weird appliance question

If the fan is loud enough to drown out the sound of snoring to her it is likely to be loud enough to disturb others in the room. A more considerate solution would be for her to get her own room and some earplugs.

Good earplugs would be a whole lot simpler. I don't know the brand, but have orange ones that are very soft (not foam cylinders, and do not hurt my ears) and are incredibly effective. Also, you probably are bringing some electronic device that can use one of the many white noise free apps available. Some even have a "fan" sound. Or get a bed fan like you get your kids for camp and have her put it by her head. They are small as far as fans go, but only the most motivated would want to go that route.

Lisa my friends sleeps with a "white noise" machine on, it does not disturb me when we have shared a room. She hasn't taken it to Europe, but its not that big at all, its like a box, about a hand high and wide . It makes "white noise" but it has programs too, like water running( waterfall) or waves crashing. The issue would be is it dual voltage, hairdryers and shavers often are, but not sure if they make these types of things dual voltage.
Some hotels will have a fan to lend you, especially hotels without air condtioning, you should contact all your accmadations and ask.

lisa, It's somewhat unlikely that any Fan you pack along will be designed for multi-voltage operation. A Fan which is only designed for 115 VAC will quickly self-destruct the first time it's used, possibly with a spectacular display of sparks and smoke (and possibly tripping the breaker, which will no doubt impress the hotel owner). Also, smaller fans will not make enough noise to cover snoring (and the extra noise will annoy others in the room). There are easier solutions to dealing with a room mate that snores like a gorilla..... > As the others have mentioned, a good set of Ear Plugs is the first and cheapest option to consider. However, if you're relying on an alarm clock to wake up, you'll have to leave a wake-up call with one of the others as the ear plugs may prevent you from hearing the clock. > You could also use active noise cancelling Ear Buds or Headphones, either with or without an iPod. I've used that method in Hostels on occasion. > You could rotate the gorilla to a different room each night, so that at least some of the group can get a good nights sleep every night. > You could rotate the one that's sensitive to snoring each night or for the whole trip, so that he/she only has to put up with the snoring every few nights. IMO, a Fan is not a logical solution to the problem. Good luck!

Just noted they said "travelling soon", so fans likely not going to work out, but in summer months its all some people get to cool down, , and most people can sleep to fan noise. I know in Paris I stayed in a hotel where my room faced a pedestrian street, it was a bit busy and loud, but not too bad, I found I managed by turning on the fan only of the ac, but maybe I am ok with that sort of noise and others aren't. I think the earphones and an ipod may be the solution as Ken suggested.
I personally find it difficult to sleep with snoring .. how many snorers are there in group,, maybe they should see about getting an appliance to stop snoring

The white noise apps I've used produce exactly the same sounds as those white noise generators. Hopefully one of you has a smart phone; otherwise, it might be worth buying an inexpensive device (and maybe one of the tiny portable speakers). It would be easier and less bulky than dealing with a fan/transformer/extension cord combination. But if she's that sensitive to sounds, she'll probably need the earplugs anyway to avoid street noise and noise from other guests.

How about buying the snorer a box of Breathe Right Strips? http://www.breatheright.com/

thanks to all who replied. Ken, your graphic description of what the fan might do without the proper voltage was hilarious! Will pass all recommendations on to the "light" sleeper.

lisa, I'm glad you enjoyed my description of a fan self-destructing. I've seen that sort of thing happen. On one of my visits to Italy, a woman from the U.S. connected her 115 VAC Hair Dryer and promptly knocked out power to a section of one floor of the hotel. The Hotel owner was not impressed. I was going to have a chat with her in case she had packed along any other appliances, but she busied herself visiting with another traveller from her "home area", so I gave up and left her in her "state of ignorance". Cheers!

I don't think the OP's question is wierd at all. Snoring is VERY common and the unfortunate companions resort to all sorts of ways to block out the noise. The only thing that really works is to sleep in separate rooms. Sonorous snoring is not only loud, but can also cause enough vibration to shake the walls and rip that noise cancelling headphone right off your head! Kidding aside, people who snore should really, really get it checked by an MD and perhaps a sleep study.

"It's somewhat unlikely that any Fan you pack along will be designed for multi-voltage operation. A Fan which is only designed for 115 VAC will quickly self-destruct the first time it's used, possibly with a spectacular display of sparks and smoke (and possibly tripping the breaker, which will no doubt impress the hotel owner)." Isn't that why one should also carry a power converter or transformer? It converts the 220 to 110 - then a regular fan would be no problem. Like this Being at a certain stage for the past 25 years or so - I always travel with a 4" fan Like this

I had a tourmate on a RS tour that traveled with a white noise box. It was dual voltage (I think purchased on a travel website like Travel Smith). Unfortunately it died on day one of the trip. She purchased a full sized oscillating fan at a Prague department store and carried it along for the 16 day tour. She gave the euro-plugged fan to our bus driver at the end of the trip. That story aside, I too recommend she check out the white noise apps for a smart phone or iPod. I use the app regularly on my iPhone - between it and ear plugs it can drown out quite a bit of noise. I also recommend that if you can work it out, she should try to get to sleep first. I've had plenty of snoring roomies on RS tours and found if I can get to sleep first, the snoring doesn't (usually) wake me up.

I agree that a fan would not be the best solution for masking snoring. It is unlikely that it could be loud enough to cover the noise, and it would add to the total noise in the room (how do you know it won't irritate someone else in the room just as much?). There are plenty of comfortable earplug choices out there for the bothered one. Power converters are generally just a heavy nuisance, and might not work all that well, or might not continue to work for the length of the trip.

My wife has a small, battery powered fan. We use it for hurricanes when the power is out. She's taken it to Europe before but it's not loud enough to mask snoring. We usually take a "white noise" machine, also battery powered. Either one will last for a 3 week trip on one set of batteries. Good luck!