Can French type C plugs be used in South Africa?

Hi there, Everything’s in the title. For those who’ve already been to South Africa, I was wondering if our French type C plugs work with the sockets you’ve encountered in your accommodations there. Apparently, South Africa uses types D, M, and N, and type C plugs are only compatible with type N sockets. Do accommodations mostly have type N sockets? Or are they mostly D and M, which would mean buying an adapter? Thanks for your replies!

Hi,

It depends...

You’ll often find sockets where you won’t need an adapter, but not always.

When in doubt, it’s best to buy one.

Hi there! I just learned about plug types. That said, Buy adapters— several, and power strips too. Often, there aren’t many outlets, especially in Kruger National Park (KNP). It’s a battle between cameras, lights, phones, and other gadgets—unacceptable! (private joke: in South Africa, you can’t go hiking! No electrical outlets!)

Thanks for the info!

Okay, thanks a lot!

Hi Marie-Anne,

It’s definitely better to have adapters. You can find them cheaply on-site and at the airport too.

My advice: get an adapter because I’ve never seen sockets compatible with our French plugs. You can find them fairly easily on-site, like in Kruger Park. But I’d *strongly* recommend bringing a French power strip with an extension cord because their sockets are sometimes oddly placed—like in Satara, 1.5 m off the ground with nothing underneath to set all our gear on.

Watch out for some adapters that have a small lip, making them unusable with our round plugs. Pay attention to that detail when you buy one.