What Plug Type Does Bali Use?

Indonesia uses the European-style two round-pin plug, types C and F, running at 230 volts and 50Hz. If you’re travelling from a country using the same standard, like most of continental Europe, you won’t need an adapter at all. If you’re coming from the UK, US, Australia, Japan or most of Asia, you’ll need a simple plug adapter, though rarely a voltage converter.

The distinction that actually matters for most travellers is plug shape versus voltage. Adapters change the shape of the plug so it fits the socket; converters change the actual voltage. Nearly everyone visiting Bali only needs the first.

Do you need a plug adapter or a voltage converter?

Most modern electronics — phone chargers, laptop chargers, camera battery chargers — are built to handle a wide voltage range automatically, usually printed on the charger itself as something like “INPUT: 100–240V”. If your device says this, you only need a plug adapter to physically fit the socket, not a converter.

Older or simpler devices without this wide-range rating, like some hair dryers, straighteners or certain electric razors from single-voltage countries such as the US, may need an actual voltage converter, which is bulkier and less common to travel with. Check the label on the specific device before assuming a simple adapter is enough.

Reading your device’s voltage rating

Look for a small printed panel on the charger or device itself, usually near the input specifications. If it reads something like “100-240V ~50/60Hz”, it’s dual-voltage and safe to use anywhere with the right plug adapter. If it only lists a single voltage, like “120V” for many US-market devices, it’s not designed for Indonesia’s 230V supply and using it without a proper converter risks damaging the device or creating a safety hazard.

• Phone and laptop chargers: almost always dual-voltage, adapter only
• Camera and drone battery chargers: usually dual-voltage, check the label
• Hair dryers and straighteners: often single-voltage if from the US; check carefully
• Electric razors and toothbrushes: usually dual-voltage but worth checking

Buying an adapter before you travel versus locally

Universal travel adapters, sold widely at airports and electronics shops before you fly, are the simplest option and often cover several plug types in one unit, useful if you’re visiting multiple countries on the same trip. They’re also readily available in Bali itself, in supermarkets and convenience stores in Sanur, Canggu, Umalas and Ungasan, so forgetting one at home isn’t a serious problem.

Buying two or three cheap adapters rather than relying on one is worth considering if you’re travelling with a group or have several devices to charge overnight, since sharing a single adapter around a villa gets inconvenient quickly.

Power supply and outages in villa areas

Power in the areas we manage villas — Sanur, Canggu, Umalas, Ungasan — is generally reliable, though like most of Indonesia, brief outages do happen occasionally, more so during heavy storms in the wetter months. Most villas, including ours, are set up with standard household sockets throughout, and outages when they occur are typically short.

If you’re travelling with equipment that genuinely cannot tolerate any interruption, like specific medical devices, it’s worth asking your villa about backup power arrangements before booking rather than assuming.

USB charging and modern sockets

Many newer sockets in villas and hotels across Bali now include built-in USB ports alongside the standard two-pin socket, which sidesteps the adapter question entirely for phones and other USB-charged devices. This isn’t universal, though, so it’s still worth packing at least one adapter as a backup rather than assuming every socket will have USB built in.

What guests commonly get wrong

The most frequent mistake is confusing adapter and converter, bringing a converter they don’t need while leaving the actual adapter at home, or the reverse: assuming a simple adapter is enough for a single-voltage hair styling tool that genuinely needs converting. The second common issue is packing only one adapter for a group trip, leading to a nightly scramble over the single working plug.

A smaller but genuinely disruptive mistake is packing an old device with a plug type from a third country entirely, like a US-style two flat-pin plug, and discovering at the villa that the universal adapter brought doesn’t actually cover that shape either.

Packing this alongside the rest of your trip

Plug adapters are a small item easy to forget among bigger packing decisions like clothing and documents. Our guide on what to pack for Bali covers the wider packing list this fits into, and pairing it with sorting out a SIM or eSIM before you travel means your first evening at the villa isn’t spent hunting for chargers and connectivity at the same time.

What to do next

Bring a simple type C/F plug adapter unless you’re travelling from continental Europe, check any single-voltage devices before assuming a converter isn’t needed, and pack more than one adapter if travelling as a group. Adapters are also easy to buy locally if you forget.

• Check your villa’s amenities listing for USB sockets before you pack a full set of adapters
• Browse our villas at /property-rental/ for your dates
• Read our full packing guide for what else to bring alongside your adapter