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Over the next week I'm travelling around in Morocco and I wonder whether buying bottled water is essential or tap water is safe enough to drink. According to the Wikitravel entry:

As a rule, do not drink tap water at all in Morocco, even in hotels, as it contains much higher levels of minerals than the water in Europe. For local people this is not a problem as their bodies are used to this and can cope, but for travellers from places such as Europe, drinking the tap water will usually result in illness. Generally this is not serious, an upset stomach being the only symptom, but it is enough to spoil a day or two of your holiday.

When it says 'contains more minerals', does it mean tap water is typically 'hard water' or something else? As long as it means just hard water, I'm fine with it. I'd love to get some objective information on how safe tap water is in Morocco.

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I would be cautious. So as to stay in peace with Montezuma, I would refrain from drinking tap water in Morocco.

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    This answer is just pure subjective opinion with no factual information. I wouldn't drink the tapwater in Morocco either but I wouldn't try to answer a factual question without a factual answer. – hippietrail Jul 24 '13 at 2:10
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One should not drink tap water in Morocco - it is due to different bacteria. The same applies to mountain springs.
You should boil it or treat with tablets before drinking.
It may be also advisable to clean your teeth using bottled or treated water to avoid the risk of swallowing.

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I just spent 16 days in Morocco and even though I did read the answers here before I went, I did drink the tap water in the big cities (Tangiers, Fez, Marrakech, Casablanca) from the first day and did not get sick at all.

But I have a long history of travelling and not getting sick, so you should not take me as a typical European.

If you are on a short holiday, stick with bottled water, but if you know you have a strong stomach, go ahead drink the tap water and then down-vote me after you get sick.

I always asked the locals whether they drink it, and if so I did as well.

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    Asking the locals is never a good solution. In Mexico the locals drink the tap water, but even someone like you with a strong stomach would probably get horribly sick there. – Ryan Aug 6 '13 at 16:55

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