| Country |
Name |
Picture |
Price per litre |
Where to buy it |
Comment |
| UK |
Methylated spirit |
|
€4 |
1) Hardware stores
2) Camp/outdoor stores
3) Pharmacies
Most small towns will have it.
|
Purple
Tastes nasty, keep your burner out of your pans
|
| Austria |
Brennspiritus |
|
€9.60 |
|
|
| France |
Alcool a bruler |
|
€1.50 |
All largeish supermarkets |
Clear
Does not taste bad, keep your burner in your pans.
|
| Italy |
Alcool Etilico denaturato |
 |
€2-3 |
1) All pharmacies, but beware of being offered the pure and very expensive
version.
2) Many supermarkets have it in half litre bottles, where it
is cheaper
3) 90% available from paint shops
|
Pink
Tastes really bad
|
| Germany |
Brennspiritus |
|
€2 |
Supermarkets and shops |
|
| Greece |
"ino - pneuma"
|
 |
€1.20 |
All small and large general stores |
Blue in half litre bottles, tastes OK.
This country is great! anywhere you can get food, you get meths.
|
| Slovenia |
Etanol |
 |
€3.40 |
96% Ethanol from petrol stations |
|
| Bulgaria |
"Spirt"
|
 |
€1.60 |
In about one in five small general stores |
Although the bottle in the photo is blue, I have seen an orange
one. Half litre glass bottles |
| Romania |
The label says "Alcool Sanitar" but the locals refer to it
as "Spirt"
|
 
|
€1.20
|
Found in pretty much all general stores in any village.
Info from 2022 (thanks Derry) that it is called alcool technik but hard to find, try the larger hardware shops such as Dedeman and Brico Depot. |
Various brands available, always blue.
This is only 70% or 75% alcohol, some find that this won't burn for them,
we found it to take longer to boil water.
It is too slow for melting snow and needs real tender loving care to
light on cold mornings.
|
|
Alcool Tehnic
BEST OPTION
|
|
€1.00 |
In petrol stations and the odd village store |
Purple
This stuff is the business. It is 90% alcohol.
|
| Ukraine and Russia |
,
Very hard to get
|
 100
ml ! |
€4.00 |
After searching widely I found one pharmacy selling 100 ml
bottles. Not every pharmacy sells them. |
I have used solid blocks of hexy fuel as an alternative. |
| TABLETOK (solid hexy fuel) |
|
€1.00 for 24 cubes. |
Found in hardware stores (Rospodari Tovari) Found once at a
bike bits stall at the market |
Each cube boils 0.5 litre of water. Place the cube on a bit
of tin can balanced over where the burner normally goes. |
| Siberia |
I have to admit failure here. If you are travelling the trans
siberian route. The mosquitos are so numerous, cooking is onorous. The cafes
do good food for 2 dollars a meal and are at 40 km intervals. This is cheaper
than buying food. A thermos is nice here if you are a tea addict. They will
fill it for less than 20 cents. It will keep overnight for a hot cup in
the morning without opening the tent door! |
|
|
I have read of friend getting meths in Irkutz with the help
of a British Petroleum company. It is a by product of vodka manufacture
and called spirt. |
|
| Mongolia |
More bad news. Bring a petrol stove. |
|
|
|
|
| China |
Thankyou to Li of Norwich for this information
|
 |
$1 |
It can be found in one out of five pharmacies. Head for the ones with
people having drips administered (Identified by red crosses) These sell
500 ml bottles. Any large/ medium town will have it if you search.
The upper bottle I found in a general grocery store. Also we are told
in hardware stores. Less than one in 10 stores had it.
|
Is 95 %, burns well and does not taste bad.
The stuff from the grocery or hardware stores is less than 95%, but burns
tolerably well.
|
| Laos |
Alcool
|
 |
$2.5 |
The 'supplier type' pharmacy has litres for sale. Smaller places have
100 ml bottles
We bought in Udomxai, so larger places eg. Luang Prabang probably all
have it.
|
90 %
clear
nb. cafe food so cheap, little meths needed on main routes.
|
| Thailand |
Isopropanol
(Could not find meths, but Isopropanol burns ok in this heat)
Special care needed above 30 degrees shade temp, stove burns like a demon.
|
 |
$2.10 |
Pharmacies have 500 ml bottles |
Keep your burner seperately from the pans. I have a vague memory that
Isopropanol is POISONOUS I have not tasted it!
Most people will not need trangia here, food cheap and available along
the road every 3 km ish. Water heating coils on sale here are great for
a hot cup.
|
| Malaysia |
Methylated spirit |
 |
$3.00 |
Sold in the pharmacy. 2 out of 3 pharmacies in Penang had it. |
Clear, burns well.
Heating coil is a good way to save buying water here if in hotels.
|
| Australia |
Methylated spirit, or "metho" |
  |
$3 to $5 |
Found in most petrol stations and supermarkets. |
|
| Spain |
Alcohol de Quemar |
Info from Steve Lord (Thanks) |
Cheap |
Grocery shops
readily available
|
|
| Turkey |
yspirto |
Pink
Info from Alice and Andoni (thanks)
|
expensive |
scarce, in some foodshops and supermarkets
Shop in Istanbul is here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/cnvsKMExhSPwp9cC6 |
In recycled pop and water bottles. Burns
well. |
| Columbia |
Alcohol industrial |
Info from Steve Tobar (thanks) |
$1.50 |
In hardware
stores all over the country, called "ferreteria" |
Burns well and clean |
| South America (Guatamala to peru) |
|
Info from Steve Tobar (thanks) |
|
In pharmacies. No problems |
|
| Belgium |
Alcool a bruler |
|
|
Branstof supermarket reported no problems
in getting |
|
| Holland / Netherlands |
Spiritus |
|
|
Supermarket in the house cleaning section, Outdoor shops such as Bever |
|
| Germany |
Spirt |
Blue |
|
supermarket |
|
| Libya |
|
Tiny bottles Info from Steve Tobar (thanks) |
|
Pharmacys but got 1 litre from hospital in Bengasi |
|
| Czech republic |
Spirt |
|
|
any drugstore, sometimes supermarket |
very good quality |
| Oman |
Surgical spirit |
Info from Steve Tobar (thanks) |
2.4 Rials |
Muscat Pharmacy in most towns |
95% with camphor smells nice |
| United Arab Emirates |
|
Info from Steve Tobar (thanks) |
|
Choitram supermarkets |
70% very slow to cook with |
| Macedonia |
|
|
|
100ml bottles in some pharmacies |
|
| Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania |
methylated spirit |
Info from Steve Tobar (thanks) |
2 USD |
supermarkets and pharmacies, variety of sizes. Easy to get. Always purple. |
burns slowly |
| Croatia |
Etilni Alkohol |
 Info from Simon Dunford (thanks) |
£6.50 |
96% from DIY shop
70% also available from chemists |
|
| Serbia |
Alkohol, Etanol |
 Info from Simon Dunford (thanks) |
£1.78 |
96% from car accessories shop
70% also available from chemists |
|
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
Etilni Alkohol |
 |
€16 |
Only legally sold in pharmacies |
|
| Montenegro |
Etilni Alkohol |
|
€13 |
Only legally sold in pharmacies (apotek) |
|
| Albania |
Etilni Alkohol |
  |
300 lek |
Cleaning products section of supermarkets |
|
| Austria |
Spirit |
|
|
drugstores, sometimes supermarkets |
|