Traveling can be a bladder test, especially in Europe, but free public toilets and programs like Germany’s “Nette Toilette” offer relief. Learn tips for finding bathrooms without paying or compromising cleanliness.

Traveling, especially in Europe, can become a test of your bladder strength. Finding a public bathroom to relieve yourself and that doesn’t require you to dig out coins or a credit card before you are allowed to pee can be a challenge.

Things are changing slowly, however, as public toilets are becoming part of city planning.

Many cities now have free public toilets in busy central areas or parks where you simply push a button to go in – no more pay to pee. The doors lock behind you and automatically unlock after a set time, perhaps 20 minutes. And these toilet units are pressure-washed on the inside after each use. In Germany, a special program called “Nette Toilette” (Nice Toilet) has signage in restaurants or other public places announcing its toilets are available for public use. We discovered this a few years ago when traveling in Regensburg on the Romantic Road – and it was a relief (pun intended).

In Berlin, a city we frequent, Michael and I were out on a bike ride, and, yes, I was so desperate that I was going to pay. But when I parked my bike and went over to the little building in a park, I was thrilled to find one of those free, auto-clean contraptions as mentioned above. And clean, too. Praise the heavens!

In the past, we also knew that both Starbucks and McDonald’s had open bathroom policies. And we took advantage of that when traveling. When in Athens a few years ago, we found a McDonald’s in the central area, and we were in and out of it daily, no questions asked. But those policies have now seemingly changed. The discussion about Starbucks rethinking its public bathroom policy came up in 2022 for security and staff safety reasons. These days, if you go into a Starbucks internationally, the doors usually have codes. Domestically, too, but I’ve found if I waltz in and ask nicely, I can get the code. Or you can loiter near the door and walk in when somebody leaves.

To help our fellow travelers, we mention free public toilets in our stories, like this one about what to do in New Bern, North Carolina.

The international pay-to-pee system

In the United States, I have found it much easier to slide in the side door of a fast-food joint, use the bathroom, and leave. They are often so busy that nobody cares. But internationally, that’s not so easy since there is often a bathroom monitor sitting there with a dish, with a few strategically placed coins on it (hint, hint) or even a sign that states a usage fee of 50 cents to 1 euro (consider for a moment that 1 euro is more than a dollar).

If I’m desperate and endangering my bladder and kidney health, I have given in to this pissy payment scheme. And when the toilets are spotless, with plenty of soap, towels, and TP, as well as warm water, I can support it. But then there are those places that charge you, even though they are a rotten, stinky, filthy mess with no supplies or warm water. At that I revolt.

In Morocco, where you often paid on the way out, I could assess the cleanliness, which was usually sub-par. My trick was to hold a coin in my hand and tap it on the plate of coins, then skedaddle out. I refuse to pay for a mess without supplies. In Argentina, a woman once barked at me for not paying (I understood that much Spanish), but after a dirty experience, I just shrugged, held up my hands in the universal I-have-no-money sign, and left.

Of course, you must listen to your gut and assess the situation yourself. As an American traveling, however, please don’t act like foreign money is Monopoly money and throw it around.

What to do to minimize the crossed-legs desperation?

First, you need to take every opportunity you get to relieve your bladder – even if you don’t think you gotta go yet. Michael and I are serial pee-sters.

• When you are leaving your lodging, relieve your bladder as you get ready. Then, my goodness, do it again before you walk out the door.
• When you go into a business to shop or patronize it (a museum, restaurant, attraction, etc.), go find the toilet. When you are ready to leave, use the toilet again.
• On a train? Use the toilet before you disembark and must pay in the station.
• If you are in a hotel, ask for the locations of public toilets. Many cities have them now, but with paper maps with locations marked going the way of the dinosaur, make sure to put their whereabouts on your radar.
• Consider seeking a toilet-finder app but be forewarned: Many are crowd-sourced and may not be accurate. Worth a try, though.

What if you really gotta pee when out traveling and touring?

• Go looking in a public mall or large department store, places that regular residents go, not tourists.
• Consider going to a museum. The toilets are often in the lobby area and accessible without paying. To assuage your guilt, spend a few minutes glancing around the museum store or at brochures.
• Try heading into a fast-food place and slip in with the masses.
• Ask — yes, ask — in a restaurant (not a swamped tourist place) or museum. It never hurts. I did that once out of desperation in Switzerland (with a big smile), and the woman at the front pointed toward the bathroom and waved me past. Granted, you may get rebuffed.
• Walk into a busy, higher-end hotel and – here’s the trick — make sure you look like you know where you are going, and do not go with a group of people. I used to do this as a college student in San Francisco. I knew where the bathroom in a specific downtown hotel was, and I’d walk in and head straight toward it.
• Plan your touring day to incorporate pee stops, i.e., schedule tours, museum visits and meals for example at times when you will need to give your bladder a break.
• If the facility is clean, give up and ante up the small change. Read my essay in our newsletter about one time I was ready and willing to pay.

Final words of advice: Always carry a few squares of TP, a small pack of tissues, and some hand sanitizer. Pay attention to whether you can throw TP in the toilet or a can beside the toilet (In some countries, plumbing won’t handle TP).

You may get pissy about the pay-to-pee system but be smart, stay healthy, be respectful of local customs, and keep it clean.