hair dryer is not on the packing list

NOT a given at UK hotels. You could wait until you got your RS itinerary package. It normally provides the names of the hotels and you could contact them to ask. OR if you must have a hair dryer, take your own. Just remember voltage is different.

I reckon nothing's a given, but we stay in places that are probably a couple of cuts below the RS hotels and if there's not one in the room there's sure as heck one/several at the desk. My wife hasn't packed a hair dryer to europe in ten years - - other parts of the world, sometimes. I can't even remember the last time I was told to hike myself downstairs in the UK.

Our recent experience with hair dryers is that they are always available regardless of the hotel. Sometimes attached to the wall as in the US, sometimes in a drawer, and sometimes from the front desk. Even the smaller B&B will have a hair dryer for you. Very common.

I have a very small one that I have carried in the past for emergencies. It takes forever to try my hair with it, but I have had to rely on it on a couple of cold days. ; ) Whether or not you take one depends on if you can live with your how your hair looks without it, if you have to. I was getting close to that point, except for it can get downright cold in Scotland even in summer. Pam

Barbara, I've found that in the majority of Hotels I've used in the last few years (which have been obtained from the RS Guidebooks), there's usually a Hair Dryer bolted to the wall in the bathroom. That was also the case when I was in Edinburgh last year. As the others have mentioned, there's usually a Hair Dryer available, but in some cases this might have to be requested from the Front Desk. If you're really concerned about having a Dryer in each Hotel, you could always pack along a dual-voltage travel model (check the Magellan's website for details and costs). You will of course require Plug Adapters specific to the countries you'll be visiting. Will you be packing along any other electrical appliances? Cheers!

The one time I didn't bring a hair dryer, assuming all my hotels would have one, I was sorry I didn't. I stayed in a couple of places that didn't have a dryer. Ordering a travel dryer from a travel company such as Magellan is not cheap, especially when you add in shipping costs. I bought mine at Target. It is small and folds up. You will need dual voltage, but I can't imagine a travel dryer wouldn't be dual voltage. Be sure to check. You will need a plug adapter. Also, just because a place has a dryer, it doesn't mean it works very well. That's why I prefer to bring my own.

Can't speak to all of UK, but in London my hotels have always had one attached to wall. On the only RS tour I took every hotel had one on wall except one place( in Wengen) and in that case they had about 1/2 dozen at front desk for loan.

If you are spending the entire time in England, one option might be to buy one when you get there. Fourteen days could be worth it. We went for 28 days in 2008 and our first night there, we went to M&S and bought one (for my wife). It was 5GBP (on sale) - so even with the 2:1 exchange rate it was a great deal. She used it for the entire month (without having to pack it for air travel or worry about voltage) and then we left it at our last hotel. It is possible that the B&Bs we stayed at might have had them at the desk, but there certainly weren't any in the rooms - even at the hotel we stayed at in London. We also stayed at a flat owned by a friend, so there wasn't one there either. It is by no means a guarantee that there will be one - so this is one option. :)

Barbara, on my RS tour to Germany, Austria & Switzerland there were 2 hotels that didn't have hair dryers. I bought a 1600 watt dual voltage Conair Vagabond on sale for $10 at K-Mart the other day and it's coming with me on my next trip! Things to add to your packing list -- a couple of small packages of Kleenex (to use in restrooms) and Oil of Olay or some other brand of disposable wash cloths (most hotels do not have wash cloths). Hope you have a great time on your tour!

Oh yeah, I definitely need a hair dryer! I don't ever want to be seen with my hair dried "naturally." I do have a dual-voltage one that folds up that I bought at CVS once; all it needs is a plug. But I might just buy a flat iron straightener while I'm there rather than bother with a converter. It surprises me that this isn't mentioned on the RS women's packing list. I'm sure it's pretty casual on these tours, but even so, who wants to go around with your hair going every which way?

I've been in several places where there was no hair dryer IN THE ROOM. But there was always one available from the FRONT DESK. Thus my question to those who mentioned that there was no hair dryer in their hotel: have you actually asked at the reception or simply assumed there was none since you didn't see one in the room? The only time I bring a hair dryer is when we book an appartment and the owner confirms to me via prior email that there won't be one available.

When you get your list of hotels, get on their websites to check if they provide hair dryers. That said, I do not like those hair dryers that are connected to the wall. I finally got tired of them and purchased a hair dryer in Europe. That way I have a dryer that is the correct voltage and all I have to do is take an adapter for Britain. By the way, it was a compact dryer with a fold up handle. I don't like those dual voltage dryers, they never seem to work correctly.

I have learned, the hard way, that a hair dryer is not always available at the Front Desk - there is usually a limited number available. You may have to wait a day...or two. Check out the Luggage section at Target. They have a great travel dryer there that is positively minuscule. and is very light. Dual voltage. They also have a miniature flat iron.

