The Best VPNs

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Not sure when to use these? Wanderium automatically recommends relevant gear and services based on your trip's conditions.

While Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, might sound intimidating if you're not tech savvy, they're really important to use while traveling.

Why a VPN is important
  • Many countries restrict access to certain websites (aka censorship), like how China blocks access to popular apps like Google and Facebook.
  • Many countries also snoop on local internet activity. While unlikely, you could be detained for your internet usage. An example: Thailand is very strict on saying or even visiting websites that talk ill of its royal family and have arrested tourists for posting unflattering photos of them before.
  • Connecting to public wi-fi networks like at airports is a hacker's dream since many aren't secured correctly, allowing them to see passwords and other sensitive data.

VPNs solve all of these issues. It keeps your internet activity secure, private, and uncensored. Plus, VPNs have gotten easier and easier to use, with the best ones just being one click and you're good to go. We kept it simple and just recommended a few of our favorites.

If you'd like to get into the weeds, here's a detailed breakdown of all VPNs.

Thinking of using a free VPN?

Don't. A study of over 300 free VPNs found they leaked data most don't even use encryption. A paid VPN, while not a 100% guarantee, is a much better bet to put your trust into.

Disagree? Know of another great option?

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN

Best overall VPN

ExpressVPN is the best overall VPN across the most important measures: overcoming censorship, speed, ease of use, and privacy.

  • ExpressVPN reliably overcomes censorship in countries like China (which we've tested personally).
  • Speed-wise you want a VPN with a nearby server and ExpressVPN has over 2000 servers in 94 countries.
  • It's also super easy to use: just one click on the giant button and you're good to go.
  • Being based out of the British Virgin Islands, your activity is legally shielded and they don't log any activity.

There are VPNs that might be better in specific areas like going even further with security, but for the everyday traveler ExpressVPN is hard to beat. We happily use them ourselves.

expressvpn.com$8.32/month
NordVPN

NordVPN

Better value but slightly slower speeds

NordVPN is another highly rated VPN that's not as expensive as ExpressVPN and rates similarly on most items like privacy and overcoming censorship. The only downside is it consistently gets slower speeds in most tests, but not by an insane amount. If price is important to you, NordVPN is still a great option and is far better than not using a VPN while traveling.

nordvpn.com$3.99 - $6.99/month

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