Travel Adapters
2025-05-12
There are
several
approaches to deal with travel adapters when traveling.
Some technical details
Universal Socket
Universal sockets typically have a loose fit, vibrations on
airplanes will cause chargers to fall off.
For instance, on Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft with universal
sockets, a Schuko adapter fits snugly.
Typical Electrical Sockets Available in Cruise Ships Staterooms

Bringing a Schuko or Europlug adapter on a cruise can increase the
total number of available USA sockets in the stateroom.
Type A (2 pins) and
Type B (3 pins)
USA, Canada, Mexico, Central America
Type G UK, Ireland, Hong Kong, Gibraltar,
Falkland Islands, Malaysia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar,
etc.
Type I Australia, New Zealand, China,
Argentina and Uruguay.
Type-I sockets have shuttered and non-shuttered versions.
Fancy designed
universal adapter-charger may not insert smoothly/peacefully
in
shuttered sockets because the ground pin is used to
push open an
internal shutter to allow the
"live" and "neutral" pins to be inserted. Don't use force, the
wall socket or your universal-charger
could
break. Always use a
3-pin Type I adapter as best
practice. If you are without a 3-pin adapter and drifting towards
a full-blown panic, check this
photo hinting to a very bad idea (a dry,
wooden coffee stir stick). Bring a 3-prong Type-I adapter for
smooth charging experience when visiting Australia, New Zealand,
China, Argentina and Uruguay.
China (
GB
1002-2024) For more details, see this
note.
Europe Type E and F sockets (4.8 mm pins with a 19
mm spacing)
France, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Germany, Austria,
Netherlands, etc.

Schuko adapter is designed for a perfect fit in Type E and F
sockets.
By careful design, type E and F sockets are compatible with
Type C
Europlug
Europe Type C compatible sockets (4.0 mm pins with a 19 mm
spacing)
Type C (Europlug adapter) is designed to work with all Type
C compatible sockets.
Therefore a Europlug adapter is an excellent choice for travel
across Europe and South America (except Argentina),
South Africa (for constructions built
after 2018) and some countries in Asia.
Type M South Africa's
Type M socket is being
slowly
replaced by the safer
SANS 164-2 sockets in new (after
2018) constructions.
Good news is a Europlug adapter is compatible with modern
SANS 164-2.
but not the old Type M sockets.
Type O Thailand's sockets have unique physical
dimensions. See this
note
for more details.
Good news is a Type C Europlug adapter can be used in Thailand.
Type D India's sockets have distinct physical
dimensions. For fire safety reasons, Europlug adapter should not
be inserted into Type D sockets. To safely connect chargers to
Type D sockets, consider purchasing a Type D adapter before
travel, unless the hotel you plan to stay is equipped with Type A,
F, G, I, C sockets.
References:
Power
Plug and Socket
International
Electrotechnical Commission
Precise plug dimensions:
Plug
dimensions
World Standard
worldstandard.eu
Plug Socks Museum
https://www.plugsocketmuseum.nl/