Flying to a Country with Bidets? What UK Travellers Should Know Before They Go
- Most of the world uses water rather than paper — Japan, South Korea, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and much of Southern Europe all have bidet fixtures as standard.
- First-time bidet users abroad often describe it as one of the more surprising and positive discoveries of their trip.
- Understanding how different bidet types work before you travel means you won't be caught off guard in a Japanese hotel or a Turkish squat toilet with a handheld spray.
- Many UK travellers return home and install a handheld bidet sprayer — the most practical way to replicate the experience in a British bathroom.
The Global Bidet Map: Where You'll Encounter Them
If you're travelling outside the UK, there's a reasonable chance you'll encounter a bidet of some kind — and a very high chance if you're visiting certain regions. Japan and South Korea have near-universal bidet adoption, with electronic washlet seats that include heated water, air dryers, and adjustable spray settings. The Middle East — including Turkey, Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia — uses the handheld spray (called a "shattaf" or "health faucet") as standard, mounted beside every toilet. South and Southeast Asia follow a similar pattern: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India all have handheld sprayers as the norm rather than the exception. In Southern Europe, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain have traditionally featured standalone bidet fixtures alongside the toilet, though younger buildings increasingly use integrated seat sprayers instead.
The UK, along with most of North America and Australia, is in the minority globally in relying primarily on toilet paper. For British travellers, this means that a significant proportion of international hotel rooms, airports, and public facilities will have some form of bidet — and knowing what to expect makes the first encounter considerably less bewildering.
The Main Types You'll Encounter
Bidets abroad come in several forms, and they work quite differently from each other. The Japanese washlet is the most technologically sophisticated: a toilet seat with a built-in nozzle that extends automatically, offering warm water, adjustable pressure, and sometimes a warm air dryer. Controls are on a panel on the side of the seat or on a wall-mounted remote. The symbols are usually in Japanese, but most hotels display an English guide nearby — and the nozzle position and water controls are usually the most relevant buttons.
The handheld spray (shattaf) is the type most similar to what UK households install at home. It is a sprayer on a hose, mounted beside the toilet on the wall. You pick it up, direct it, and squeeze the trigger. This is the most common type across the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It requires no instructions beyond pointing and pressing.
The standalone bidet is a separate porcelain fixture beside the toilet, common in older French, Italian, and Portuguese bathrooms. You use the toilet first, then move to the bidet, which has taps you turn on and a drain. It is used for washing the perineal area while seated over the fixture.
In Japan, the flush button on a washlet panel is usually the largest button and often marked with a water-drop symbol or the word "flush" in English. The nozzle controls are smaller and to the side. If in doubt, look for the flush symbol (often a water-drop or wave icon) or simply use the separate flush handle on the cistern, which works independently of the electronic seat.
What UK Travellers Actually Experience
The most common reaction from British travellers using a bidet for the first time is surprise at how straightforward and effective it is. The initial hesitation — often rooted in unfamiliarity rather than any rational objection — typically dissolves within one or two uses. The experience of feeling genuinely clean rather than merely wiped is the detail most frequently mentioned by UK travellers who discuss bidets on travel forums and social media.
Cold water is a common concern before trying, and a non-issue after. The handheld sprayers found across Asia and the Middle East deliver cold mains water — brief, localised, and consistently described as comfortable rather than shocking by people who try it. Japanese washlets offer warm water as standard, which removes the concern entirely for visitors to Japan.
Practical Tips for Your First Time
For a handheld sprayer: stay seated, point the nozzle downward into the bowl, and squeeze the trigger gently. Start with light pressure and increase if needed. The spray is more precise than it looks — there is no mess if you keep the nozzle angled downward. Pat dry with a small amount of toilet paper or the cloth provided (in some countries, small towels are left for drying).
For a Japanese washlet: sit on the toilet as normal, then use the panel. The posterior wash button (usually shown as a symbol of a seated person with a water stream beneath) is the relevant control. Press it, adjust pressure if the option is available, then use the stop button when done. Most hotels in Japan provide a printed guide in the bathroom — it takes less than a minute to read.
For a standalone European bidet: use the toilet first, then move to the bidet. Straddle it facing the taps or sit facing away — both are used depending on the user's preference and the specific fixture. Turn on the taps to a comfortable temperature, wash the relevant area, and dry with the towel provided or a small amount of paper.
Coming Home: Why Many UK Travellers Install One
A significant number of UK travellers who use bidets abroad return home and install a handheld sprayer in their own bathroom. The friction is usually practical rather than motivational — they already want one, but haven't got round to finding out how straightforward the installation is. A handheld bidet sprayer attaches to the existing toilet water supply via a T-connector, takes around 20 minutes to fit with a spanner, and costs £35–£55 for a quality WRAS-compliant kit. It requires no drilling, no permanent modification, and can be removed cleanly if needed — making it suitable for renters as well as homeowners.
The result at home is functionally identical to the handheld sprayers found across Asia and the Middle East: a wall-mounted sprayer on a flexible hose, within reach from the toilet, that delivers a gentle stream of cold mains water. For UK households that have experienced bidet use while travelling, returning to toilet paper alone often feels like a step backwards.
What to Look for When Buying in the UK
The handheld sprayer you encountered in Thailand, Turkey, or Egypt is essentially the same product available in the UK — the main difference is that UK installations must include a WRAS-compliant check valve (backflow preventer) as required by the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. This classifies bidet sprayers as Fluid Category 5 — the highest risk category for potential backflow contamination — meaning a compliant check valve is a legal requirement, not an optional extra. Reputable UK kits include this as standard; check the product listing explicitly before buying.
Look for metal construction (brass or stainless steel body and T-connector), a braided stainless steel hose rather than rubber or PVC, and a hose length of at least 1.2 metres. These are the markers that separate a kit that will last a decade from one that will fail within a year.