I find the Nuun (or similar) tablets are the easiest to carry and generate less waste than the packets of powder.  I put one in one of my two water bottles every morning unless I know it's going to be an easy, cool day.

Hi Kelly - 

This is info for France only.  My local supermarket carries electrolytes in powder form, and also carries something that looks like gatorade in liquid form (I’ve never tried it).  

I think that gas stations aren’t the right places to be looking.   There’s not the same culture here of getting food and drink at gas stations - at least in France (unless you’re on the autoroute).  So supermarkets would be better, and the larger the better.  My supermarket is an E. Leclerc, but I would think a large Carrefour or Super U would be a good bet, too.   The powder is in the aisle with the health foods and gluten-free products, FWIW.   The gatorade-style stuff is in the aisle with soft drinks.

As far as I know, Lidl and Aldi don’t carry electrolytes powders.  I haven’t been inside one of those stores in years, so my information might be out of date.

I know from experience that you can get electrolytes at pharmacies, too.  No prescription required.  They might be more expensive, though.

My local bike shop stocks the tablets.  Not sure what brand.  But bike shops are really scarce in the area where we live.  Might be worth trying a Decathlon store if one is available.

Hope this is helpful!

Hi Rich

I think it's very dependent on where you are.  On our recent trips, we have tried large and small supermarkets, pharmacies, and bike shops, usually without success.  On our Looping the Pyrenees trip, we finally found some in Argèles-Gazost, but nowhere else, in either France or Spain, if we rule out the bike shops in Bagnères-de-Luchon, one of which carried tablets with caffeine and another which carried Näak (a Canadian brand from Québec) but which was too expensive and too heavy, being sold in 72-gram individual-serving packets for about 4€ each.  In contrast, a tube of 10 Nuun tablets weighs about the same and costs the equivalent of about 6€ in Canada.

The previous time we looked while touring in France was in Malaucène in 2017, where the bike shop we stopped at had a large selection of tablets.  That was the first trip after I started using electrolytes; subsequent trips were after I retired and got to travel in months other than July and August.  Finding them in Europe has been challenging ever since.  I never buy the liquid versions; I'd consider a powdered version if the container was a reasonable size.

I bought these at a local pharmacy in Spain. I don't have the box they came in with ingredients, but pretty similar electrolyte mix as Salt Stick I use in the States.

Thanks to all who replied. I've ordered some Nunn tablets to try at home, and possibly take with us. It sounds like we need to visit the pharmacy for on the road purchases. 

My understanding is, the important ingredients in sports drinks are just sugar and salt. So it's not too hard to make you own, although it may not be isotonic. 

Hi Kelly - 

You're probably sorry you asked by now!  :)   I'm back home and was in Leclerc today, so I took a picture to show you what the stuff looks like:

When we got the stuff from a pharmacy, it was in the packets shown by Robert above.   Robin had to ask for them - they weren't out on the shelves.  I was in a serious bonk at the time and the pharmacist asked Robin whether they should call an ambulance!  "Laiz ailectroleet" is the closest I can get to a pronunciation of the words
in French.  In case you have to ask for them.

I'm also a religious user of the tablets, but I mail order them and that's obviously not workable for your situation.  I've used GU and I'm currently working through an order of TA tablets. I wonder how they generate names for these products?  What's with the 2 letter names?

Whatever.   I've heard good things about Nuun tablets, specifically that they help some folks avoid cramps.

Looking forward to your journal!