As the date of our trip nears I'm starting to think about the practical things. I'm sure this question has come up in other posts, but I haven't found much by using search terms. So here goes...what can one safely drink in India? I know that beer is a 'safe' beverage and decent tasting; I've read on this forum that the wine is pretty mediocre and worth avoiding. But what about tea and coffee? Have people been comfortable with the quality of water used in tea and coffee served in hotels? Friends who have traveled extensively in India have suggested we treat all our water (even bottled) with iodine and vitamin C (to make it palatable after the iodine), but they're more rugged travelers than we are. We'll be staying in very decent hotels. And what about fruit juices? I don't imagine we'll be buying juice on the street unless we can see it being juiced and served without mixing with water - but what about juices served in restaurants? And the yogurt drinks? Your comments are appreciated!

I drank tea and coffee and bottled water without problems, and I didn't stay in upmarket hotels. I really can't imagine treating everything I drank on a ten week trip with iodine!!! Do check bottles to see that they haven't been tampered with. With fruit juice you need to be very careful - watch it being prepared to see that it isn't cut with water, and even then you may be better off with paper cups.

That's a new one-about the iodine. Had NO problems either drinking or easily finding bottled water, which is easily available. Many hotels give it to you.
No probs with chai (boiled milk tea) or lassi (yogurt like drink) Some hotels/guest houses leave water in pitcher or thermos--wouldn't touch touch that.
The bottled soda we had was safe, and you may become a lime-soda-with-fresh-ginger addict, as we did.
If you saw "Slumdog Millionaire" there's a funny scene in a restaurant kitchen where the two brothers are refilling and regluing the caps of bottled water!
Keep all tap water out of your mouth. Use only bottled water for brushing teeth, and keep mouth closed while in shower So yes, make sure caps do not look tampered with.

Supposedly Bisleri and Aquafina bottled water are among the safest brands. Tea and coffee should be fine if they are HOT. (If you're serious about your coffee you may want to bring your own powdered expresso or Starbuck's VIA packets to add to hot water...but that's just a taste, not a safety, issue.)

I had wondered about the lassi -- do want to try it. And the lime-soda-with-fresh-ginger sounds great!

To answer your first question, "no" you cannot drink safely in India. It requires a lot more thinking and planning.

The safest plan is:
a) securely bottled water, and
b) bottled sodas such as Limca or Tumbs-up.

Always check the caps to make sure they are not wiggly or appear factory sealed.

But don't put your mouth on the bottle. Pour it slowly into your mouth so you don't get the germs from the neck of the bottle.

We drank bottled water (mostly Bisleri, as our driver, Ramesh Meena, felt it was his duty to keep us hydrated and that was the brand he had in his cooler), coffee, tea, wine, beer, gin, tonic (no ice), and sweet lassi, plus raita made from yogurt and dishes with paneer made from milk). We used bottled water to brush our teeth and didn't let the shower water spill into our mouths. The only place I drew the line was in Amritsar when we were offered a snack that consisted of a puffball of fried pastry doused in spicy water. Since I didn't know the origin of the water, we passed, although it looked yummy.

Just think: boiled water?? Bottled water?? A milk product that's been boiled?? Or clabbered with lactobacillus?? We were given pitchers of water in our B & B in Delhi that was prepared by reverse osmosis and we were fine.

I should clarify my sentence that the bottle SHOULD appear factory sealed.

Indiana: the puffed balls with spicy water are called "pani puri'. You chose well to skip them. They are really yummy, but the spicy water (which is a concoction of many spices) can give you acid upset like you've never known.

Personally, I avoid most milk based products. You have no way to know how the milk has been handled and if it has been kept properly refrigerated. It's a common practice in India to cut milk with water, so now you're back to the water issue again.

I second everything thursdaysd said. We definitely didn't treat bottled water with iodine, and sometimes used tap water to brush our teeth (no drinking though) and we were generally fine. As a foreigner you are probably more susceptible to Delhi Belly, but that's just part of the (low) risk of travel. Enjoy your trip!

Idonine tablets in water, oh my, I have not heard of that since canoe trips at summer camp in the 1970s….

Avoiding tap water for the most part, and drinking bottled water instead, is all you really need to do, IMO. If the seal on a bottle is broken, then I would not drink it; otherwise you really should not have any concerns with bottled water. Adding iodine to already purified bottled water seems quite unnecessary. Even using idone, my recollecation from Girl Scouts is that you still have to put the water through a filter, as otherwise you can’t remove parasites (such as Ghardia), which iodine cannot treat. So you need both a filter and the tablets, plus something to filter the water into. Seems like a lot of work. If you friends did not use a filter, then the iodine might have just been a comforting placebo for them.

