Water, Cairo

but not a drop to drink?

Judging by some posters. the tap water in Cairo is either an infallible way of seeing Egypt from the vantage point of the nearest toilet acceptable to your Western sensibilities, or so heavily chlorinated that you've been the victim of a primitive WMD.

Posssibly the raging trots are like the ancient mariner, and I am blessed by not being the one in three loosening trousers and calculating distances.

Tap water in Cairo is perfectly drinkable. I've drunk worse in the UK. Sure, bottled is nicer. And might come from a fridge. And its what I drink from choice. But when you order a coffee or even a lemonade in a cafe, it should invariably be accompanied by a glass of water. It is if you're egyptian. In some places they don't bring tourists the water, knowing they'll leave it 95% of the time.

Dont drink tap water,it`s like drinking chlorine,always drink botteld.

There are plenty of local brands of bottled water (Baraka,Siwa,& Hayat)as well as many other worldwide known names like Evian,Nestle ,Dassani and Schweppes.

I was in this hotel in Cairo, on the tenth floor and I was only drinking bottled water. Then, I had this totally STUPID idea to rinse my mouth with tap water. I mean, after all, I wasn't going to swallow it. SO WHAT? The nano-second that water got into my mouth, I was doomed. I wound up with a case of diarrhea that lasted for over two weeks, long after I was back in Italy, heading up for Paris. NEVER let any of their water CLOSE to your mouth.

Well, this is something the most of you already know. Avoid any contact with a tap water. No ice, no veg or fruits if you can't peal or cook them..
But if you get sic follow this advice please!!!
First day when you arrive in Egypt go to any pharmacy and buy ENTOCID ( pronounce- entoseed ) tablets. The pack of 8 costs only 2 LE . On the first sighn of sicknes drink at once 2 tablets and after take them for few days, one in the morning and one in the evening. (although the problems are most likely to stop in few hours after first two)
Belive me it is working. The advice was given to us from Serbian guide who lives there for last 8 years.

I have to put this tip on all of my Egypt pages.

Dont drink the water, its not worth the pain! There are plenty of bottles of the usual, plus arabic brands too. And especially when you arrive, be careful. Even brushing your teeth can cause some rumblings down below! Also best to avoid salads and fruit and veg in restaurants that have been washed in local water for the first few days.

At the beggining I thought they were saying "don't drink tap water" because of bacteria or pathogen or something like this.

The truth is that this water IS OVERCHLORINATED. Some travelers have not been used to such amounts of chlorine and this sends them to the toilet for days. Don't risk it. Drink bottled.

..and for me personally I was also trying to drink some bottled water that was Lebanese (since Im used to it, like Sahat) or some french bottled water like evian. Whatever your choice is, NEVER drink tap water.

Well,this thing is not recommended for tourists from rich country.
drinking water from tape is not that good thing,I think better to use bottles its very cheap here "1.5Pounds for 1 litre"

Traveller diahrria is something you may get while you are here.