Can You Drink Tap Water in Albania?

Tap water in Albania is not recommended for drinking and should be avoided throughout the country. Albania has some of the most significant water infrastructure challenges in Europe — a legacy of decades of communist-era underinvestment followed by a difficult transition period. While water treatment exists in major cities, the distribution network is old, leaking, and intermittent, creating conditions for contamination between the treatment plant and the tap. Albania is not an EU member state, though it is an EU candidate country, and its water quality standards and enforcement do not yet meet EU levels.

In Tirana, Albania's rapidly developing capital and increasingly popular city break destination, tap water supply is intermittent in many parts of the city. Water is often stored in rooftop tanks that can accumulate bacteria and sediment. The municipal treatment system exists but is inadequate for the city's growing population. Most Tirana residents — including those in the rapidly expanding middle class — use bottled water or large water dispensers for drinking. Hotels catering to international visitors provide bottled water as standard.

On the Albanian Riviera — one of the Mediterranean's fastest-growing beach destinations, stretching from Sarandë to Himara — tap water infrastructure is even more limited. Many coastal villages and resort areas receive intermittent supply, and the rapid growth of tourism infrastructure has outpaced water system development. Bottled water is available throughout the riviera and is essential for all visitors.

In historic Gjirokastër, Berat, and other UNESCO heritage cities, and in rural and mountain areas, water infrastructure is similarly limited. Albania's natural water resources — its rivers, lakes, and springs — are genuinely excellent, but the distribution and treatment infrastructure has not yet been brought up to the standard needed to make tap water safe for visitors.