Best VPNs for Travel 2026

A VPN is worth having on your devices when you travel, and it is also one of the most oversold products in travel. Both things are true. It is a useful layer on unknown networks, but it is not the force field the adverts suggest, and in a handful of countries it can land you in more trouble than the café Wi-Fi ever would.

Here is what it does, what it doesn’t, and which ones are worth paying for.

Myth-busting: five things people believe about VPNs

“Public Wi-Fi is a hacker’s playground without one”

Mostly outdated. The US Federal Trade Commission now says that connecting through public Wi-Fi is usually safe, because most websites encrypt traffic between your device and the site with HTTPS. Your bank login on airport Wi-Fi is already encrypted.

What a VPN adds is a second tunnel, from your device to the VPN’s server, that hides which sites and services you connect to from whoever runs the network. On a hotel network you know nothing about, that is a reasonable thing to want.

“A VPN stops scams”

It doesn’t. The FTC’s own caveat is that a scam site can be encrypted too: your data is encrypted on its way to the site, but “it won’t be safe from scammers operating the site”. Strong passwords, two-factor authentication and updated software, all on the FTC’s list, do more for you than any VPN.

“A VPN makes me anonymous”

It moves trust; it doesn’t remove it. Instead of the hotel network seeing your traffic metadata, the VPN provider is in a position to. That’s why independent no-logs audits and the company’s jurisdiction matter more than server counts.

“Any VPN works anywhere”

Not in places that actively block them. Russia and China both target VPN traffic, and a basic VPN connection may simply fail. Obfuscation features, which disguise VPN traffic as ordinary traffic, exist for that reason, but in restrictive countries the legal question comes before the technical one.

“Using a VPN is always legal”

See the next section.

Where VPNs are restricted

This is the part that matters most, and it changes. Always check your own government’s current travel advice before you go.

• China. The UK Foreign Office says China’s cybersecurity laws require VPN services to be licensed by the Chinese government, and that Google, Facebook, YouTube and X are blocked. If you need those services, note that some travel eSIMs route data outside the mainland; our Asia eSIM guide explains how that works.
• Russia. The FCDO says Meta, X and LinkedIn are blocked and that foreign SIM cards may not get mobile internet. Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2025 reports expanded VPN blocking and orders to remove VPNs from app stores.
• Iran. In February 2024 Iran banned the use of VPNs unless explicitly authorised by the authorities, following a Supreme Council of Cyberspace directive.
• United Arab Emirates. VPN use itself is not a crime, but UAE law penalises using one to commit a crime or prevent its discovery, with temporary imprisonment and/or fines of AED 500,000 to AED 2 million under Article 10 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021, as reported by Gulf News on a UAE Public Prosecution warning. Using a VPN to reach blocked services is where the grey area sits. If you’re passing through on a route like Dubai to Bangkok, keep it simple.

Other countries restrict VPNs too. If your destination has a reputation for internet censorship, read the local laws section of the UK FCDO or US State Department country pages first.

Three VPNs worth your money (and one that’s free)

NordVPN: the all-rounder

NordVPN Partner lists more than 7,000 servers across 150 countries, which matters on long trips because a nearby server is usually a faster one. Its features page covers the travel-relevant bits: a kill switch that blocks traffic if the VPN drops, obfuscated servers that hide the fact you’re using a VPN, Threat Protection for malware and phishing domains, Meshnet for reaching your home devices, and up to 10 devices on one account. NordVPN says independent experts verify its no-logs claim every year.

Best for: people who want one app that covers phone, laptop and tablet with minimal fiddling.

Proton VPN: the best free option, and a strong paid one

Proton VPN is not a partner of ours. It is the free VPN we’d actually recommend: no data limit, no ads, and a no-logs policy. Its plans page is upfront about the catch: the free plan connects one device, to servers in 10 countries randomly selected from a fixed list (the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada and the US). Paid Plus adds 140+ countries, 10 devices, ad blocking and P2P support.

Best for: occasional travellers who want a hotel-Wi-Fi tunnel without another subscription.

Mullvad: privacy first, one flat price

Mullvad is also not a partner. It charges a flat €5 a month whether you pay for one month or a decade, and doesn’t need an email to sign up: you get an account number instead. You can even pay in cash by post. One account covers up to five devices, and there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee, except on cash payments.

Best for: people who care more about how little a VPN company knows about them than about server count.

How to set one up before you leave

1. Install and sign in at home. In countries that block VPNs, the provider’s website and app store listing may be unreachable.
2. Turn on the kill switch so traffic doesn’t leak if the tunnel drops.
3. Know your captive portals. Hotel and airport Wi-Fi login pages often fail with a VPN on. Connect, log in, then switch the VPN on.
4. Expect banking friction. Some banks and payment apps flag logins from VPN IP addresses. Pick a server in the country you’re in, or pause the VPN for banking.
5. Use mobile data when it matters. A travel eSIM from a provider like Airalo Partner gives you a connection that isn’t shared with a hotel full of strangers, which removes much of the reason for a VPN in the first place.

The short answer

If you want one paid VPN for everything, NordVPN is the easy choice. If you want free, Proton’s free plan is the one we’d trust. If privacy is the whole point, Mullvad. And whichever you pick, check the law at your destination before you switch it on.