One of my travel mantas is "If I have to have something on my trips, I carry it myself. I don't expect others to provide it for me". It saves a lot of frustration and unfair anger (this world does not 'owe' me a hair dryer :) I stay mostly in small pensions, b&b's and any other alternatives I can find to large hotels. Hair dryers are really hit and miss in these places. Like you, I have to have a hair dryer (thin, fine hair that needs to be styled) so I have always carried my own. (Walmart $10.00) Since I need it from day one, I prefer not to spend my first day off the plane trying to buy one.They can work differently when you switch them to European power requirements. At home, mine has 2 speeds-low and high. In Europe, mine has one medium speed. (this was true for my last one as well) I did see one at Target that said it would work on all speeds. I was tempted...but the one I have still works great. Years ago I took the "packing class" at Rick Steve's. The female teaching it carried a small hair dryer. Since we seem to be "kindred spirits" on the hair dryers, I would recommend you carry your own. Every time I go, I think I will look around and purchase a dryer in Europe for future trips. The problem is I am not much of a shopper...so that has never actually happened. Maybe in September when I am scheduled for a 5 week trip (less than 6 months away...yea!!) Have a great trip.

Agreed. Years ago I always carried a hair dryer. In recent years, however, every hotel I've been to in the U.S. provides hair dryers, and with having to pay baggage fees, one does try to cut down when one can. I wasn't sure about Europe, however. And it did surprise me that it wasn't on Rick's packing list for women when there were other things I thought less important. Did that mean there are always going to be hair dryers on his tours? Or did it mean that he didn't think hair dryers were a necessity?

Barbara, I doubt Rick uses a hair dryer or thinks its a necessity :), thus I am not surprised that it is not on his packing list. I took a RS tour back in 1991 when almost no hotel offered hairdryers and I'm pretty sure that he didn't have it on the packing list back then either. I on the other hand think a hair dryer is a necessity. I still carry one with me to Europe and so far I have yet to have a trip where I have not needed it. I must admit that if there is not one in the room, I never go ask at the front desk. When I get out of the shower, I don't want to have to get dressed and go down and get one. It is true that I find more and more hotels supply them. I have a small hairdryer that I purchased in Europe about 15 years ago and I take it with me on every trip.

Personally, I would never bring a hair dryer. Seems like just one more thing to lug around. I am thankful for pony tail elastics.

I don't think RS's packing list should be considered absolutely definative. It's a guide and nothing on it is law. I've taken two RS tours and done my packing first and then given 'the List' a cursury glance 'just in case' I've missed something of great import. And because I've been doing it for so long I've pretty much covered the whole gamit of what's needed on the road - and if I've missed something, well, that's what stores are for! I do carry-on only and I've got a mini Conair dryer than tucks into a corner of my case. I've never even noticed
if the hotel rooms were equipped with dryers.

It might be interesting to follow the presentation of the packing specialist on Rick Steves's travel seminars on Saturday. http://www.facebook.com/ricksteves Maybe there will be the opportunity to ask questions. Or post the question now! Pam

I am streaming the packing light seminar (It has been 10 plus years since i went over to Edmonds and took it) Same teacher and she still takes a hair dryer..lol. She said some rooms will have them but she prefers her own. So there you go...you have an RS blessing.

Hah! So glad someone was able to check out the lecture. ; ) Pam

I watched the lecture too. That was one itty bitty blow dryer she had.

Ah, I bet it's like the one I have. It can take a longgg time to dry your hair with these wee hair dryers. ; ) Pam

She said she bought it at Brookstone's.

Barbara, I finally after many years of frustration, bought an Andis through Magellans and love it so much, I use it daily. I got tired of the hotel hair dryers with barely any power so pack an extra 12oz and know I'll look at least half-way decent (?!) on our trips. (I also have fine hair that must be styled.)
Previously I tried other travel hair dryers but found they didn't have much power. This one is blocked from being set on high at 220w but has more power on low than at 110w. (Other hair dryers I've tried also can only be set on low but don't have much power.)

Barbara, we've been traveling every year to Europe for the past 12 years and staying in RS-recommended hotels in the mid-to-lower price range. We have never NOT had a hair dryer. Once in a while there is not one provided in the room, but when you check with the front desk they always have one. We used to excessively worry about it, but now we know it is a given. Don't waste the space by packing one!

FYI: I did check the web sites of all the hotels; only two did not have hair dryers listed as an amenity. When I emailed these two, one replied that yes, there are hair dryers in every room, and the other said that one may be requested at the desk. These are hotels on the 14-day Best of England tour. So. . . I may just forego the hair dryer and save space in my teeny tiny Rick Steves suitcase.