HELP…which plug do you need!
“What type of international plug will I need?” You’ve had months to plan your overseas holiday, and then – on the very last day you Then you frantically start researching about voltages and adaptors for your destination. Sound familiar?
I hope this article saves you hours of pulling your hair out. Or worse…getting it frizzled by your hair dryer for using the wrong plug with the wrong voltage!!
It’s really important to get the right plug/adapter for your destination. Universal travel adapters are ideal, especially if you get one with USB sockets.
Universal Plug
But…sometimes these can be bulkier than a single adaptor eg, a European plug for all the countries you might be visiting in Europe.
Table of Contents
International Plug Types Around the Globe
There’s 15 different internal plug types used around the world, so you really do need to know which one to take with you when travelling. Luckily some are a lot more common than others.
Plug types around the world.
Most common types of international travel plugs
There are four main plug types used in the most popular destinations for Australian travellers: types A, C, I and G.
- Type A – Canada, China, Japan, USA
- Type C – Indonesia, Thailand, Most of Europe
- Type I – Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, China (they use both A and I)
- Type G – Hong Kong, Singapore and United Kingdom
Plug types cover a large region.
Voltage differences overseas
Most adapters will be able to work with any voltage and quite a few countries, including Australia, work with sockets that dispense 220-240 volts. Some, like the USA, have lower voltages around 100 – 127 volts.
Generally speaking, when taking your electronics from a country with a higher voltage to a lower voltage country, there shouldn’t be any problems, although you may notice that they take longer to charge.
But… when using travel gadgets or electronics bought from the USA, avoid using a cheap or dodgy adapter as you run the risk of blowing the device and making it unusable!
Cruisers Beware…
Check the plugs that can used on Cruise Ships.
Note – not many cruise lines let you take on a power board these days, or for that matter:
- Hairdryers
- Hair straighteners
- Irons
- Electric Jugs
- Coffee Makers
So, make sure you check with your travel agent or cruise line before you pack any of these items. They could well be confiscated at the beginning of your cruise and not returned until the end.
Back to plugs – the following is a list of the plug sockets on the major cruise lines:
| Cruise Line | US two-pin Socket | British Socket | European two-pin
Socket |
| P&O Cruises | No | Yes | No |
| Cunard Line | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Celebrity Cruises | Yes | No | Yes |
| Royal Caribbean | Yes | No | No |
| Princess Cruises | Yes | No | No |
| MSC Cruises | Yes | No | Yes |
| Fred Olsen Line | Yes | No | Yes |
| Norwegian Cruise Line | Yes | No | No |
| Disney | Yes | No | No |
| Carnival Cruises | Yes | No | No |
| Holland America Line | Yes | No | Yes |
Note – This list isn’t exhaustive but will hopefully help.
Complete List of international plugs and power adapters
To check every one of the 190+ countries in the world visit World Standards. This website has details of every single international plug/adaptor needed as well as the voltage in each country.
Please let me know if you’ve got any more information to add to this post on international plugs
and while you’re here why not visit my Gypsy Top Tips?
