The Unsafe Drinking Mistake To Avoid While On Vacation In Mexico

If you're traveling to Mexico, you need to be careful about what you drink. While drinking cocktails at a margarita bar in Cancun may leave you feeling sick the next day, we're not talking about that kind of drinking — we're talking about drinking the tap water. It's absolutely vital to find ways to stay hydrated at the beach, but unfortunately, if it's one of Mexico's many gorgeous beaches, from Troncones to Sayulita, you're probably going to want to drink bottled or filtered water.

Exactly how safe tap water in Mexico is depends on where you are. There definitely are urban areas where residents generally drink tap water with no issues — but unless you're 100% positive that you're traveling through an area known for clean water, you're much better off just buying bottled water during your trip. The CDC recommends following food and water precautions while traveling in general, including choosing commercially bottled water and other beverages over tap water in any destination where the water may not be potable, including Mexico.

While you can usually drink the tap water while you're onboard a cruise, if you're on land in Mexico, you should usually avoid drinking from the tap. There are many areas where tap water is only suitable for showering and cleaning, not drinking. According to the CDC, Mexico is one of the many places where you may get Giardiasis from contaminated water, and there is a risk of more serious illnesses, like typhoid fever. The most common result, however, is probably a case of traveler's diarrhea, sometimes known as "Montezuma's Revenge," after the Aztec emperor.

This phenomenon is not unique to Mexico; according to the CDC, 30-70% of people traveling for two weeks may experience this unpleasant condition. It is essentially food poisoning, and can come from a variety of contaminated food or water sources, but drinking contaminated water is a very common way to get it. Often, travelers will become sick within a week or two of drinking bad water and find themselves sick for anywhere from a couple days to several weeks without treatment. Fortunately, bottled water is readily available in Mexico, so as long as you remember to plan ahead and buy some water rather than refilling your bottle in the bathroom at your hotel without checking if it's filtered, you should be able to avoid this trip-ruining travel experience.