Converters/Adapters in Australia and New Zealand

Vegas Gal

So, I've been given a lot of differing pieces of information about the necessity of them. What exactly do I need? I am from the US have some very heavy converters, which I would prefer not to bring. The items that will need to be plugged in are: cell phone, camera, and Sonicare electric toothbrush. I imagine that I need adapters for all of them, but do I need converters? I heard that today, one can bring these items and they go from 110 to 220 volts without needing a converter. Could someone give me some information about this? What do the hotels have?

British

Cell phone and iPad you definitely only need adapters. We never bother taking our electric toothbrushes any more, we just don't want the bulk and because you move from hotel to hotel so often and we like to go up to the room and brush our teeth after breakfast before we leave, we don't want or have to put the electric toothbrushes in our day bags because the big suitcases have already been taken from the room. A regular toothbrush can just be put in a ziplock bag along with a small toothpaste, carried during the day and used at lunch if you need to. If you hate the thought of going back to a regular toothbrush, maybe a battery one might be the solution, but I've never tried one to know how long the batteries last for quite a long trip.

Ken from Vegas

Look at the label on your charger. It's usually embossed on the plastic shell. All chargers should be labeled with a voltage range. If the top number is 220v or greater, you only need a plug adaptor, not a voltage converter. Almost all devices that use chargers are good for 110v or 220v these days. Some devices, like blow driers have a voltage switch if they handle 220v. I too own those heavy converters. Thanks to modern electronics, I haven't used them in 20 years or so.

jkm

Most, if not all of the tour hotels had converters in the room (or maybe available from the front desk). And they are readily available at shops in the larger cities. We picked up a nice one at a shop on Elisabeth Street in Melbourne.

jkm

Vegas Gal,

I forgot to add that our toothbrush battery lasted the whole trip without a recharge.