How to hook up to electricity at a campsite

The CEE socket, adapters, amperage and what you can run at the same time without tripping the breaker.

Updated: 2026-07-25

Plugging into a campsite pillar takes two minutes if you have the right cable. Here is what you need and why the breaker trips.

Socket and cable

The European campsite standard is CEE 17 (also called the blue socket). You need a three-core cable, 2.5 mm², 25 metres long: the pillar can be further away than it looks.

Unroll the cable completely. A coiled cable heats up under load — that is physics, not superstition.

In Italy, Switzerland and parts of Spain you still meet old domestic sockets instead of CEE, and a set of adapters solves it. A reverse adapter (CEE to a domestic socket) is useful at home, to charge the motorhome before you leave.

How many amps you get

A pillar usually offers 6, 10 or 16 amps. That is the real limit:

  • 6 A — about 1300 W: a kettle or a heater, not both.
  • 10 A — about 2300 W.
  • 16 A — about 3600 W, almost anything.

The amperage is often written on the pillar or in the campsite rules. If it is not written, assume 6 A and do not risk it.

What trips the breaker

A kettle, hairdryer, toaster and electric heater each eat almost the whole budget on 6 amps. Run them one at a time. It is also worth switching the electric boiler off while the kettle boils.

If the breaker does trip, find your socket number on the pillar and the switch next to it — usually you can flip it back yourself. At some campsites only staff may do it.

Connection order

  1. Plug into the motorhome first, then into the pillar — that way the loose end is never live.
  2. Check that the motorhome has power: an indicator on the panel usually lights up.
  3. Make sure the cable is not lying in a puddle and will not be driven over by a neighbour. Run it along the side of the vehicle if you can.

When leaving, reverse the order: unplug the pillar first, then the motorhome.

Polarity and earthing

At some older campsites live and neutral are swapped. It is not critical for appliances, but a polarity tester (a small plug-in key fob) costs a couple of euros and shows the problem instantly. If the tester shows no earth, it is better not to connect at all.