If you’re reading this we’re making the assumption that you’ve already decided that you need a VPN for your travels, but that you’re looking for which are the best VPNs for travel.
If you’re not sure if you need a VPN or why then you can check out our common sense guide to VPNs here. We will touch on the benefits of VPNs but are focusing on which are the best VPNs for travelers and what each of these top VPNs for travel delivers to you.
THIS POST MAY CONTAIN COMPENSATED AND AFFILIATE LINKS MORE INFORMATION IN OUR DISCLAIMER
A VPN for traveling adds a layer of security when you access any of your online accounts from a public wifi hotspot. It lets you protect your personal information, and view content, TV, and movies from home or other locations. A travel VPN will let you access your banking, financial services, and streaming services regardless of your geographic location. The same VPN lets you use sites like Facebook, YouTube, Wikipedia, and others when restrictive governments put blocks in place. You’ll also be able to communicate via WhatsApp and Skype when telecommunications providers want to stop you from using them and charge you higher rates for calls.
TOP PRODUCT PICK
Our Best Buy VPN is ExpressVPN – it has unparalleled privacy, performance, a large number of servers, and a GREAT price too.
Quick Comparison of the Best VPNs for Travel
Further, in this article, you can jump to our full review of the top VPNs and VPN comparisons when you are traveling. You’ll notice that our list of the best VPN for traveling doesn’t include any free VPNs, although we do include some paid-for services that provide a “free” or trial service.
How To Use a VPN When Traveling
There are many ways and many benefits to using a VPN for travel – here are just some of the ways in which we use a VPN for travel
- Avoid geo-restrictions on content (access BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Hulu from around the world)
- Use WhatsApp and Skype anywhere
- Prevent monitoring of your content and activities
- Protect your personal and financial data
- Book Cheaper Flights regardless of your location
Readers’ Questions on VPNs and VPN FAQs
We have included sections in each overview and each of the best VPN reviews, to cover questions that we have been asked about individual VPN services. If you have other questions, please use comments and we’ll address them for you. Our best VPN comparison table shows the main criteria by which people choose a VPN for traveling abroad. We have included a general FAQ at the end of this article.
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How to select a VPN for Travel – What to look for in a VPN for Travel
VPN services are not all the same. There are a number of factors that you should consider before selecting one. Here we’ve identified the key criteria to look for in a VPN for travel.
Number of VPN Servers and Size of VPN Network
VPNs are generally used to access content from your home country, so you want to look for a service that has server options in your home and major other countries. Some VPN services, like ExpressVPN, offer thousands of servers, while others have a few hundred. Their location is important. Remember that it’s the location of the server that’s important, not where you are. For instance, if you want to access Facebook from China, you do NOT need a VPN server in China, you need one outside of China, in a country where Facebook is not blocked.
If you want to access content from BBC iPlayer you should select a VPN service that has a large number of servers in the UK. (ExpressVPN has at least 8 different servers in the UK).
Location of VPN Servers
VPNs that have a larger number of servers in a location tend to be faster. The more locations in a geographic location the better. Occasionally you may find that a certain server is blocked by a service, if your chosen VPN has multiple servers in that geography then you have others to choose from. This has happened to us on occasion when trying to access the BBC iPlayer from Bulgaria when the Reading server was blocked. Luckily ExpressVPN had multiple other servers in the UK to choose from.
Get the best VPN that we’ve found that works in ANY country we’ve been to including Turkmenistan, China, Myanmar &Cuba. This link gives you a coupon for THREE MONTHS for free as a reader of ASocialNomad
Choose a VPN that works in as many countries as possible
Some VPN services are easy to block because they have a small number of servers. If you are traveling a lot then you’ll want to select a VPN for travel that works in many countries. The general rule of thumb is that if your VPN works in China it will work anywhere. The Chinese government and telecommunications providers are renowned for working constantly to block VPN services.
