Not in most countries. If you cannot drink the tap water in your country, you will have purified water available at your home. We suggest packing up a metal water bottle that you can easily refill from these purified water filters to take with you to school and to use during the day. You can also purchase bottled water at any convenience store. Some volunteers have preferred to travel with a purifier instead of relying on bottled water or purified water at their ILP house or apartment.

In countries where it’s particularly important to avoid the tap water, avoid drinking liquids with ice in them at restaurants (unless you know the water to make the ice is purified), or eating fruits washed with a questionable water source. If you’re not sure, eat fruits that have a thick peel (bananas, pineapple, etc) instead of ones you bite directly into (like apples).