The holiday in Portugal is upon you, the flights are booked, the suitcases are packed and now the question arises: How do I charge my smartphone, tablet or notebook during the holiday? Do I need a travel plug or an adaptor to operate electrical appliances?

Portugal has been an EU Member State since 1 January 1986, and the grid voltage is 230V at a current frequency of 50Hz. In Portuguese holiday apartments, you will generally find earthed sockets, and the plugs are type C and F. That means guests from the UK will need to make use of a travel adaptor that will accept the three-pin UK plug and can be used in one of the Portuguese wall sockets.

The figure on the left shows a type F power plug. On the right is the type C power plug.