through your plans, questions and concerns together? 

Don’t forget to pack this

One more thing we want to mention?

Drinking tap water is perfectly safe in Slovakia.

But other things might go wrong.

What’s the best thing to pack in case anything does happen?

Travel insurance.

Okay, you can’t technically pack it, unless you print out your insurance documents and take the physical copies with you, but basically make sure you get travel insurance.

You never know what 💩 will happen to you (hopefully not the literal kind), and then you will be happy you’ve got your butt covered by a great insurance provider.

If you wanna know who we think is a great travel insurance provider, we use True Traveller or SafetyWing (depending on the kind of trip we are doing).

Check them out – both are outstanding companies, especially for the travel insurance industry, which tends to have… less than favourable reviews, let’s say!

We hope this article not only answered whether you can drink tap water in Slovakia, but also gave you lots of useful tips for your holiday.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below and remember, stay hydrated! 💧