Travel hairdryer

My criteria is small, lightweight and dual voltage. Mine is old, so make and model won't help you, and as I have shorter hair, 1200V is enough. However, I haven't packed it in ages. Every AirBnB and hostal I used in Spain in November had them.
Just email and ask them shortly before your departure.

I reluctantly left mine at home during our last two trips (Normandy/Berlin /Prague). Every place we stayed, which was mostly b&b's and airbnb's, had a hairdryer. Go for it.

We got one quite a while ago - it's just a Conair or something with dual voltage that folds in half - not a lot of power when using it on European voltage.

I will say - when you are booking your Airbnb's - check under amenities and they'll list if they provide a hairdryer. I honestly can't recall if we've ever been in one without a hairdryer - but we always take our travel one, so I haven't looked. That being said - our upcoming trip we are staying at 3 airbnb's and they all list hairdryers as part of their amenities, so I'm going to tell hubby to leave our hairdryer behind. I'd guess the ones using 'proper' European voltage are going to have a lot more blowing/drying power. If you want to make sure they have one, just drop them a message.

Take a chance and go without. If you need one, you can always buy it there.

The rentals will probably have them. However, you can buy a dual voltage hairdryer from Magellans.com or in their Santa Barbara, CA store.

If for some reason your hotel cannot supply an electric hurricane, buy a blower there. Advantage: It will operate on high or low. Most North American machines will only blow low.

Thanks everyone! I will reach out to all the places we are staying to see/confirm that they have a hairdryer!

I wish I could go without but i have long thick hair that takes forever to air dry!

Hi Gina, If you do ascertain that one or all of your Airbnb locations don't have hairdryers I recommend that you buy one over in Europe. They are quite inexpensive and available in Farmacias, department stores etc. We have travelled to Italy, Portugal, Tahiti and Mexico with dual voltage dryers and adaptors. In every case they worked, some throughout the trip and some where they died halfway thru the trip and then needed to replace it. The voltage is never exact and we could hear louder sounds as we used our dryer as if it was labouring. When we would return home , our dryer died within months of returning. Just our experiences.

The owners of B&B's and airbnb's have a great incentive to provide a hairdryer: They're inexpensive to buy, but they really don't want to deal with any electrical problems that might occur when a traveller plugs their device into a socket with completely different voltage. Almost all electrical devices that a typical traveller will be bringing with them these days are dual voltage, the one exception is likely to be a hair dryer.

In 700 budget-level days in Europe (probably close to 200 different lodging places), I've only encountered one spot where a hairdryer wasn't available: an apartment in Burgas, Bulgaria. In a few places I needed to ask at the desk. I'd definitely leave the dryer at home and plan to pick one up locally in the unlikely event you need to do that.

Since you mentioned having thick hair: It has been pointed out in earlier threads on this forum that the wall-mounted dryers provided in some European lodgings don't always have a lot of power. They haven't been a problem for me, but my hair is short and fine. I did notice some variation, however.

Update! I messaged the 4 different AirBnBs we are staying at and all 4 said they had hair dryers available! :-) Problem solved.

Thanks again for chiming in everyone, I really appreciate it!

Gina

I can recommend the BaByliss Pro TT travel hair dryer. I have been using this product the past 5 years are so, for both domestic and international travel. It was (and still is) $30 at Bed, Bath and Beyond (I purchased in store, it is available online). Folding handle, 1000-watt, dual-voltage, properly fitting concentrator attachment, 2 speeds high and low, weighs less than a pound. The caveat: I have a full head of short hair. In my experience from among wide variety of stateside accommodations, available hair dryers often are full size models, fairly hefty and rarely have the concentrator. What I've experienced during international travel, staying mostly in less than deluxe hotels or B and Bs, I encounter most often the wall-attached models with inadequate power and full size dryers much less frequently, and they may or may not perform the job adequately or any better than wall-mounts. I prefer to tote the item I know works, regardless of whether where I'll lay my head lists a hair dryer as one of the room's conveniences. May you have great hair day travels!!

Eva NYC Mini Blow Dryer

I picked up mine at Target and LOVE it.

I gave the same little dryer Theresa mentioned. Very small but very powerful.