If you’re planning your first trip to Vietnam, you’re likely wondering about water safety, more specifically, drinking water. And if you weren’t wondering before, you are now!
Below, I’ll answer some common questions about water safety in Vietnam and offer some tips for first-time visitors.
The Short Answer
No, tap water across Vietnam is not safe to drink, no matter where you are or staying, even in fancy hotels.
I also wouldn’t try to boil the tap water and then drink it. There are bacteria and heavy metals in tap water in Vietnam that can’t be fully eliminated by boiling it. Bottled water is cheap and easily accessible! More on Vietnam safety from the CDC here.
Are ice cubes safe in Vietnam?
The question of ice cube safety comes up a lot among travelers. I see it asked repeatedly in my Vietnam travel planning groups on Facebook.
Any restaurant or eatery that caters to tourists will likely use in-house filtered water to make their ice cubes. Many places order purified ice cubes from suppliers and have them delivered. So for restaurants, especially in any touristy cities or areas, I wouldn’t worry at all. Personally, I also wouldn’t worry about coffee shops either.
For street food and juice vendors, this is where I’d pay more attention. You could always ask the vendor with Google Translate whether they filter their ice cube water or not.
But personally, my thought process in this situation has always been: I’m not drinking the drink slowly enough for the ice cubes to all melt fully anyway. So I may ingest a bit of melted ice water in the end, and I’ve personally never had any issues. This goes for numerous random places I’ve stopped at in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.
Can I brush my teeth with tap water in Vietnam?
In my opinion (because I’ve been doing it for years), yes, you can brush your teeth with tap water in Vietnam. You can brush, swish, gargle, and spit out the water when you’re done. Of course, try to swallow as little water as possible.
I’ve heard of travelers only brushing their teeth with bottled or filtered water. I’ve also heard of travelers brushing with tap water, then rinsing with bottled or filtered water after.
Is it safe to shower in Vietnam?
Yes, you can shower normally in Vietnamese water. You don’t have to worry about the water getting on your face or in your ears. I just wouldn’t let large amounts get in my mouth.
Can I wash my face with tap water?
Yes, you can rinse and wash your face with tap water in Vietnam. It’s not a big deal if some gets in your nose, eyes, or ears. Just try not to swallow a lot of it.
Buying bottled water in Vietnam
Most hotels will only give two small bottles of water per day (likely the 500ml bottles), so you’ll need to buy bottles regularly. Thankfully, in most of the popular cities in Vietnam, there are tons of convenience stores around.
Some common ones: 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, WinMart, Circle K, and GS25. There are also tons of family-run/local convenience stores where you can buy bottled water.
For the 500ml, expect to pay 5.000 VND to 10.000 VND per bottle. For the bigger bottles, like the 1.5L, expect to pay 12.000 VND to 18.000 VND.
The 5L jugs are sold in the convenience stores, too. When I’m traveling, sometimes I’ll buy one or two of these to get it out of the way. These can cost around 30.000 VND to 40.000 VND each.
Finally, if you’re staying a bit longer, you can easily arrange to have the 18.5L jugs of water delivered to your apartment, house, or Airbnb. These can cost around 60.000 VND to 80.000 VND each.
Can I wash dishes with tap water?
Yes, you can wash dishes, cups, bowls, and silverware with tap water in Vietnam. You can then just leave it out to air dry in the rack or nearby. No need to immediately wipe it clean if you don’t want to.
Do locals drink tap water in Vietnam?
I don’t know any Vietnamese locals who drink straight-up tap water. They’ll usually drink bottled water, the large 18.5L delivered water jugs, or some kind of home filtration system. You can arrange to have many large water jugs delivered at a time.
Are there water dispensers in Vietnam?
Vietnam does not have filtered water dispensers scattered around the cities or inside condominiums like in Thailand, where you can fill up a water bottle for a few baht.
In Vietnam, sometimes you may get lucky and rent an Airbnb where the owner has installed a filtered water machine. I’ve stayed in places where individual apartments have this built directly into the sink. And I’ve stayed in other places where there’s a free filtered water machine in the common area for all residents. These are both uncommon, though.
What if you get an upset stomach?
There are chain pharmacies in Vietnam, such as Watsons, Pharmacity, and FPT Long Chau, scattered around the cities. There are also tons of mom-and-pop pharmacies, sometimes run by small families, where you can get medicine.
You can find all of these by using Google Maps and typing in “pharmacy” or “nha thuoc” or “hieu thuoc.” Just keep an eye out for what’s near or within short range of your hotel.
You can buy a lot of medicine over the counter, especially for upset stomach and diarrhea. From time to time, I’ll buy and load up on probiotics. You can get these in powder or pill form. These are probably good to start taking before your trip to Vietnam.
