adapter plugs

Beulah

Hello! We would like to know from someone who has recently taken this tour, what type of plug or plugs were used. We have a Type C Europlug that we've used in France, but it has "not for Switzerland or Italy" printed on the side. We recently returned from southern Italy where we used a Type L plug. It looks like Switzerland and Liechtenstein uses Type J; Germany can use Types C, E and/or F; and Austria can use Type F German Schuko and/or Type C Europlug. We only need to charge iPhones, so we do not need information regarding converters. I called Tauck, but was unable to get an answer; I guess we could call each of the five hotels to inquire, but it would great if a fellow traveler had any information. Thanks so much!

AlanS

Worldwide, more and more hotels have both European, etc. 220V outlets and at least one US 120V outlet, but it may not be in a convenient location. Since you sound like you will continue to travel, why not get a "universal" adapter (under $10 on Amazon or at Walmart) and a travel size multi-outlet power strip like the ones pictured below. That is what we used on UA&D and our other tours. It should take care of just about any contingency (except maybe South Africa?):

Ken from Vegas

The differences between the various continental Europe plugs is strictly in the grounded versions. An ungrounded two pin adaptor (I think this is type C) will work in all countries. It probably violates code in Italy and Switzerland (hence the label), but will work just fine. Since your iPhone charger is two prong, a two pin adapter will work just fine. The universal adapters that Alan recommends will work just fine (they don't work in South Africa or India). Note that even though these universal adaptors will take a grounded plug, they don't actually ground the device.