Travelling to Europe with your Mac
From Mac Guides
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So you have your bags packed and your passport and are ready to make the leap across the Atlantic to Europe. You think you have prepared for everything but when it comes to taking your Mac (or any computer for that matter) you are just not totally sure if you can just go to any country and plug it in. Considering the amount of money and data invested in your Mac it is obvious why you should know the details of what you need to make sure it is safe in foreign lands.
Most importantly it must be known what the power output is in the country that you are visiting. Focus will be particulary placed on Europe in which the output voltage is 240 Volts, as compared to America's 120 Volts. That difference in voltage will be no problem for your Mac. For all other electronics, it most likely will be a problem, unless they say they operate up to 230 or 240 volts on the plug for the item, but that is not the focus of this guide.
A Mac Does Not Need a Power Converter
Why does it not need one? Because it has an auto-voltage power supply that detects the voltage that is being used, and adapts to that. This document from Apple discusses which models have the auto-switching power supplies: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75099 If you're computer is listed (most modern Macs are) then you will just need to find out what you do need to plug your Mac in in another country. Note: An iPod does not need a power converter either as you might see, it is listed on the Apple support page above.
What you will Need
You will need a travel set of plugs which can be purchased from any travel store in America, as well as large electronics department stores (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc...). Purchasing a set of plugs is probably the best bet as it usually includes plugs for all over the world as well as a power transformer which is useful for other electronics. A set will typically look like this:
The set that you purchase will have a legend describing which plug works in what country. It is a rather simple solution to a sometimes confusing situation. This is all you will be needing when traveling to Europe and wish to plug in your Mac.
If you are only travelling in the UK, you can get a US to UK travel plug adapter, it has the three chunky pins for the plug and two or three holes for US plugs, you want one that doesn't change the voltage. You should be able to get one for around £3-£5 from a travel shop or airport.
Why it is not Recommended to buy the Apple Travel Kit
Because it is much too expensive for something you really don't need. You can simply use a standard power adapter, or purchase a set of power adapters, these will be a lot cheaper than other adapters and can be used with all your electronics, not just Apple ones. The travel plug set mentioned in the guide costs about $25 over the Apple set which costs $40, if you are only visiting one country it is better to buy a plug changer for that country only, which will be a lot cheaper.
