A recent trip to Italy taught me just how much traveling can truly place you outside of your comfort zone, leaving you feeling completely silly in scenarios you never imagined possible. During my visit to Naples, Italy, I found myself urgently needing to pee while at Napoli Centrale train station, only to find I had to pay to use the toilets (something we would not accept as Americans in a public train station). Not only was there a ‘cover charge’ of 1.2 euros to get access to the toilets, but only coins were accepted to access the toilets, leaving me in a less-than-ideal scenario.
Although change machines lined the walls adjacent to the toilet entry point, I found myself with only large bills that could not be broken with the machine. With an urgent bathroom matter on my hands, I discovered Europe’s pay-to-pee culture the hard way, teaching me an important lesson about the reality of traveling outside of your ‘bubble’ (and how changing how I’ll travel in the future).
About the pay-to-pee culture
Europe’s pay-to-pee culture is pretty easy to comprehend, but only if you’re prepared for it. The concept of charging people to pay to use toilets helps maintain a cleaner environment, prevents misuse, and helps businesses support operational costs. However, as a U.S. traveler, if you’re not prepared with coins for this ‘pay-to-pee’ culture, you could find yourself in some tough situations. You won’t have to pay to use a toilet in every scenario (such as when you’re a paying customer at a restaurant), but it is common in many tourist sites, train stations, and other public areas.
While certainly an uncomfortable (and avoidable scenario, my experience in the Naples train station showcases just how many things we assume are “standard” in our culture and how traveling makes us remember that there are different ways of life co-existing throughout the world at the same time. Culture shock can hit you hard in the moment, but it also broadens your perspective of the world — even if it’s something as silly as not having the coins on hand to use the toilet.
Travel lessons learned
On a practical level, my discovery of the difference between North American and European toilet culture taught me not just practical takeaways I can use for my next trip, but also taught me a lot about travel in general. Growing up, my parents always told me to be prepared with cash when traveling anywhere, but I ignored this tip as I grew up in an era of credit cards.
On a practical level, I learned the importance of always traveling with a little bit of cash on hand, and in this case, coins too. It’s never a bad idea to research local customs before traveling somewhere, too (an area where I clearly failed). After all, ‘failing to plan is planning to fail’. You won’t catch me on my trip to Greece without plenty of euro coins in my pocket.
The pay-to-pee culture in Europe can be shocking, especially for new travelers who have not spent much time in Europe. However, lessons like these can teach us that travelers need to be prepared for anything while in a foreign land, ready to roll with any surprises that come about. Most importantly, travel experiences like these help us learn to become more ‘comfortable with being uncomfortable’ and how we can often learn from unfamiliarity.
Practical tips
- Exchange currency at the airport to get prepared with local currency (in coins) so you’re equipped for toilet fees
- Use private restrooms at places you dine, shop, or drink at
- Use instances like these when traveling as learning lessons that make you a more well-rounded traveler
