The age-old question travelers have when visiting Eastern European countries like Romania: can you drink the tap water? Here’s everything you need to know.
Can You Drink Tap Water in Romania?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as it depends on where you are in Romania.
Tap Water Is Generally Safe to Drink in Cities
If you’re in one of Romania’s larger cities such as Bucharest, Brasov, Cluj, Iasi, or Timisoara, you can safely drink tap water.
I drank tap water throughout most of my two-week Romania trip in places like Timisoara, Brasov, Sibiu, and Bucharest and had no issues. Before visiting, I never came across stories online of tap water in Romania making travelers violently ill.
Don’t be shocked if the water to looks a tad murkier than you’re used to every now and then if you’re filling up a bottle. While tap water is generally safe, older pipes can lead to slightly chlorinated water.
A recent study did show that 88% of Romanians don’t fully trust their tap water and the average resident drinks 106 liters of bottled water annually. Many residents choose to filter their water just to be safe.
Tap Water in Rural Areas Is Not Always Clean
Outdated infrastructure, particularly in Romania’s rural regions, could potentially cause unclean drinking water. It’s smart to have bottles of water with you if you’re staying in these parts of the country.
I spent a few days exploring rural Transylvania in the village of Viscri and around the Fagaras Mountains and saw murky water coming from the fauced at one of our accommodations.
Still, the situation isn’t so bad where you need to be on edge. You’d be extremely unlucky to get sick from tap water anywhere in Romania.
Romania’s infrastructure has been improving, especially since it joined the EU.
In-Summary: Is Tap Water Safe to Drink in Romania?
Only 12% of Romanians trust their tap water. Despite this, tap water is generally considered safe to drink in Romania’s larger cities like Brasov, Bucharest, Cluj, and Timisoara.
If you’re venturing to the Romanian countryside, it’s best to drink bottled water. Some of the infrastructure in rural parts of the country is outdated and leads to murky water from faucets.
Overall, there’s a very low chance you’ll get ill from drinking tap water in Romania. Truthfully, I did zero research on this topic before my trip to Romania. In all of these places, I drank the tap water and felt totally normal. Sure, it looked a bit overly chlorinated once or twice, but I had no issues.
