Do I need a special adaptor for my laptop in Poland or will hotels provide this?

I will be traveling to Poland from the United States very soon. If i want to be able to use my laptop there, do I need any special adaptors or will hotels have the equipment I need to be able to use my laptop

poland just has regular european electricity plugs.. so i guess get yourself an adaptor for the round pins. Not sure what the US has.
A tip too.. if you have a few things you need to power, like laptop, phone charge, electric toothbrush.. bring a small power board.. then you only need one adaptor.

Here in the US we have 3 pin plugs. I was told I need to get an adaptor that goes from 3 pin to 2 pin...but like you said the two pins have to be round?

The voltage in the US (110 Volts) is different to Europe (230Volts). Most laptop power supplies will work with either, but it's worth checking.

Most laptop power supplies/chargers/AC Adapter are dual voltage. Check it on yours ( the little box between the wall plug wire and the laptop plug wire). If it is dual voltage then all you need is just the plug adapter. This has been tested. My daughter is using one with a Dell laptop.

But do not us this for devices with single voltage 110v) ratings. They will burn.

If your laptop's power adapter is not dual voltage I recommend that you get a generic or specific one with proper specs dual voltage to mach your laptop, and then you'll be fine.

In most cases the voltage transformers (220 to 110) are not good for electronic equipment but will work well with mechanical and heating devices (irons, hair driers etc). They may destroy your electronic devices.

Oh, depending on your scenario you may want to get a couple, and consider whether you need one with ground.

I had to buy a replacement adaptor for my vaio laptop so its just a generic adaptor. Is there something in specific im looking for on the specs?

If were are taking things like a blow dryer or phone charger...it would probably be a good idea to take the voltage transformer you mentioned???

the voltage range

says the range is 100-240V 50-60Hz

you are ok for voltage then, you just need a little adaptor so the your plug fits in the hotels sockets

Great! will the adaptor be universal? As in will it work with my other appliances?

First trip to Poland....Want to make sure i dont run into any technical difficulties...

Im assuming Poland has Wireless internet service in Hotels?

If it works with your laptop here, and if it says it has 110 and 220 then all you need is the $9.99 thingie from Radio Shack. Take a close look at the laptop's power adapter you have.


Yes, and no.
A phone charger is an electronic device so you need the $9.99 thingie again. Just make sure the charger is 110 and 220. Most of the newer ones are.

For the blow drier, also check if it's dual voltage. Some of them are. If not then you'll need the $27.49 thing. Make sure that the wattage rating is sufficiently high. 1600W, like the one mentioned here, should be enough for most hand held hair driers.

Thats good to know! Do you know if Wireless internet is available at hotels or public places?

I dunno. My daughter lives with her grandmother and uses cable or some such. Depending on the city you may have access to free wireless in city cores, or get one of those cellular network based dongles.

thank you for all your help...one less thing to worry about.

Would it probably be safe to buy both adaptors (the one for 9.99 and the one for 27.49). Or should the the one for 9.99 be sufficient

Does anyone know if its a hassle to connect to Wireless internet in Poland.......Should it not be a problem, especially if were staying in a Hotel

It shouldn't be a problem at all, depends where you are right enough. If you are in a city (and especially a hotel) it will be no problem at all. If you are out in the sticks then it could be a struggle...same as any other country to be honest. I was staying in a wee island of Indonesia and had no trouble there where most people were living in makeshift cardboard box houses.

I would imagine it is the same as everywhere else, you pay the hotel a fee and they will give you a password, simple really.

If you mean in large city centres... probably yes.

Or at least you'll get access to wi-fi, if that's what you mean.

I'd get both, and one $9.99 spare. In the long run it'll be cheaper than to get them at an airport, or to have them shipped from the US to Poland.

you need to get this

Make sure you get the "grounded adapter" cuz there are many places with the ground prong on it.

These adaptors can be found here at Media Markt, Carrefour, Real, Tesco, Castorama, Leroy Merlin, all AGD/RTV shops. 3-10zl.

it will work with all 2 & 3 prong N.A. plugs. It does NOT convert 220v>120v

Forget your hairdryer...just buy one here for 40zl, then give it away when done.

if you have some electrical item you desparately need to bring with you, check the voltage for 110v~220v and you can use the adaptor. If it only has 110v on it, you need to get a converter like this

radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2036265

All these items you can get at Radio Shack or Sears or specialty travel/luggage shops

WIFI coverage can be good and bad. Check small cafes and milk bars. Some shopping centers have a WIFI area. Oh...btw... not many ppl here understand when I say "WIFI" or "VIFI" (PL version) or internet bez drut. (without wire). Many hotels have it only in the lobby.

Its really not all that bad.

Wait can I actually use a surge protector in Poland running through one adapter without short circuiting everything?

you should. i brought my Monster Power surge protector power bar and used it no problem. but only thru the converter. you must be aware of the wattage of the converter. 60watts or up to 1600 watts

I just received a surge protector in the mail and I'm scared of trying it out because I don't know if I need a transformer or not.

It says 15A 125V AC 60Hz 1875W

Looks like I need one because it doesn't go up to 220-230V. Am I right?

yes u r right. you will blow up that surge protector, unless you already have a converter to step down 220 to 120. That converter must be higher in watts than all the items you will attach to the powerbar/protector at a given time.

for example- if you have 1950 watts connected to the bar with a capacity of 1875watts, and your converter is only 1000 watts, you'll kill it and possibly all your electonics attached.