If you’re planning a vacation abroad or have a business trip in the future, you might need to install a VPN before heading to your flight. A VPN for traveling has become essential as it helps combat the growing public WiFi safety concerns at the airport or hotel room and protects their digital identity. But that is not the only way a VPN has become a necessity for you.
Since every country has its own laws and rules, you are also bound to follow them even if you go for a short trip. And although this might seem like not a big deal, net neutrality and censorship issues can be troublesome even for tourists. In most parts of the world, you might not have access to free internet. You might face censorship or remain under heavy surveillance. While it is obvious that you are not doing anything illegal, it sometimes gets overbearing.
A VPN here proves to be a handy tool in this situation, and it helps in accessing blocked streaming content or services like WhatsApp or Facebook in specific countries. Moreover, it also encrypts your data and masks your IP address to ensure complete anonymity and security. But finding the best VPN for travel might be hectic, so this article will definitely prove to be helpful!
Most Used VPNs By Travellers
To have a quick overview of the best VPN for travel, consider the table below:
| VPN Provider | Server Network | Jurisdiction | Streaming | Torrenting | Users |
CyberGhost | 7000+ servers in 91 countries | Romania | Yes | Yes | 7 |
NordVPN | 5200+ servers in 60+ countries | Panama | Yes | Yes | 6 |
SurfShark | 3500+ servers in 65 countries | British-Virgin Island | Yes | Yes | Unlimited |
ProtonVPN | 1441 servers in 61 countries | Switzerland | Yes | Yes | 10 |
ExpressVPN | 3000+ servers in 94 countries | British-Virgin Island | Yes | Yes | 5 |
Each of these VPNs is a reliable and trustworthy provider that ensures ultimate privacy and security no matter where you are. But if you do need to be sure on whether you need a VPN for traveling or not, it is best that you explore your chances. There are several reasons apart from the ones mentioned above as to why a VPN is an absolutely crucial part of your traveling budget.
Benefits Of Using VPNs While Treveling
As mentioned earlier, a VPN for traveling is necessary for several reasons, but what urges the demand for a VPN? The following mentioned below are some of the prominent reasons for which you might need the best VPN for traveling:
- If you’re on a business trip or holidays, you can access the blocked streaming content from anywhere with a VPN and enjoy watching your favorite content, and can relax.
- By offering an end-to-end encryption feature, a VPN boosts your online security and keeps your real identity hidden from ISPs, hackers, and other snooping eyes.
- With the best VPN for travel, you can book flight tickets at a lower price and enjoy discounts exclusively available in a specific country.
- A VPN comes with specific features that allow you to bypass censorship and help in enjoying the internet, even in strict countries.
- While sitting at an airport or in a hotel room, you’re connected to a public WiFi network. It’s always risky to use a public WiFi network because hackers are watching you. A VPN by hiding your IP address and encrypting data ensures that you can even use the internet on a public WiFi network with complete online protection.
- Most banks have restrictions and they make it difficult to access your account with a foreign IP address. However you can use a VPN to change your IP address to your local one and mitigate this issue.
Therefore, if you really want a fun and relaxing trip, it is best that you use a VPN for travel and mitigate all these issues. You can choose any VPN you want, but make sure that it is an investment worth your time and money!
Best VPN for International Travel
Here are the reviews about the best VPN for travel. Read and decide which one fits into your needs:
1. NordVPN
NordVPN is our number one choice when traveling abroad. The VPN offers more than 5000 global servers in 60+ countries and allows users to access the internet with fast-blazing speed from any part of the world. With such a vast server network and fast connection speed, you can use NordVPN from any part of the world without worrying about connectivity issues.
