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Thailand Frontier

Plugs and sockets in Thailand

Two answers cover almost everyone. Thailand runs at 220 volts, and the socket on the wall takes flat American pins and round European ones in the same hole. British plugs do not fit.

The socket in most Thai hotel rooms. The long slots take flat pins, the round holes take a Europlug, and the hole below is the earth. One socket, three plug types.
Voltage
220 V
Frequency
50 Hz
Official standard
TIS 166-2549, which defines the three round pins of Type O
What is actually installed
A hybrid socket taking Types A, B and C, and increasingly O

The gap between those last two rows is the whole complication. The Thai standard specifies a three-round-pin plug, and Thai appliances are sold with it. What is on the wall of the room you have booked is almost always the older hybrid, which takes everything except a British plug and an Australian one.

Which plug fits

Drawn to a common scale, so the shapes can be compared.

The voltage is the part that matters

A plug that fits is not the same as an appliance that works. Thailand's 220 volts is roughly double the 120 the United States and Canada run at, and more than double Japan's 100. An American two-pin plug slides straight into a Thai socket, which is exactly why the mistake is easy to make.

The check takes five seconds and it is printed on the device. Look at the small type on the plug or on the power brick. If it says 100 to 240V, 50/60Hz, it is dual voltage and Thailand is inside its range. Nearly every phone charger, laptop supply, camera charger and electric shaver made this century says exactly that.

If it names one voltage only, it will not survive the socket. In practice that means the things that make heat: hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons and travel kettles. Leave them at home. Hotel rooms above the cheapest tier have a hair dryer, and the ones that do not are in a country where a replacement costs very little.

Two practical notes

  • Do not buy the adapter at the airport

    Adapters are on sale in every 7-Eleven, supermarket and pharmacy in Thailand, and there is a 7-Eleven approximately everywhere. Most hotels keep a box of them at reception and will lend you one. Airport and departure-lounge prices are several times higher for the same piece of plastic.

  • Older buildings may not be earthed

    Plenty of sockets in older guesthouses and shophouses have two holes and no third. A three-pin plug will physically go in and will run, without an earth. That is fine for a phone charger and worth knowing about for anything larger.

Frequently asked questions

What plug adapter do I need for Thailand?+

From the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand or China you need an adapter. From most of Europe you probably do not, because the two round pins of a Europlug go straight into the standard Thai socket. From the United States, Canada or Japan the plug fits, but the voltage is the thing to check.

Is Thailand 110V or 220V?+

220 volts at 50Hz. The United States and Canada run at 120V and Japan at 100V, so an appliance from any of those that is not marked for dual voltage will be damaged by a Thai socket even though the plug fits.

Can I charge a phone and a laptop in Thailand?+

Yes. Almost every phone charger and laptop power supply made in the past twenty years is marked 100 to 240V, 50/60Hz, which covers Thailand. The figure is printed on the plug or the brick in small type. What is usually not dual voltage is anything that makes heat: hair dryers, straighteners, travel kettles.

Should I buy an adapter before I travel?+

Only if you want one for the first evening. Adapters are sold in every 7-Eleven, supermarket and pharmacy in Thailand for a fraction of what an airport shop charges, and most hotels keep a box of them at reception.

More before you go: visas and entry, what things cost, when to come.