You Should Make Using a VPN for Holiday Travel One of Your New Year’s Resolutions. Here’s Why
There are plenty of things to pack when traveling, including your toothbrush, snacks, and noise canceling headphones for a crowded plane. But if a virtual private network isn’t on your checklist, it should be – and since you can simply download a VPN to your devices, it won’t even take up extra space in your carry-on or suitcase. Whether you’re driving on a road trip, hopping on a plane, taking a train, or enjoying a cruisea VPN may come in handy.
I started using a VPN when I was studying abroad, and now whether I’m streaming movies at home or connecting to Wi-Fi at a local coffee shop, I keep a VPN in tow. Here are all the reasons why you should add a VPN to your app arsenal before you embark on your journey, from basic privacy to unblocking streaming content and security on public Wi-Fi.
VPNs Keep Your Browsing, Streaming, and Downloads Private
A VPN for travel can let you access websites or apps as you would from your home country or give you peace of mind for private browsing.
When traveling, privacy can be a crucial consideration. Whether you’re in a hotel, Airbnb, or someone else’s home, you may not be comfortable with the internet service provider or the network administrator of the Wi-Fi network you are connected to to access your online activity.
A VPN encrypts your traffic, preventing your ISP from seeing what apps you use or websites you visit. Likewise, when connected to a VPN, apps and websites can’t tell who your Internet Service Provider is. If you want to check emails, stream movies and shows, or download files like torrent all without your internet provider monitoring you, you’ll want to use a VPN.
VPNs Can Provide Peace of Mind on Public Wi-Fi
When traveling, I find myself using public Wi-Fi networks regularly: in an airport terminal, in a coffee shop, and even on an airplane. Internet service provider or network administrators can view your Internet activity. So I usually use a VPN to keep my web browsing, streaming, and downloads private.
Additionally, a VPN can protect you against certain threats on compromised Wi-Fi networks, such as adversary-in-the-middle attacks. Fortunately, public Wi-Fi isn’t as dangerous as most VPN companies would have you believe, but using a VPN on unsecured wireless Internet networks can provide useful privacy and security benefits.
Since VPNs are privacy tools rather than security applications, I recommend a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. You should use a VPN, antivirus software (there are some great free antivirus programs), A password manager and common sense.
You can access region-restricted streaming content using a VPN
You can use a VPN to stream region-restricted content, like watching CBC Gem outside of Canada.
A VPN can make it appear as if you’re in a different city, state, or country depending on which server you’re on, helping you access region-restricted content when traveling domestically or internationally. A lot streaming servicesas Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max And Disney+show different content depending on your location. Other apps, such as BBC iPlayer and CBC Gem, are limited to one or more countries. If you stream a lot of movies and TV shows, check out the best VPNs for Netflix And Amazon Prime Video.
During your vacation abroad, you can keep streaming movies or TV shows from your favorite apps using a VPN. Simply connect to a server in your preferred country, launch the app or website you want to stream from, and try playing a video.
A VPN might even be useful for accessing geographically restricted content in your home country. For example, many local sports games are broadcast on local television affiliates. So if you’re in another state but want to watch your favorite football or basketball team, you may need to try streaming with a VPN to make it seem like you’re in their home city or state.
A Virtual Private Network Could Help You Avoid Throttling
A few mobile phone companies speed up or slow down your video streaming quality while you’re on a cellular signal, saving them bandwidth and money. Your video signal can be downscaled up to 480p, which is the same quality as a DVD. Of course, phone screens may be smaller than Televisions Or projector screens, but most modern smartphones have high-resolution screens (e.g. iPhone 17 the screen has a resolution of 2622 x 1206 and the Samsung Galaxy S25 the resolution is 2340 x 1080), so a low-resolution video may appear grainy.
Fortunately, a VPN can bypass throttling restrictions.
With a VPN enabled, your mobile carrier can’t know which internet-connected services, like apps and websites, you use. While you are streaming a Netflix movie on your phone over a cellular signal with a VPN enabled, your mobile carrier cannot know that you are watching a video and therefore will not be able to throttle your connection, allowing you to watch it in high quality.
A VPN can help you bypass censorship
Fortunately, a VPN app won’t take up extra space in your carry-on or checked bag.
Depending on your destination, some websites or applications may be blocked due to factors such as your geographic location or Internet network settings. If you’re having trouble accessing certain content online, a VPN can help. By enabling your VPN, you may be able to bypass censorship and access restricted content, like websites or streaming videos. But before you do that, make sure you’re not breaking any laws or terms of service.
In particular, VPN traffic in certain countries or on certain Internet networks may be blocked. If so, you may need to try obscurationwhich attempts to hide your VPN usage. Some VPN providers offer obfuscated or even obfuscation-focused servers VPN protocols (like NordWhisper from NordVPN or Stealth from Proton VPN). While obfuscation isn’t foolproof, it can get you through firewalls.
These are the best VPNs for traveling
When you choose a VPN for travelingyou’ll want to choose a provider with a large international server network – look for thousands of servers in over 100 countries.
NordVPN is the best VPN for travel overall, offering over 8,000 servers in 126 countries and the fastest speeds of any VPN we compared.
Proton VPN is the best free VPN to travel. The zero-dollar tier limits you to connecting on one device at a time and doesn’t let you choose a server manually, but Proton doesn’t sell your data or bombard you with ads, so you don’t sacrifice your privacy like many other free VPNs. If you need more servers and more flexibility in how you connect, Proton VPN’s paid plan is a good upgrade route.
ExpressVPN offers servers in all 50 US states, making it a great choice for traveling to and within the United States.
Surfshark is the best value VPN for travel, beating out much of the competition while providing a massive global network of over 3,200 servers in 100 countries.
