Why Tourists Should Avoid Buying Bottled Water While In Scotland

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Scotland is an incredible place to visit, whether you're marveling at the views on the Isle of Skye, visiting Eilean Donan Castle, or checking out the overlooked National War Museum inside Edinburgh Castle. There are plenty of things to see, do, and buy, but one purchase you should absolutely skip in Scotland is bottled water. There is a really good reason that goes beyond the importance of reducing plastic in landfills and the ocean. Scotland just has darn good tap water. Reddit users commend the taste and clarity of the country's water, and the insurance company AllClear found that it was the most popular on the social media platform (via Time Out). It was also listed as the second-best tasting water in the world (going by the most mentions), being beaten only by New York City. 

Drinking from the tap also saves money. Bottled water can really add up, particularly on vacation when you're not thinking about it. If you're like most Americans, you probably have a ton of reusable water bottles at home that you can bring with you. Even better? You can pick up a travel bottle like the YCTMall Collapsible Water Bottle, which has a carabiner clip to attach it to your belt or bag.

AllClear isn't the only company that has talked about Scotland having great tap water. In a video from AEX Reports on Instagram ranking tap water in the United Kingdom, the city of Glasgow came in first place. Glasgow is an underrated Scottish destination anyway, and now you have another reason to go. In addition, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator of Scotland's annual report (via Smart Water Magazine) for the country said that, after testing over 272,000 times in 2023, Scotland's tap water met the required standards 99.88% of the time. 

One Redditor on the r/Scotland page said, "Just moved to Scotland and talked about the water for at least a month straight. Get excited every time I am thirsty. I love water here!!!!" Another said, "[M]oving from london to edinburgh was an experience i will never forget. the first day i could drink from the tap without a filter. now i never look back."

Finally, while you should absolutely drink the tap water and enjoy the taste while visiting Scotland, you may want to skip ordering anything with ice while you're on the plane over there (or headed anywhere else), as well as with water (like coffee and tea) unless they're offering bottled. The water tanks on planes might not be cleaned as much as you'd like, and it's best to bring your own with you, despite the airport prices.