Drinking the water

[Giantfan13]

Is the water OK to drink for say american's, while traveling thru the Baltics and Russia??. We have all heard stories about the water in ceetain counties, so how about the Baltics. We surely do not want to get sick from drinking the water, so has anyone experienced any problems.

I would think America does certain things to it's water that possibly Europe doesn't.

 

Any advice??

[LHT28]

It is probably just fine but maybe not what your body is use to.

If worried take bottled water from the ship.

 

We did drink the water in Russia at lunch without incident

 

We buy bottled water in Florida:D

 

Lyn

[Suebee]

It is probably just fine but maybe not what your body is use to.

If worried take bottled water from the ship.

 

We did drink the water in Russia at lunch without incident

 

We buy bottled water in Florida:D

 

Lyn

 

Agreed.

We had no trouble on our trip last week at all. But carrying bottled for your tour is a great idea so you have accessibility to it.

[janetcbl]

Water from the tap or in pitchers on the table in St. Petersburg is not a good idea to drink for Westerners. Giardia (a parasite) is in the water system...it doesn't seem to bother the Russians, but can make others very ill, even six months after being exposed. Many river cruises supply bottled water to their passengers.

[kaisatsu]

Tap water is generally safe in Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) even for those who aren't used to it. Like in all cities sometimes the tap water has a less than pleasant flavor, but it's usually just fine. In fact, the Oslo tap water often beats the bottled spring water in blind taste tests here. This is a good thing since bottled water is pricey. A 500 ml bottle can easily cost $3.50, but since public drinking fountains aren't particularly common, you may want to carry your own refillable bottle.

[Ultima Thule]

Helsinki tap water if of highest quality, it is considered "food" by the law and exceeds all the EU quality standards and recommendations, some of them by a hundred or a thousend fold.

It is probably superior to any bottled water you could buy.

 

http://www.helsinginvesi.fi/index.asp?language=2

(select: Activities / water production / water treatment )

 

Also I have used the Stockholm and Berlin tap water without any problem.

 

However, there shouldnä't be any problem finding bottled water in the stores. In Helsinki for example you can buy 1 1/2 litre German made carbonated water for 95 eurocent at Lidl, western end of Kamppi shopping mall (bus station).

[Leejnd4]

We were told that tap water is perfectly fine for Americans in all the ports we visted EXCEPT Russia. We drank only bottled water in Russia. We stayed for four nights in Stockholm and drank tap water, and had no problems.

[Dave and Micha]

It seems that everyone has you covered! :D Here in Germany the water is excellent, although here on the coast it has a bit of a smell so we drink bottled water. The two types offered are Sprudel = sparkling or Still - normal.

 

One other point... when you buy bottled water or drinks from a store here in Germany there is a deposit on them.

[Giantfan13]

Glad to hear the good reports about the water.

 

I guess I was more concerned with Americans drinking Euro water. I would assume Europeans have grown accustomed to their won water, while Americans may not have that tolerance. We will do the bottle route, especially in Russia

[Ultima Thule]

In Helsinki for example you can buy 1 1/2 litre German made carbonated water for 95 eurocent at Lidl, western end of Kamppi shopping mall (bus station).

 

Make that 99 cent but it includes the 40 cent deposit. ;)

 

Think the same bottle costed just 19 + 40 cent in Berlin.

[cruisemom42]

Glad to hear the good reports about the water.

 

I guess I was more concerned with Americans drinking Euro water. I would assume Europeans have grown accustomed to their won water, while Americans may not have that tolerance. We will do the bottle route, especially in Russia

 

Really, the standards of sanitation in Europe, including Scandinavia, are very high. There is nothing to worry about.....it would be no different than drinking the water in California if you are from New York.

 

For Russia, stick to bottled.

[tg_lindo]

Ultima Thule's post makes a lot of sense... after drinking tap water in Netherlands and Denmark (both of which were as pleasing or more so than my local northern california H20), I remarked to myself that Helsinki tap water tasted a step above the others. "pure" and "clean" are the words that came to mind.

 

I've repeated the experiment a couple times. Same results.

[RachelG]

We travel in western Europe all the time and always drink tap water. Never had any problems.

However, Russia is not western Europe--definitely would drink bottled water there. And we stuck with bottled in Estonia as well.