Top 5 apps for finding drinking water sources while travelling

Walking for hours to find water during a trip, your throat parched under the scorching sun... Sound familiar? Being able to easily refill your water bottle can make the difference between an enjoyable trip and a miserable one. However, finding drinking water in an unfamiliar city or on the road is not always easy. Beyond the comfort of travellers, access to free water fountains is also a powerful gesture to reduce the purchase of disposable bottles and combat plastic pollution.

Here is our 2025 selection of the best apps for locating drinking water sources.

5. Water Finder

Water Finder does exactly what it says on the tin, and that's good enough. This app focuses on quickly locating drinking fountains and water points around the world. It allows you to find the nearest sources and check whether they are free or require a small contribution. For each location, you can find accessibility information and the last inspection date. However, you will not be able to view photos of the locations or obtain reliable information about the quality and condition of the water.

Advantages:

- Clear and easy-to-use interface.
- International database of drinking water points.

Disadvantages:

- No filtering option.
- Database sourced from Open Street Map.
- Little information on the condition or quality of the water.
- Presence of advertising.

4. Tap Water Stations and Hydration

This app focuses on health, hydration and ecology. It offers a comprehensive network of drinking water points with over 250,000 refill points in more than 100 countries. It also lists partner establishments that offer free refills for bottles or water bottles, often as part of anti-plastic initiatives. If you are visiting large cities, this is the ideal app. However, when travelling on the road and outside urban areas, the solutions it offers are more limited.

Advantages:

- List of water fountains and partner businesses.
- Focus on zero plastic and sustainable development.
- Information on opening hours and accessibility.

Disadvantages:

- Uneven coverage depending on the country.
- Lack of options outside major urban areas.

3. Park4Night

Well known in the van life and motorhome community, Park4Night lists parking, rest and service areas. And guess what? Most of them are equipped with drinking water points. Each listing often includes reviews and photos from the community, as well as information on other available facilities (drainage points, electricity, toilets, etc.). If you're on the road, this is an essential app. However, it's much less practical to use if you're travelling on foot.

Advantages:

- Ideal for travellers in vans or motorhomes.

- Reviews and photos from the community.

- Precise filtering according to the services you are looking for.

Disadvantages:

- Designed primarily for converted vehicles.

- Not very suitable for a quick search on foot in the city.

2. FreeTaps

FreeTaps is a collaborative application developed by the Eaupen association. It lists more than 20,000 drinking water points in France, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and even India. These are often public water points or partner retailers. Participating establishments usually display a sticker in their window indicating that they offer free water bottle refills.

Advantages:

- More than 20,000 water points listed.

- Sticker on partners' shop windows.

- Option to add or report new points.

Disadvantages:

- Coverage still limited in some regions (particularly in America).

- Little information on the condition or maintenance of the facilities.

1. BubblesMapper

BubblesMapper is much more than just a fountain locator. The app is a European platform focused on travellers' well-being. It lists drinking fountains, as well as toilets, showers, luggage storage, changing rooms and baby changing facilities. On BubblesMapper, you'll find more than 600,000 facilities listed in over 27 European countries and more than 20 search filters.

Here are the top 5 reasons to choose BubblesMapper for your next trip:

- Ecosystemic:

all a traveller's pressing needs are covered (toilets, showers, fountains, lockers, etc.).

- Urban inclusion and social innovation:

equitable access to infrastructure, adaptation for people with reduced mobility and families, etc.

- Hygiene and comfort:

rigorous selection of locations, information on cleanliness, comfort and accessibility.

- Collaboration and continuous improvement:

real-time updates, involvement of retailers, local authorities and users to ensure the database is always up to date.

- European coverage:

available in 27 EU countries and beyond, designed for multimodal journeys and cross-border travel.

Try BubblesMapper now and turn your next trip into a comfortable, worry-free experience.