Besides speed, the VPN also offers top-notch security and privacy to the users. It uses AES-256 bit encryption and NordLynx protocol that makes you protected from snooping eyes internationally. Moreover, it also uses other secure protocols like OpenVPN that help in enhancing your online security and privacy. It is a reliable VPN to use abroad because of its strict no-log policy audited twice. The VPN provides a range of security and privacy-boosting that boosts online security and brings exciting benefits. Some of these benefits are as follows:
- VPN leak protection
- Kill switch
- Double VPN
- Obfuscated servers
- Dedicated IP address
- CyberSec
- Onion over Tor
NordVPN is an impressive VPN for streaming and torrenting. It uses a split tunneling feature that helps in downloading torrents safely and securely. Also, you can even unblock the foreign content from Netflix, Hulu, and other popular streaming platforms during vacations in Thailand, the UK, or Canada. Because of its vast server network and low ping time, NordVPN can be used as a gaming VPN and helps in killing leisure time.
2. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is an ideal VPN to use abroad for having global coverage and offering the fastest connection speeds. It consists of 3000+ servers in 94 countries, and it allows users to connect to any server and enjoy the quickest server connection speed. When tested for speeds on multiple international servers, ExpressVPN should slightly reduce the overall speed that doesn’t affect the task performance. The speeds are high enough that even help in bypassing hotel WiFi throttling.
It is a private VPN that uses stealth mode to bypass strict censorship in restrictive regimes like China, Russia, and UAE. It uses the trusted server technology that doesn’t record any data on the hardware server. All the data is stored on the RAM-only servers and gets deleted permanently after every session. Moreover, the VPN follows a strict zero-logging policy under which the VPN doesn’t keep any activity or connection logs.
Apart from this, ExpressVPN uses the highest encryption standard to protect your data from all snooping eyes. It uses AES-256 bit encryption along with Lightway tunneling protocol that boosts speed and security levels. Other than this, the VPN uses various advanced features that ensure maximum online protection abroad. Here are some of these features:
- Network lock
- Split tunneling
- Zero-knowledge DNS
- VPN leak protection
The VPN is compatible with popular torrent clients like BitTorrent and uTorrent. It means that you can enjoy downloading torrent content from any part of the world. Moreover, you can unblock content from more than ten Netflix libraries, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney plus, and enjoy streaming your favorite content in HD quality.
3. SurfShark VPN
The next best VPN for travel in 2021 is SurfShark VPN. The VPN guarantees maximum online security and privacy by using the best-in-class AES-256 bit encryption and WireGuard protocol. It also uses a range of features that retains greater anonymity and online protection over the web. These features include:
- Camouflage mode
- No borders
- RAM-only servers
- Private DNS servers
- Kill switch
- Split tunneling
It hides your IP address and ensures that no spying eyes can learn about your online activities. Also, testing for VPN leaks resulted in no leaks showing how committed the VPN is in enhancing users’ online security. Besides security, the VPN also maintains robust privacy over the web. Like other top-tier VPN, SurfShark also exhibits a strict no-log policy that a reliable audit firm has audited, so; you can use it without any worries.
SurfShark is also a great VPN to use for downloading torrents and unblocking foreign content. It uses a split tunneling feature and P2P-optimized servers that help in downloading torrents securely. Moreover, you can stream content from Netflix or other popular streaming platforms and watch them on your streaming devices too. It offers a smart DNS play feature that helps access the streaming content on devices that a VPN doesn’t support.
It even offers an impressive CyberSec feature that helps block pop-up ads and malware-infected sites and ensures a safe browsing experience. You can also connect to the obfuscated servers and enjoy free internet in China.
4. CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost is a perfect choice to use abroad because it comes with specialized servers for streaming, gaming, and torrenting. So, no matter where you’re located, you can make your browsing experience worth amazing by connecting to any of these servers. With CyberGhost VPN, you can download torrents or stream on Netflix and Hulu unlimitedly. The VPN provides fast, consistent, and reliable speeds that allow you to carry out your tasks in the way you want.
The VPN’s instantaneous speed is because of its extensive server network. It comprises more than 7000 servers in 91 countries. All the servers offer unlimited bandwidth, so; speed is never an issue with CyberGhost VPN. It is the best VPN for traveling because of its strict no-log policy and safe jurisdiction. The company doesn’t keep logs and belongs from Romania, where strict anti-privacy laws don’t apply to the users. It means that the VPN company won’t retain or share your data with anyone.
