Plugs for India - Type C or D?
 

Some websites says India uses the same 2-prong adapters as Europe (type C) , while others say type D (prongs are thicker and wider apart). Guy in Magellan's said C. Should we bring both - (we have both)?

We used the ones that were the two large round prongs.

Indian plugs accept two round prongs and a grounding prong, but two round prongs will be enough. Bring whatever adapters you have with two round prongs. Hotels will also have adapters for you too. From your description D is probably the correct size.

we found at least 3 types in use, plus in western hotel chains the american style...

I agree with rhk - come prepared for anything. Outlets are not consistent throughout India.

Thanks, all. Luckily they don't take up much room. For those of you who saw my Kenya trip report, our carry on drama is beginning all over again.

Agreed, take all you have, Crosscheck. Or take just two "universal"types that work anywhere in the world. They are lightweight. I have the Kensington Universal Travel Plug Adapter, got it on Amazon. Hasnt let me down yet, in India, Europe, or Africa.

Haha re drama. i get PPP (pretrip packing panic ) Syndrome before all trips!!

CaliNurse, do you also have to bring along a converter? If so, which one do you use?

HI Mixter - We're in India right now. No converter needed, just adapters. We brought several Euro ones, plus a few wider prong Indian ones, which we didn't need). Mr. Crosscheck also bought a small "wall tap adapter" from Radio Shack which works for charging three devices at once. But it turns out that we didn't need to bring anything at all - all hotels have adapters for guest and three of our places, including our quaint little guest house in Varanasi, had sockets that worked with American appliances.

Phone hint: I will cover this in my trip report, but be sure to bring an old Blackberry if you have one (but first call your provider to get it unlocked). Even though our iPhones work, the Blackberry with an Indian SIM (provided by one of our guides) has been terrific for super cheap texting and calls, both locally and internationally. We needed to be reachable and it works even in the most remote areas.

Thanks crosscheck. I don't own a Blackberry, I use a droid. But, I do know about unlocking the phones as that is what I am doing in France. We'll be leaving for the Cote d'Azure in a month.

The Cote d'Azure sounds fabulous - You're really getting around this year! Your unlocked droid will work, but for us it wasn't an option to change the SIM in our regular phones because not everyone knows our Indian number.

The Blackberry with the Indian SIM has been terrific as a supplement, especially because it picks up wifi everywhere, even without a data plan.

We have been very fortunate this year. The India trip is still tentative as we are awaiting the ruling on tiger safaris. If we can go, it won't be until February.

We are meeting friends (whom we met over the internet about 12 years ago) whom we consider to be family now, in France.

I just returned from a 9-week trip to India, and plugs and sockets typically are the ungrounded, 2-prong connections (type C). Sometimes called the Europlug (two round 0.157-inch prongs), it can be inserted either way into the socket (example: http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...pla=pla_951459). While a number of online sites say that for India you need the grounded, 3-prong connections (type D), they're not very common. Some newer Indian hotels have the universal plugs so American electronics can be plugged directly into the socket. However, older hotels will likely use the 2-prong connections. Bottom line: take at least one 2-prong plug adapter (or more, depending on how many electronics you take along)!