Countries where a VPN is required to access services
Countries that have restricted access and require VPNs for major sites that include Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Booking.com (yes, really), and Wikipedia include:
- China
- Turkmenistan
- Turkey
- Cuba
- Russia
- Vietnam
And yes, we have personally experienced these blocks to our access when we tried to access them without our VPN (Check out ExpressVPN here), which we’ve used for nearly 9 years now. This link will give you 3 additional months for free!
The Best VPNs have an Auto-connect Feature
It’s easy to forget to connect your VPN when you’ve FINALLY found a Wi-Fi hotspot that works. If your VPN service has an auto-connect feature then you’ll be protected even if the Wi-Fi drops in and out of service.
VPN Speed is Important
Some VPN services can slow down your internet connection, this is usually because your traffic is going to another server rather than directly to the destination. Free VPN services will for sure slow down your connection speed. If your internet connection is “spiky”, then a VPN is likely to smooth out the connection and we have found that on slow, intermittent connections ExpressVPN has made the access MORE reliable. We’ve never seen our VPN slow down our connection, which is why we have used ExpressVPN for 7 years now.
Supported Platforms and Devices for VPNs
The best VPN services will provide an app for each of the devices that you use. You should be able to download apps for the devices and platforms that you use and will use in the future. Check that your VPN service at least has apps for
- Windows
- MacOS
- IOS
- Android
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A VPN Should be Easy to Install and Set-Up
Despite the complex technology that VPNs use to secure you and your data, they should be simple for you, the end-user, to install and set up. You should be able to download the software or application, login in, and install it with a few simple clicks.
If you’re an Android or iOS user you should be able to download the app from the App or Play Store and it should come with good, secure options on installation.
Using the VPN should be as easy as installing it – if it doesn’t have an auto-connect feature consider getting one that has, or at least check that one of two taps will start the application.
Number of Simultaneous VPN Connections
Regardless of whether you use a phone, tablet, or laptop, the risks are all the same to your data, so you should ensure that the VPN that you choose doesn’t restrict you from simultaneous connections. You will want to connect multiple devices at the same time.
We travel with two phones and two laptops and usually have all four devices connected via ExpressVPN at the same time. ExpressVPN now allows up to 5 simultaneous connections from a single subscription.
Online Support for VPNs
Sometimes things just don’t work. That’s the nature of technology. And while it’s usually the Wi-Fi connection that you’re on, sometimes it might be the VPN service. Being able to access 24/7 (because it’s not always 9-5 where you are!) online support is a great feature to look for in a VPN service. I must add at this point that I’ve never had to use the online chat feature, but knowing that it’s there is a great comfort.
What if there is no free trial of a VPN
Some of the best – and our most recommended VPN for travel, ExpressVPN, do not offer a free trial, however, it is possible to buy a single month subscription and then extend your subscription when you confirm that the service meets your needs.
We recommend ExpressVPN, which we’ve used in some of the world’s most difficult countries to access the internet – check it out here. This link will give you 3 months for free!
What are the best VPNs for Travel?
We’ve reviewed the best VPNs for travel and have looked at the criteria we outlined above to sort through all those available. Here’s our choice of the best travel VPNs.
ExpressVPN
Simply the best VPN for Travelers – combining speed, security, and easy-to-use features – check it out here. This link will give you up to 49% off RRP or 3 months for free!
NordVPN
The best budget option VPN for Travel – great for anonymity, lots of customizable options – check offers and pricing now!
Full Reviews of the Best VPNs for Travelers
When considering what makes a good VPN for travelers, we’ve pulled together all the information that you need to make an informed decision on which VPN is right for you and your travels – you can see the comparison chart that we mentioned at the beginning of this article again here and now you can read our full reviews of the top travel VPNs.
| VPN Service | Cost/month* | Buy Now! | Connections | Protocols Supported | Servers Available | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | US$6.67 | Buy ExpressVPN | 5 | OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2, PPTP and SSTP | 3,000 | 24/7 Live Chat Support |
| NordVPN | US$3.49 | Buy NordVPN | 6 | OpenVPN | 5,337 | 24/7 but via email |
Expert review of Express VPN for Travel
Simply the best VPN for overseas travel – combining speed, security, and easy-to-use features.
