The humble travel adaptor may fit firmly in the category of
"traveller's afterthought" to many people. After all, a travel adaptor
is not exactly up there with the new wardrobe of clothes you splashed
out on for your big trip abroad. It's not the books you got hold of for
some quality relaxing reading time on the journey or at the destination
either.
But,
nor is it any good if you unpack your things to find you don't have
one, particularly if it's a travel adaptor that stands between you and
Angry Birds world domination in the next couple of weeks. We live in a
world where, like it or not, battery rechargeable technology is at our
fingertips at any point, night or day. And with that comes the need to
charge things up, frequently.
That's why the travel adaptor needs your consideration for any trip abroad you might be planning.
A
visit to foreign climes often brings with it a checklist of must-haves,
from sun cream to mosquito repellent, but without a travel adaptor you
might find yourself more restricted than you'd want.
If you don't
use a smartphone or iPad, for example, and assume this doesn't apply to
you, think again. What about if you don't bother lugging books around on
your travels these days, instead preferring to use a Kindle? If this is
the case, you'll need a travel adaptor.
As well as a travel
adaptor being the perfect (and indeed only) way of keeping your portable
entertainment gadget of choice in battery charge for the length of your
stay, there are other uses you need to consider. This might occur to
you when you're stood in front of the mirror on your first evening
trying to get your plug-in electric shaver to work.
The fact is
that while technological advancements the world over have made
travelling many times more convenient in recent years, electrical
systems can still vary from country to country.
Here comes the science part:
Most westernised nations use an electrical system operating at
110-120 volts, while almost every other country uses 220 to 240 volts as
standard. All of which leads to lots of technical-sounding problems
involving cycles per second, Hz, AC/DC and Motorhead. OK, maybe not that
last one.
There are many types of travel adaptor on the market,
and you need to work out which is best for you. If you're a frequent
traveller, and one visiting many different countries, you best bet is
undoubtedly a world travel adaptor. With one of these in tow, you can
reasonably assume that wherever you wind up on this world, it'll see you
right for a charge-up.
Others are good for the UK (which uses a
different system than mainland Europe) and the EU. Some even have nifty
little add-ons like dual USB chargers
enabling you to charge two things at once.
As always,
travelling is about preparation. Work out what you need depending on
your situation to pick up the best, most cost-effective travel adaptor
for you.
First-hand experience has taught me how overwhelming it can be to
plan for a trip and often it's the little things that can contribute to
a stressful situation.
If finding the best travel adaptor is only
one of your concerns, and you need advice on other things, such as
planning a road trip, you can read my free report to help you take the
stress out of that here: Road Trip Ideas
Plan ahead and it'll be easy. You can find more travel luggage related things by clicking the link.
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