Food and Water Safety Abroad: How to Avoid Getting Sick

Check the CDC’s destination page for the country you’re visiting, which flags food and water risks, and ask your hotel. In much of Western Europe, Japan, Australia and Canada, tap water is generally treated and safe. In many other regions, it may not be, even in good hotels.

Upscale resorts and safari lodges often filter their water and provide bottled water in rooms. Use what they provide, and ask rather than assume. When in doubt, treat tap water as unsafe for drinking and brushing teeth.

Drinks are the easiest place to reduce risk, because safe options are usually easy to find.

Food that’s cooked and served steaming hot is the safest choice, because heat kills most germs. Factory-sealed packaged foods and dry foods such as bread and crackers are usually safe too. Fruit you wash and peel yourself, with clean hands, is a reasonable choice.

The riskiest foods are raw or uncooked: salads, even finely shredded ones, cut fruit, fresh salsas, raw or undercooked meat and seafood, and ceviche. Buffets with food sitting at room temperature deserve caution. Street food can be fine if it’s cooked to order and served piping hot.

Drink plenty of fluids, and use oral rehydration salts for more serious cases, especially for children and older travelers. The CDC notes that over-the-counter medicines such as loperamide can reduce symptoms. Some clinicians prescribe a standby antibiotic for severe cases; take it only as directed.

Seek medical care for high fever, bloody stools, signs of dehydration or symptoms that don’t improve, and see a doctor if severe diarrhea starts after you get home. Pack the basics in your travel first aid kit, and see a clinician before you go; our travel health and vaccines guide explains vaccines like hepatitis A and typhoid.

Boiling is the most reliable way to make water safe. Filters vary: many remove bacteria and parasites, but most don’t remove viruses unless combined with chemical disinfection or UV treatment. Read the product’s specifications before relying on one.

For treks and remote travel, carry purification tablets as a backup; see the adventure trek packing list. On safari, most camps handle drinking water for you; our guide to luxury safari lodges explains what to expect.