ExpressVPN is our top choice of VPN for Travel, it quite simply provides superior service, a vast network of servers, and superb encryption. – buy Express VPN now! This link will give you up to 3 months for free.
Not sure yet? ExpressVPN now provide a FREE Trial. Get an ExpressVPN Free Trial here.
| Number of Countries with VPN Servers | 94 countries |
|---|---|
| Number of Worldwide Servers | 3,000+, 160 server locations |
| Number of IP addresses available | 30,000 |
| Country / Jurisdiction Based In | British Virgin Islands |
| Level of Encryption Provided | 256 AES Military Grade Encryption |
| User Log Policy | Does Not Log |
| Apps Provided | iOs, Android, Windows, MacOS |
| Number of Simultaneous Connections | 5 |
| Supported Protocols | OpenVPN, L2TP/IPSec, IKEv2, PPTP and SSTP |
| In Business Since | 2009 |
| BUY EXPRESSVPN NOW >> | BUY HERE – 49% off RRP |
ExpressVPN is generally accepted as the fastest and most robust VPN service provider available and has a 10-year track record. We have used ExpressVPN for more than 7 years. It not only has a vast number of worldwide servers – more than 3,000 an essential requirement for unblocking geo-restricted content. It comes complete with 256 AES encryption, the industry-leading standard, and extensive protocol support. There’s also a built-in internet kill switch – if the VPN isn’t connected, then you can’t access the internet (note you can turn this off). DNS Leak protection is also provided.
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ExpressVPN not only has native clients and apps for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, and even BlackBerry. They even provide some custom firmware for some routers and also have content-unblocking solutions for smart TVs.
Despite having all this capability ExpressVPN is incredibly easy to set up, install and use. They have a fabulous support team and a great website with information, tutorials, and guides. If you do have problems their 24/7 live chat support can help – and they do it REALLY quickly too.
We have tested it against other VPNs in China and Turkmenistan and found it to be the best VPN for China. For us it was also the best VPN for Turkmenistan and also the best VPN for Cuba. ExpressVPN was also the best VPN to use in Turkey (which blocks booking.com and Wikipedia). ExpressVPN was the only VPN that would connect to WhatsApp, Facebook, and other censored sites in those countries. Other VPN providers did not even make a connection despite trying multiple services. ExpressVPN easily streams content from Netflix, Hulu and BBC iPlayer. In general, we have found ExpressVPN to be the best VPN for international travel.
ExpressVPN does not store detailed user logs or IP addresses and its commitment to user privacy is a superb feature. A subscription allows for 5 simultaneous connections. The company provides a 24/7 online support service.
Get an ExpressVPN free trial here. No commitment, check it out here.
Pros of ExpressVPN for Travel
- Robust, fastest speeds and superior service
- Excellent customer support
- Huge server network
- A strict zero-logging policy
- Accept bitcoin as payment
- Filesharing is allowed
- 3 months free GET THIS DEAL NOW!
Cons of ExpressVPN for Travel
- Slightly more expensive than other providers
- While enough for most users, just 5 simultaneous connections are provided
FAQS for Using ExpressVPN
- Does ExpressVPN work with Netflix? Yes
- Does ExpressVPN work in China – Yes. Our experience is it does. However, we would always travel to China with more than one VPN just in case!
- What is the ExpressVPN pricing? You can see the cost of ExpressVPN below – a special ASocialNomad ExpressVPN discount coupon gives you three months for free – use this link.
Subscription Options – ExpressVPN Costs
ExpressVPN is our highest-rated VPN for Travel – check out this offer now!
