Monday’s Money Saving Tips: Saving Money On Water On Your Travels

. It’s an essential part of your backpacking days and you simply need to drink water. Over the years I’ve learned not to waste money buying water as every traveller seems to do. Here are a few tips on saving money with water. Don’t be that idiot who buys a bottle of water everyday from a corner shop.

1. Free Water on Flights

Most airlines give out free water. Often in bottles and cartons. The tip is not to drink them – put them in your bag and take them with you. And don’t be embarrassed to ask for more water – you’re a customer and it’s free! I often leave flights with a hat-trick of water cartons in my backpack.

2. Boil The Kettle

Most hostels and hotels provide a kettle. Simply boil some water and take it with you in your flask. I’ve a hot flask for this, but if you boil it before you sleep, just wake upand it will be cool enough in the morning to pour into a plastic bottle. Also give the kettle a rinse before you boil it – hostel kettles are not clean!!

3. Never turn down a free bottle of water

On your travels, you’ll be offered free bottles of water in so many places. Take it all. Milk it. You’ll save so much money. Some buses give you a free bottle, some hostels and hotels, some tours provie free water. If you’ve brought your own water and are offered a free one on a tour – take it – you can never have enough water!

4. Drink Tap water when you can

When you’re in a country that has drinkable tap water, fill up your water bottle with it. Drink it when it’s there. Countries like Australia, New Zealand and Northern Ireland are all pretty safe for drinking tap water. To the point where I get absolutely baffled why anyone in those countries would waste money buying  bottle of water!

5. Use a water filter bottle

I wrote about my Water Filter Bottle before. It’s a trustworthy tool to have that allows you to drink water on the move, directly from rivers etc. as the carbon filter is meant to sift out all the crap from the water, making it pure and safe.

6. Buy Large Bottles

For some reason a 1 or 2 litre bottle of water works out so much better value per millilitre than a 300ml or 500ml bottle, so take the hint and buy a bigger one. Fits easily into your backpack anyone, so you miht as well buy a big one to last a few days.

7. Water Purifying Tablets

While I don’t use these myself, many travellers carry them. Drop one into a bottle of tap water and they should purify the water making it safe to drink. Others swear by it, but they don’t come cheap.

While these are all good tips that I’ve used down the years, I hope you can use them in some way. One thing though – do be careful. I’ve had diarrhoea in places like Ethiopia, Myanmar and China from drinking water there. Even bottled water is not always trustworthy. And avoid ice if you can. Breeding grounds for germs. Stay healthy and stay safe!