Besides this, the VPN is no less when it comes to security and privacy. It offers various impressive protection and privacy-focused features that secure your web browsing experience. Some of these features are as follows:
- Kill switch
- Split tunneling
- NoSpy servers
- Dedicated IP address
- Smart Rules
- Ad and Malware blocker
The VPN to keep you protected from the ISPs and potential hackers across the globe uses AES-256 encryption and WireGuard and OpenVPN protocol. With such a strong encryption level, no one can invade your data traffic, and you can enjoy surfing the web anonymously and privately.
5. ProtonVPN
ProtonVPN is yet another good option to consider using for traveling abroad. The VPN offers a variety of features that makes your activities private. These features include:
- Full disk encryption
- Alternative routing technology
- Kill switch
- Split tunneling
- Secure core servers
The VPN uses AES-256 bit encryption and 256-SH authentication keys to safeguard your data from all snooping eyes. It is a secure VPN to use abroad because it has its headquarter in a privacy-friendly country, i.e., Switzerland. The land falls outside the global surveillance alliance’s jurisdiction so that it won’t record or share data logs with intelligence agencies. Moreover, it also abides by a zero-logging policy that prevents recording users’ IP addresses and other sensitive information. ProtonVPN has audited its apps to prove its stance, which further ensures that you can use the VPN on any device and shouldn’t fear any flaw.
ProtonVPN allows unlimited torrenting and streaming on the plus plan. All the servers accessed in the plus plan are compatible with torrenting and streaming. By connecting to these servers, you can download torrents safely and access the geo-blocked content anywhere. The VPN offers ultra-fast speed so you can enjoy watching your favorite TV show or movies in high definition quality without any connection lags or buffering.
You can also use ProtonVPN in China and thanks to the recently launched alternative routing technology. Moreover, with the netshield ad-blocker, you can wipe out all intrusive ads and enjoy an ad-free browsing experience.
Tips for Choosing the Best VPN for Travel?
Since a VPN is a must to have privacy software while traveling abroad, make sure you have made the right choice. The VPN should offer the best speeds, security, and other features that make your browsing experience worth amazing. Here’s an insight into the tips that you need to consider while selecting a VPN for travel:
- It should belong to a safe jurisdiction that doesn’t violate users’ privacy or keeps and shares users’ activity logs with the ISP or surveillance agencies.
- The VPN should have a verified log-audit policy that strengthens its claim of being a no-log VPN.
- The best VPN for travel should offer robust online security to the users. Make sure it uses the highest encryption standard and tunneling protocol to secure your data from privacy abuses.
- Ensure that the VPN offers special features like obfuscated servers that help in bypassing censorships and work in authoritarian regimes.
- It should come with an impressive kill switch feature that protects your IP address from leaking during uncertain circumstances.
- The VPN should be featured-packed that makes your browsing experience worth amazing.
- It should offer supportive features for streaming and torrenting and allow safe downloading.
- The server network should be vast with a blazing-fast connectivity speed.
A VPN having all or even most of these features can help you achieve the most secure and uncensored online experience irrespective of which country you are in.
Is It Legal to Use a VPN Anywhere Across the Globe?
Different countries follow different laws, and thus, the use of VPN varies. Depending on the country laws, the use of VPNs is considered illegal in the following regions:
- Belarus
- China
- Russia
- UAE
- Oman
- Libya
- Iran
- Iraq
- Turkey
- Syria
If you’re using a VPN from any other country except for the ones mentioned above, then it is perfectly legal to use it.
Final Thoughts
With the best VPN for traveling, you can unblock a range of benefits like streaming, torrenting, and, most importantly, maximum online protection. So, next time you board a flight, make sure that you have a VPN installed onto your device. The VPNs recommended in this article give the best performance when used from any region. So, do consider using them and enjoy browsing the open web from abroad.