We’re so happy with ExpressVPN that we’ve been clients for more than 12 years. Here are the ExpressVPN plans and prices.
- US$6.67 a month – US$99.95 a year >includes 3 months for free!
- US$9.99 a month 6-month – US$59.95
- US$12.95 a month 1-month – US$12.95
Expert Review of NordVPN for Travel
The best budget option VPN for Travel – great for anonymity, lots of customizable options. Buy NordVPN now!
NordVPN has a great reputation for being able to unblock geo-restricted content and bypass government restrictions.
| Number of Countries with VPN Servers | 60 countries |
|---|---|
| Number of Worldwide Servers | 5573 server |
| Number of IP addresses available | 5,000 |
| Country / Jurisdiction Based In | Panama |
| Level of Encryption Provided | 256 AES Encryption |
| User Log Policy | Does Not Log |
| Apps Provided | iOS, Android, Windows, MacOS |
| Number of Simultaneous Connections | 6 |
| Supported Protocols | OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec |
| In Business Since | 2012 |
NordVPN’s security standards include 256-bit encryption, this is supplemented by some unique features that include double VPN encryption – where your traffic is routed through two servers instead of one. The company is based in Panama and doesn’t answer to any data regulatory authorities, but also has a 100% guaranteed no-logging policy.
See the best deals on NordVPN now!
NordVPN uses the OpenVPN protocol, a similar type of internet kill switch to ExpressVPN, and also DNS leak protection. They offer unlimited bandwidth and data transfer and span 61 countries, allowing up to 6 simultaneous connections. At the time of writing NordVPN provides 5,573 servers in 60 countries.
The NordVPN services allow you to access geo-restricted content using their Smart DNS service, called Smart Play without losing internet speed without encrypting data in the process.
NordVPN apps are easy to use and provide support for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Customer support is available 247, although this is via email, not live chat and you may find a slight delay in responses. The website has some guidance on setup and usage, but it’s not extensive.
You can take a monthly subscription, plus the company offers 1, 2, and 3-year subscription options. The 3-year subscription is the best value.
Pros of NordVPN for Travel
- Privacy-focused service, with zero logging commitment
- Budget option
- Suitable for power users
- P2P friendly VPN service
- Payment by Bitcoin, Paypal and Credit card
- Up to six simultaneous connections
- 30 days money back guarantee
Cons of NordVPN for Travel
- Desktop app can be a little clunky
- Monthly subscription is not that affordable
- Speed can vary during peak hours
- Might be some glitches in performance
FAQs for NordVPN
- How many NordVPN concurrent connections are there? You can have up to 6 simultaneous concurrent connections with NordVPN
Subscription Options – NordVPN Costs
NordVPN is the best budget travel VPN for your money – you can get NordVPN for as little as US$3.49 a month. Get our best budget VPN for Travel for just US$2.82 a month
- US$2.82 a month, 36-month plan – US$101.76 for THREE Years
- US$5.66 a month, 12 month – US$67.94 for ONE YEAR
- US$9.68 a month, 1-month plan – US$11.95 FOR ONE MONTH
Why Use a VPN when Traveling
When you travel your internet access is most likely to be provided by free Wi-Fi hotspots in hotels, hostels, parks (Cuba and Colombia for example). You may use the Wi-Fi at an airport, in a café, bar or restaurant or on long-distance bus (good luck with that).
The three primary reasons that travellers use VPNs are
- To protect themselves from people seeing their data on the Wi-Fi network that they’re connected to
- To avoid government censorship and restrictions in the country that they’re travelling to
- To access content from home that isn’t available abroad (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer)
Here’s a little more detail on those reasons – don’t forget if you want EVEN MORE detail on using a VPN, you can check out our Common Sense Guide to VPNs.
