Electric plug adaptor

Easier before you leave home of course - any Ace Hardware or Target or many other places.

In Haarlem Hema can help you, probably dozens of other places.

There are probably places at the Schiphol airport but I haven't looked. Probably more expensive there.

If you have time before you leave you can even get them on this very website, in the online store.

In addition to the places Nigel listed, I've found them at KMart and Bed, Bath and Beyond. Altho the closest Target to me is 90 miles away, I was there on Monday and they had a good selection. None of the Ace or other hardware stores in my area carry them.

Another option is to order off of Amazon. Bed, Bath, and Beyond has a nice selection as well, and you can use up those 20% coupons.

"None of the Ace or other hardware stores in my area carry them."

Pam, did you ask the "helpful hardware man" if he has plug adapters? Every ACE I've ever checked has had them.

If you buy one at ACE, be aware that the one marked "Northern Europe" will fit fine in the Schuko receptacles used in most continental countries, but the 4.8 mm (~3/16") diam pins are too big for the receptacles in Southern Europe (Italy, at least), which take 4.0 mm (~5/32") diam pins, so buy the Southern Europe one.

Actually, the plug with two pins and no grounding means (called the Europlug) is only meant for devices drawing 2½ amps or less (575 Watts, which leaves out hair dryers).

American devices with polarized plugs (one blade wider that the other) are meant to be used in polarized receptacles. European receptacles (except some newer French ones and maybe the Swiss) are not polarized, so devices with polarized plugs should not be used in Europe. The polarized feature in French receptacles would only be active if you bought a grounding plug adapter, but then, some of the grounding adapters sold in the US are not properly polarized.

Ours is a pretty crummy Ace. They do have a luggage section now that has some Eagle Creek bags but no adapters. Unfortunately the helpful hardware man does not work at ours. Just sullen college students who just want to put a sticker on your purchase so they get credit for it.

I have this one, http://www.amazon.com/eForCity-Universal-Travel-Charger-Adapter/dp/B000YN01X4/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1431634545&sr=8-16&keywords=european+plug+adapter, from Amazon and have used it several different times in multiple countries and it works great.

liz,

Here are a few suggestions......

• http://www.magellans.com/ShopCategory.aspx?ID=118,3681
• http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog&parent_id=126
• http://www.radioshack.com/foreign-travel-adapters
• http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lenmar-World-Traveler-Adapter-Plug-Set/21978273?action=product_interest&action_type=title&item_id=21978273&placement_id=irs-2-m1&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=LxyiWISN6b6O4GLPixKxCI&category=&client_guid=c4f7c626-3b7f-4af5-8036-80b1208c878f&customer_id_enc=&config_id=2&parent_item_id=14235294&parent_anchor_item_id=14235294&guid=a9da237b-6f66-4755-9565-51293b183e08&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&beacon_version=1.0.1&findingMethod=p13n

If you'll be travelling in both the U.K. and on the continent, you'll need two different styles of Plug Adaptor. I'd suggest packing more than one of each type, as they're small and easy to misplace. I normally pack some grounding type plug adaptors as well.

One other point you'll need to check is that all appliances and gadgets that you're travelling with are designed for use on 220 VAC electrical systems. Check the Input Voltage ratings for EACH device, and if these state "Input 100-240 VAC", you're good to go.

I prefer this one, which is grounding (my netbook charger has a grounding, 3-prong plug). Depending on how it is wired (I'm trying to find out), it might also be polarized correctly in a French receptacle.