Adapter for Prague/Vienna/Budapest/Munich

This Continental-style $1 adaptor works in all those countries. Check that your appliances or chargers say (in tiny print) that they accept voltage 110-240, so that you don't also need an electrical converter.

The Type "C" plug is a two wire plug and does not ground you appliance. The Type "F" plug has a ground contact on the side of the plug.

My US flat prong to "C" round prong adaptor has a clever cutout to allow the US round ground prong to for the Type "C" adaptor. However it is not a grounded connection.

As the others have said, the Plug Adaptor used for the continent is the Euro / Schuko model with two round pins. The diameter of the pins is different in some countries, but any plug adaptors of that type should work. I'd suggest packing at least two, as they're easy to misplace.

If you're using appliances which require a ground connection, you'll need additional Plug Adaptors which may be different for the countries you're visiting. While grounded plugs can be used with the two pin (non-grounded) adaptors, I prefer to have the ground connected in products that are designed for that. I've found that THIS Plug Adaptor works well in a variety of countries since it works both with outlets that have a protruding ground pin as well as those that use the grounding "ears".

wepraise316,

If all youre going to do is this one off trip, then get that specific model/type.

but if you will be returning back for more, look at some others with more options.

i got the adapters with several all in one and also USB ports to charge my e devices.

just some food for thought.

happy trails.

For two pronged plugs, all these counties use type C (two round prongs). For three pronged plugs, Prague, Vienna and Budapest use type F, and Germany uses type G.

A type C plug will fit in C, F and G outlets. So, if you are taking two prong appliances (like cell phones and iPods), all you need is a type C, two pronged adapter.

As Ken pointed out, you can get adapters that will work in both F and G outlets. If you are taking any three prong appliances (like many laptops), you should get one of these.

Germany, Austria and Romania all use CEE 7/4 aka Schuko aka 'Type F' sockets. The Czech Republic uses CEE 7/5 aka 'acu 2P+T' aka 'Type E' sockets, i.e. the French system.

Because both systems are in the CEE seven series, you can use the following plugs in all these countries: CEE 7/16 aka Europlug aka 'Type C' (ungrounded), CEE 7/17 aka Big-Europlug (ungrounded) and the CEE-7/7 aka Franco-German hybrid plug (grounded)

Additionally you can of course use grounded CEE 7/4 aka 'Schuko' aka 'Type F' plugs in Germany, Austria and Romania, but not in the Czech Republic.
Conversely you can use the grounded CEE 7/5 aka 'acu 2P+T' aka 'Type E' in the Czech Republic, but not in Germany, Austria and Romania.

If you are making other purchases from the Travel Store, throwing in a plug adapter for $1 makes sense, but if that is all you are buying, it costs $6 for shipping, making it a $7 adapter. I know you can get a So. Europe adapter from Ace Hardware for about $5.

An Ace No. Europe adapter has 4.8 mm diam pins, and will only fit in a Schuko style receptacle in northern Europe, but not in a receptacle in Italy. The So. Europe adapter has 4.0 mm diam pins and will fit in all receptacles.

Understand that the 2 pin Europlug in Europe are only rated for 2½ amps, which means they should not be used for hair dryers, etc. Also, it is not polarized (one blade wider than the other), so any protection provided by the polarized plug is lost. And, the plug is not grounded, so if you you have an appliance with a grounding plug (third round pin), that safety feature will also be lost.