Tea is served scorchingly hot, as the water has been boiled, often several times (esp. for Masala chai where water and milk are boiled together for quite a while). I have had tea in many different situations in all kinds of places, from 5 star hotels to local village homes, and never had any problem with it. I am not a coffee drinker, and in any event I don’t think you will be offered coffee in local places or street stalls, as that is not the beverage of choice. Coffee is more for the upscale crowd at hotels and the local versions of Starbucks, and in those places the hygiene is fairly good.

In a good hotel, I would not have any issue with either ice or fruit juice. Much of the juice, like cranberry juice, is imported in any event. I would not drink juice from a street stall, as it is usually mixed with local water. (Instead of coconut juice from a stall, you can have an actual coconut which is opened before you and a straw stuck in. This is more of a south Indian thing.) There is also bottled juice and juicepacks, both of which should be fine as they are made with treated water. Sodas are fine too. I agree that the beer is good, and refreshing on a hot day. Local Indian wine varies in quality, but you can find imported ones at hotels and in some wine shops (one of the few places in Asia I can get Cakebread wine, a small California winery, is at the JW Marriott Mumbai). The sake of of liquior in retail shops varies from state to state, but I believe all the states on your itin, other than Gujarat, have licensed “wine shops”. It may not be possible to purchase liquior outside of hotels in Varanasi, I have never tried but I have a feeling that may be the case.

In a 4 or 5 star hotel, the tap water in the sink and showers is often filtered and is safe to drink and use to brush your teeth with, but ask the hotel if you have a concern. They all provide bottled water in the room should you want to use that for brushing your teeth. For the hotels on your list, I would not worry about having an open mouth in the shower (not something I have ever worried about in any Indian hotel to be honest, not matter what class.) Eating fruits from buffets, like watermelon at breakfast or lunch, should also present no problems; in the streets I would stick with fruit which is unpeeled and you peel yourself (after washing your hands of course). Hotels always seem to have the best mangoes, so do indulge if you are there in season.

I always have at least one lassi a day in India, mostly because I love them; but also because they help build up the good bacteria in your gut. This is a yoghurt drink, they come sweet, plain or salted and sometimes in fruit flavours like banana. Plain Indian yoghurst are delicious, with a mixed sour and sweet taste you can’t get elsewhere. Again, in a good hotel I would not have any issue with yohgurt.

I would not eat meat served at street stalls or more downscale restaurants. I would go veg in those cases, and as the veg selection is so good, you won’t miss the meat. Many Indian only eat meat in their own homees when they know where it has come from and how it as been prepared. In a good hotel, the meat would be safely treated and cooked.

Finally, do not abandon all common sense. Wash your hands before eating any food (your mother was so right about this!) If the silverware looks dirty, ask for new a new set. If a restaurant seems unclean, leave. Another poster here once said that it is often the <i>difference</i> in food and water, and not really its cleanliness, that upsets people's digestive systems more often than not. (My mother moved from Chicago to the east coast almost 50 years ago and STILL thinks the water tastes weird....)

I have to say that I am a person who eats sushi in India (try the Wasabi restaurant at the Taj Mahal, it is excellent, better than Nobu, IMO, and they have “vegetarian sushi” options as well). So obviously I don’t get overly concerned. I also have to say that in over 100 trips to India, I have been ill exactly twice. So IMO the food “issue” is a bit overhyped.

I did drink coffee in down-market places in India, but it was Nescafe. The water will arrive hot but pre-sweetened unless you are very clear you don't want sweet coffee...

jaya: "pani puri"? Thanks! That's what they looked like -- tiny puris.

I agree with Cicerone about washing your hands. That's the most common source of contamination anywhere in the world -- use lots of hand sanitizer and disinfectant hand wipes when away from soap and water.

When I was in Mumbai I was told that bottled water is subsidized in India - at any rate, it was the same price whether we purchased it in a supermarket or from the small shop in front of our hotel, and just a few rupees for a large bottle. From what I understand, locals are just as concerned as tourists over water quality. The office I was working in provided a water cooler and everyone - Indians and foreign workers alike - refilled their personal bottles from it all day long.

I also worked with a group of students, and it was amazing to watch them share a bottled drink. One bottle, no cups - they have perfected the act of pouring the water from the bottle to their mouths in an arc, without ever letting the rim of the container touch their lips! (After a lot of practice, I can manage a little water in this way, with the neck of the bottle hovering a mere inch or two from my mouth. Hardly the elegant motion my students exhibited!)

Also in Mumbai, 'pani puri' is called 'bel puri', and they claim it was invented there. Sadly, I had to wait until my return to NYC to be able to try it, since there was no way I'd risk that water...