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Travel

Holidays with toilets?

(30 Posts)
NittWitt Fri 25-Apr-25 09:38:13

Can you suggest a warm (not hot) destination for an autumn holiday in a place which has adequate public toilets?
The UK seems to have far fewer public toilets these days and I haven't travelled abroad in years so don't know what other places might be like, in that respect.

Northernsoulnanna Thu 24-Jul-25 14:24:19

We really struggled to find public toilets at the majority of the ports we stopped at on a recent Med Cruise.
We were advised to pop into a cafe and purchase water or similar and the owners wouldnt mind.
One cafe in Palma near the cathedral would let you use the loos but you had to pay 1 euro i think.

Margiknot Thu 24-Jul-25 13:05:41

Valletta in Malta. It’s hilly though.

Flippinheck Thu 24-Jul-25 09:11:45

Marmin

The app is called Toilet Finder. I have it and it works well. It is free.

Thank you. I didn’t even think to look for an app. This will be very useful when we visit Edinburgh and Fife next week.

silverlining48 Wed 23-Jul-25 19:29:08

A final word.,, we went back to Italy last autumn after many years and happily came across no holes in the ground.

silverlining48 Wed 23-Jul-25 19:26:49

German toilets are very interesting inasmuch as they have an inspection shelf for those interested enough to have a look.

silverlining48 Wed 23-Jul-25 19:22:40

Oh I have seen some dreadful toilets in Italy. My first visit to Italy was in the mid 60 s when public and bar toilets I came across were nearly all hole s in the ground .
Later in the 80 s we took our children -every year for nearly 20 years. I really loved Italy but toilets in bars and small restaurants were often awful, holes in the ground with all the spills and smell were dreadful. France had its share of these toilets too.

It was my birthday one particular year and we had been waiting for some hours fir our much delayed ( by a strike ) train on Ravello station. I resisted for hours It was all shiny chrome but it was filthy and stank even though it looked new, but it still was a hole in the ground.i just could not use it. I don’t know how women manage if wearing trousers,

Chardy Wed 23-Jul-25 18:58:50

I live on the south coast near the sea. There are 2 sets of public toilets on the prom and one set 20m off the main shopping street. So many places to sit and eat, don't they have to have toilets?

CoolCoco Wed 23-Jul-25 16:22:27

If you need to use a toilet in Italy it is fine to go into a bar or cafe. Usually fine. No hole in the floor ones - my Dad used to call them "Turkish Toilets".

Chocolatelovinggran Wed 23-Jul-25 15:51:48

Good old McDonald's. DD and I, wandering along the mega- chic Champs Elysee discovered that the cute pavement cafés mostly had no customer loos.
We fell into the McDonald's with cries of joy ( and relief)

Norah Wed 23-Jul-25 15:46:04

Ladyripple

I lived in Italy for many years,never once saw a hole in the floor toilet!!

Agreed.

We visit Italy 2-3 times a year, never seen unacceptable toilets.

Suzieque66 Wed 23-Jul-25 15:45:40

Just go into a Hotel .. they wont refuse you ..walk around ,,there are always loos on the Ground Floor ...

Lathyrus3 Wed 23-Jul-25 15:41:54

A friend of mine says the best toilets are the the ladies toilets in Betting shops. She says the ladies is always clean because it’s hardly ever used and there’s never a queue!

Lots of public toilets in Malta 🙂

cornergran Wed 23-Jul-25 15:35:01

Our costal town has toilets on the promenade - 30p for each use. Seems exorbitant to us but at least there are some. The cafes all have toilets but those in the parks are boarded up.

I didn’t know about the app mentioned, I’ll download it as Mr C worries about not finding somewhere. Sorry nittwitt * Ive not helped you. I did like the Channel Islands suggestion though.

Humbertbear Wed 23-Jul-25 14:28:03

If you go on an organised tour the tour manager will know where all the toilets are.

Ladyripple Fri 25-Apr-25 18:00:16

I lived in Italy for many years,never once saw a hole in the floor toilet!!

Grammaretto Fri 25-Apr-25 17:49:30

There are public toilets at the popular East Lothian beaches which are free.
There are 2 purpose built toilet blocks in our town centre, both boarded up.

GrandmaKT Fri 25-Apr-25 16:49:45

I know it will probably be too far for you to travel, but I just came on to say that New Zealand is fantastic for public toilets. Every park has a playground with free public toilets. Every beach has a free public toilet, usually with showers. Every little town or village has them. In 10 years of visiting I've never come across a dirty or vandalised one. Why can't it be like that here??!!

rockgran Fri 25-Apr-25 16:07:44

I was recently impressed by the number of public toilets in the Isle of Man.

rosie1959 Fri 25-Apr-25 15:05:59

Jersey certainly has plenty of toilets compared with mainland UK and they don’t charge either.

BlueBelle Fri 25-Apr-25 14:13:54

I couldn’t find any public toilets in Barcelona but all the cafes and bars seem happy for you to walk in and use them whether you are a patron or not
Like you Gramaretto we have lost our public town toilets they are supposed to be giving us new ones but in the meantime what ?

Grammaretto Fri 25-Apr-25 13:27:57

It's so dreadful where I live. All the public toilets have closed.

When I was a child you paid a penny. Wouldn't it be possible to bring back paying toilets? These could pay for an attendant?
I have asked my local councillors about this but they plead helplessness.

If shopping in the city, I use a department store, few of those left or a café.
Some cafés, like Starbucks, insist you buy something and give you a code.
Most supermarkets have toilets now but they aren't usually in town centres.
Good luck!

Dee1012 Fri 25-Apr-25 13:20:23

Not sure if the weather would work for you but my son recently visited Germany and was impressed by the amount of loo's he could access there...for medical reasons, quite important for him.

MayBee70 Fri 25-Apr-25 13:09:09

My ex and I used to travel round Europe in a Morris 100 Traveller, touring round quite obscure places*. I’ll always remember stopping at a bar pretty much in the middle of nowhere and having to ask for the key to the toilet. When I returned it a group of elderly gentleman all said to me ‘ better now’. More recently my worst experience was driving round the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. No toilets for miles. I did eventually ask at a cafe if I could use the toilet there ( obviously being prepared to buy something) and the woman who worked there was horrible to me, albeit grudgingly letting me use it. Whatever I’ve always felt about McDonalds I learned to love them when abroad because they always have air conditioning and toilets.
*I also learned that it was better to travel wearing a billowy skirt rather than jeans in case of having to hide behind a hedge.

NittWitt Fri 25-Apr-25 11:07:31

Thanks for the helpful replies, including the app.
I will have a look at the Channel Islands.

Bea65 Fri 25-Apr-25 10:38:29

Marmin

The app is called Toilet Finder. I have it and it works well. It is free.

🙏 did not know of this app- very important info for all of us with bladder/bowel issues🙏