Hello, I surprised my wife with the European Whirl package for this Dec-Jan and will need to know if I will need a convertor as well as the adapter for her to use her hair dryer etc?..

going to London- Amsterdam- Germany- Austria- Venice- Rome- Florence- Lucerne and Paris.. any help is greatly appreciated.
thanks you

quote:

Originally posted by Danielson:
Hello, I surprised my wife with the European Whirl package for this Dec-Jan and will need to know if I will need a convertor as well as the adapter for her to use her hair dryer etc?..

going to London- Amsterdam- Germany- Austria- Venice- Rome- Florence- Lucerne and Paris.. any help is greatly appreciated.
thanks you

Danielson,
You will need an adaptor so that the plug on the device can physically plug into the wall outlet.

I think all the countries that you have listed use the same adaptor, but you may want to take a set of adaptors, just in case youhappen to come upon an "odd-ball."


If the hair dryer is reasonably new, and is designed as a "travel" device" it will accept the higher voltage found in Europe.

To set your mind at ease, check the specifications found on the device and/or instructions that came with the device. It must accept a voltage in the 220 volt range. Older units had a switch that allowed one to choose a voltage, newer ones do it automatically.

If the dryer is in the 220 volt range, YOU MUST NOT use a converter. We've had, in the past, posts of people using both , which would result in very high (and dangerous ) voltages.

Again, most likely you'‘ll only need the adaptor, but check the specs, to be sure.

Good Luck, and enjoy your tour.

Regards,

Bob

Hi Danielson.

The short answer is Yes. You will need both. One other note. UK adapters are different than the what the rest of Western Europe uses so make sure you get both.

I usually take a few adapters for all my electronic gadgets so this way I can just plug in all the gadgets and not have to "share". Personally, I use a convertor/adaptor for my hair dryer and camera but I only need an adaptor for my cellphone, or ipod.

Hope this helps. Have a great trip.
I'm booked on the European Surprise [London, Amsterdam, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Belgium] for next month!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Yolanda:
Hi Danielson.

The short answer is Yes. You will need both.


QUOTE]

Hi Yolanda,

I'm afraid there isn't a "short answer;" it all depends on what Danielson is using. If it is dual voltage (as newer devices are) he certainly would NOT need a voltage converter.

As far as adaptors, as I mentioned above, it's wise to take a full set to "cover all bases."

Regards,

Bob

I suggest buying a dual voltage hair dryer at home and bringing it. They are compact, will work here and abroad and you'll have it forever. Cheap investment and you won't have to worry about a converter. Adapter is a must for all electronics (no converter needed for battery chargers).

An even easier answer is don't bring a hair dryer or blower. I was away for 35 days and stayed in at least 20-25 different hotels and they all had hair dryers. If they don't the front desk has them. Saves you a bit of weight and room.
Sandy

From those places you listed, you will need to take 3 different adaptors. I'm leaving on the European Cavalcade on Sept. 1st and you will need one for London, one for Europe and one for Italy (one would think they could make it easy). You can buy universal ones that switch around and will accommodate all, but it seemed complex to my pea-brain. There are also kits you can buy that have several in a package. Doesn't say where you are from, but in Canada we can buy them at our AMA (motor association).

Hi Danielson

You don't say where you are from (which country). If you are from Australia you will not need a voltage converter only a european adapter. When in Venice last year the hotel had "european" plug not "italy" plug (if there is a difference )

Also too if you are from NZ you will not need a converter just the adaptor. We required 2 different ones for our 9 European countries: 1 for England and the other one for all the European countries (they all had the same plugs). We visited the same countries that you will be touring.

The problem with relying on the hotel's dryers is that they may be lacking in strength that your hair may require to dry.

On my Scandanavia tour in July, 2 hotels had them missing, another's was dead and my last hotel in Olso had the accordian hose separating from the unit so a big hole made it ineffective. (the desk luckily could provide extras for the missing, but they are in very limited supply so I was lucky. They also charge yr account until you check out and return it). In Oslo I just toughed it out by holding the hose together (very hot)...moral of the story...bring your own dryer if you don't want the risk of being without (this was the first time I left it home to save on weight wow a big 8 oz perhaps ). From now on, it travels with me and it's dual voltage and small.

I think whether you take a dryer depends on your hairstyle. Some ladies with longer hair are happy just to pull it back after washing it. I have very thick hair, but have a good cut & short style so can get away with the lack of strength in a dryer that Roxy mentions. LOL Some (read most) hotel hair dryers certainly lack the turbo boost I am used to at home.

quote:

Originally posted by Joolz:
From those places you listed, you will need to take 3 different adaptors. I'm leaving on the European Cavalcade on Sept. 1st and you will need one for London, one for Europe and one for Italy (one would think they could make it easy). You can buy universal ones that switch around and will accommodate all, but it seemed complex to my pea-brain. There are also kits you can buy that have several in a package. Doesn't say where you are from, but in Canada we can buy them at our AMA (motor association).

Thank you for the information. Iguess it is best to have both a converter and adapter(s) as well pick up a travel hair dryer for my wife. we are located in Alliston Ontario Canada.
thank you

My 2 cents. We went on the Italian Concerto tour this May. I bought both a power converter and the 2 prong round plug adapter for Italian electric.

We did not use the power converter one time. I did use the 2 prong plus every day to charge my Canon digital camera battery. The Canon charger could use both 110 & 220.

Every hotel we stayed in had all the amenities and my wife used the hotel dryers and they worked just fine.

We had larger issues trying to find out how to flush toilets- they hide the flusher in some unique spots and how to use the bidet. Clearly I can't even spell it correctly yet alone figure out what how you were to use it.

Danielson, go into your local CAA and you will be able to get whatever you need.