You can’t drink the tap water in Oaxaca. Here’s how to buy safe drinking water.

Do what the locals do, that’s what I say! If they’re not drinking the tap water, there’s no way I’m going to drink it!!

It all comes down to poor filtering systems which makes it unsafe to drink. No one in Oaxaca, or Mexico drinks the tap water.

You can safely brush your teeth with tap water in Oaxaca — locals do it daily without problems. If you have a sensitive stomach, you can use filtered water for extra caution.

Ice in restaurants and cafés is also safe to consume, as it’s always made from purified water.

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How to buy filtered water in Oaxaca

Finding filtered drinking water in Oaxaca is easy — everyone buys it daily. Whether you’re visiting for a few days or living here long-term, you’ll have several convenient options depending on your stay.

Longer stays or living here, you’re going to be buying the 20 litre bottles called a ‘Garrafón’. You will first purchase the bottle with water, and from then on, each time will just be a change over ‘refill’ with your garrafón.

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Name brand Garrafón

The bigger brand names are the likes of Bonafont, Ceil, Epura. They can be purchased at some shops (tiendas), Oxxo’s, supermarkets etc… each place you go will stock either 1 of the brands. If you buy one brand, Bonafont for example, you can only exchange your next bottle with Bonafont as the bottles are like for like.

Brand tucks also pass through some neighbourhoods and you can change them over at your door. You will either hear the music from the truck, or their voice yelling out the type of water.

First up cost is around $150 pesos (US$8) for the bottle and water. Each changeover from there on is around $60 pesos.

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Filtered Garrafón

This is the most common option among locals. Small neighborhood shops filter water on site and sell non-brand garrafónes at a lower price.

You buy the bottle once, then exchange it whenever someone passes through your street calling out “agua.” It’s extremely convenient and saves carrying a 20-kg bottle home.

Lots of the smaller ‘corner shops’ stock these. Cost: 20-30 pesos (US$2) per refill.

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Buy smaller bottles from any shop or supermarket

For short stays, buying smaller bottles is the easiest option. Every supermarket and local shop sells purified bottles from 4 to 10 liters.

It’s the most expensive option, but still cheap and very convenient.

So with all this, you should be sorted with all your drinking water needs in Oaxaca 👌

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