Swiss plugs abroad: which travel adapter actually fits
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The Swiss plug is an island solution. Type J, three pins in a triangle, and outside Switzerland and Liechtenstein it fits almost nowhere. Most people discover this in a Berlin hotel room, with the laptop adapter hovering in front of a socket it will not enter.
The flat Europlug is the exception
Not every device needs an adapter. The flat two-pin Europlug, fitted to almost every phone charger, shaver and laptop supply, works in Swiss sockets as well as German, French, Italian, Spanish and Austrian ones. Look at your gear first: two round pins without an earth contact means you need nothing at all for half of Europe.
It gets awkward with anything three-pin. Larger laptop supplies, travel irons and Swiss power strips carry the Type J plug, and it stays outside.
What you need, where
| Destination | Socket | Needed |
|---|---|---|
| Germany, France, Austria, Spain | Type C / E / F | adapter only for Swiss three-pin |
| Italy | Type L / F | adapter only for Swiss three-pin |
| United Kingdom, Ireland | Type G | adapter always |
| USA, Canada, Mexico | Type A / B, 120 volts | adapter always, check voltage |
| Japan | Type A, 100 volts | adapter always, check voltage |
An adapter is not a converter
A travel adapter changes the shape of the pins, nothing else. Whether your device copes with 120 volts is printed in small type on the power supply. If it says Input 100-240V ~ 50/60Hz, you are fine: practically every USB charger, camera and laptop supply of the past fifteen years can do it.
If it says 230V only, leave the device at home. That mostly means hair dryers, curling irons and cheap travel kettles. A converter that handles those loads properly is heavy, expensive and not worth it for a two-week holiday.
One charger instead of four
The calmest solution is not the biggest adapter but the smallest charger. A 65-watt multi-port charger with three outputs runs laptop, phone and earbuds at the same time. Then you need exactly one adapter instead of four, and the single reachable socket behind the hotel bed is enough.
Why these supplies are so small now is explained in GaN chargers. We carry adapters from Mcdodo, Rock, Hoco, Baseus and UGREEN, among others.
Three things that annoy in a suitcase
- Universal adapters without an earth pin. Irrelevant for USB supplies, not for a large laptop brick. Check that the adapter passes the earth through.
- Adapters stacked on adapters. The tower falls out of the socket and cannot carry the weight of the supply.
- No spare. Adapters like to stay behind in hotel sockets. A second one in your wash bag costs little.