Protect yourself with a VPN at Free Wi-Fi Hotspots
Most travelers regardless of the length of their stay will use a free Wi-Fi hotspot while traveling. It may be at the airport, the train station, in the hotel, or a coffee shop. Connecting your VPN service once you connect to these Wi-Fi hotspots provides a decent level of encryption for your data. When you connect to a public Wi-Fi hotspot you have no way of knowing whether the route has been configured securely, or who else is accessing the hotspot and maybe sniffing your data.
Access Geo Restricted Content with a VPN
When you access the internet via a VPN you select the server location you wish to connect to. When you select a server, for instance, in the USA, then all the services and sites that you access will believe that you are in the USA. So if you want to stream Hulu or Netflix, simply connect to a US VPN server and stream your content without problems. This also works for the BBC iPlayer when you are outside of the UK.
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Equally, certain governments and telecommunications providers place restrictions on what can be accessed within certain countries. When you open a VPN, your PC, tablet, or phone’s REAL address is hidden from view, and you are assigned a virtual identity and location. If you choose a UK VPN server from your provider, then it looks like you’re in the UK. If you’re traveling in China then this will allow you to access Facebook. It will let you access WhatsApp from a large number of countries, and use booking.com and Wikipedia in Turkey.
Anonymize your activities with a VPN
If you don’t want to advertise your location online and want to remain digitally invisible then masking your activities while not limiting what you can access is important, a VPN will provide this anonymity for you. You’ll want to ensure that your VPN does not maintain logs.
This is especially important if you’re working in the area of journalism.
Book Cheaper Flights with a VPN
Usually, flight tickets are cheaper if they are bought from the place of origin rather than abroad. This works online too. Mask your location with a VPN to show that you are in the country where you want to buy the ticket from and you’ll see a huge difference in price.
We’ve seen this time and again, and saved hundreds of dollars and euros by opening our VPN.
Get the best VPN that we’ve found that works in ANY country we’ve been to including Turkmenistan, China, Myanmar &Cuba. This link gives you a coupon for THREE MONTHS for free as a reader of ASocialNomad
Tether and use Mobile Data Packages from Home
Whether you have a pay-as-you-go or a contract package on your data from home, some providers will allow you to carry that package with you to countries abroad. They will, however, place restrictions on whether you can tether other devices to your phone and use that data for your laptop or tablet.
Using a VPN while traveling, allows you to mask your location – and thus you can open up your hotspot and tether devices to use your data allowance while traveling.
What will a VPN let me do when I Travel
Here are just some of the activities that we use our travel VPN for while on the road
- Booking cheaper flights – by using the geo-location facility
- We use a VPN to check that affiliate links are working in different countries.
- Streaming content from the BBC, Netflix, and Hulu through our VPN
- Using at-home mobile data packages for tethering abroad
- Protect your information when you connect to the internet on public wifi connections
You can use a VPN in these Countries to access this restricted content
- China: Facebook, WhatsApp, Google
- Turkmenistan: Facebook, WhatsApp
- Turkey: com, Wikipedia, WhatsApp
- Cuba: https sites were blocked for us without a VPN – read about internet access in Cuba
- Azerbaijan: WhatsApp
Free VPNs versus Paid for VPNs – what’s the difference
There are two types of free VPNs. And the use of the word free is somewhat of a misnomer. Nothing is ever free.
The ONLY type of Free VPN that you should consider is one that offers the free in order to prompt you to upgrade to a paid version. These will come with some (or all) of the following limits:
- Time
- Bandwidth
- Speed
- Number of Servers
- Slower servers
They may also come with advertising that interrupts your internet access. The paid for version of these VPNs will remove some or all of the limits above.
Free Trial VPNs and Limited Bandwidth VPNs
The first type of free VPN is the one that provides the “free VPN service” for either a short period of time (3 days, 7 days) or that provides a certain amount of bandwidth or data download or upload through their service. These VPN services then enable you to upgrade to their paid for service when you inevitably realize that the free bit isn’t enough.
Not sure if you need a VPN for Travel?
If you’re not sure if you need a VPN or think you’ll only use it occasionally, then these services provide a free either limited time or limited bandwidth service that you can upgrade if and when you need it and they come highly recommended:
Free VPNs are (generally) provided in return for showing adverts and using your data
You’ll want to avoid this type of free VPN like the plague. The first reason you want to avoid free VPNs when traveling is the level of service. They have huge numbers of users, and many fewer servers and you’ll inevitably get incredibly irritated with the adverts. Service will be slow. These services don’t invest enough in the technology to protect you and are always playing catch up when their limited numbers of services are shut down and blocked. Want to stream the latest Game of Thrones through a Free VPN? Forget it. The services are generally WAY too slow for streaming services or even accessing your bank account online.
The content streaming services like the BBC, Hulu, and Netflix are required contractually to restrict their media to certain geographic locations. They do this by restricting it to IP addresses in certain countries. If they don’t they’re liable for enormous fines. And so they are constantly blocking access to what they know to be VPN services attempting to circumvent their controls. The Best VPNs have thousands of VPN services worldwide and are extremely sophisticated in how they make regular changes to provide you with the service. Free VPNs rely on a small number of services and are easily detected and blocked.
The second reason to avoid free VPNs when traveling is the questionability of their ethics. Many of these types of services have been caught illegally mining YOUR user data and selling it to advertisers, or even infecting your devices with malware.
Is a Free VPN Better than No VPN?
The answer in general to this is no, it depends on which Free VPN it is. Check carefully their terms and conditions and look at what you actually want to use the VPN for and what your data will be used for. If you MUST use a free VPN when traveling, please choose one of the selections that we recommend above.
How to Set Up a VPN for Travel
Once you have selected your VPN setting it up is easy, and I don’t intend to repeat what you can find on each of the provider’s websites as it is such a simple procedure. Here, rather I‘m going to give three pieces of advice for using your VPN while traveling.
Purchase and download your VPN BEFORE you leave home
You must download and I stall your VPN BEFORE you get to the country that likes to block its access. Most countries that block VPN services also block the downloads of them.
Buy your favourite VPN for Travel Now!
Install your VPN for Travel on all your devices
Make sure you install your VPN on all your devices BEFORE you leave for your travels. Even if travel with more devices than you can have connected all at the same time, install it on your devices.
Try out your VPN before you leave home
Be sure to try out your VPN before you leave home. Give it a short work out and make sure you know how to operate it. Usually, this isn’t difficult, you open the app and click the ON button. Try selecting different servers and see what your experience is like. If you’re based in the UK you could try selecting a server in Canada and then trying to access BBC iPlayer, or if you’re in the US, select a German server and see if Netflix works.
General VPN for Travel FAQ
- Do I need a VPN when travelling? We think so yes. Using a VPN while travelling can help you to save money, protect your data, anonymise your browsing. VPN’s let you access censored data in countries which block certain sites and data.
When you’re happy with your VPN
When you’re happy and using your VPN do your friends, family, and colleagues a favor and tell them what it’s doing for you. Help them to understand how using a VPN while they are traveling will make them more secure, save them money, and protect their personal data. Heck, you could even send them to this article too!
Conclusion- The Best VPNs for Travellers
We hope that this article on how to select a VPN for travel and which are the best travel VPNs has been useful. We’d love to hear about your travel experiences and especially if you use your VPN to save money or connect to restricted sites – do let us know!
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2 thoughts on “Best VPN for Travel – Expert Reviews of VPNs and Comparisons”
Our family travels a lot and NordVPN is our savior. Kids are tired in the evening and there is nothing better than watching Netflix with the whole family. We are used to our US library, and when we are out of America (like now), it becomes forbidden. So, I simply obtain US IP by one click, and we are back on track with our fav movies.
I always see the news that China massively blocks almost every VPN service, some find ways to bypass it, some not, so it’s important to pick a reliable provider.