Best VPN for Travel: The Picks We Actually Use on the Road
- Carina
- Jun 25
- 9 min read
Updated: Jun 28
When you travel, as much as you may try not to be, you often find yourself on your phone far more than you are at home. Between making reservations, calling up booking details, finding directions and checking restaurant or excursion reviews, it all quickly adds up. Different cities, different WiFi, banking on the move and maybe even a couple of younger kids in tow who just need to access their favourite show to handle waiting in yet another long line. We’ve all been there, whether it’s at an airport, outside a famous landmark or museum or even a theme park, travel often seems to require waiting in line before we can access the fun. When you’re on the go, here is the VPN we trust, tested as a family across more trips than we can count, plus the alternatives worth knowing because choice is always a good thing.
By Carina · Nest Nomad & Beyond · Last Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick | Best for | Why it wins for us | Prices |
NordVPN | Overall, and travel | Fast enough to stream, simple enough for the whole family, secure enough for banking on the move. Our default. | |
Surfshark | Families on a budget | Unlimited devices on one account and the lowest price. Strong value if everyone's gear needs covering. | |
Proton VPN | Privacy first | Swiss based with a genuine free tier. The pick if privacy matters more to you than streaming. | |
ExpressVPN | Premium and simple | The most polished apps and the easiest setup, at the highest price. A fine choice if budget is no object. |
Our bottom line For travel, we keep coming back to NordVPN. It does the two jobs we actually need on a trip without fuss: it keeps our banking and work logins secure on WiFi we do not control, and it lets the kids stream what they want wherever we are. |
Jump to
Why you need a VPN when you travel
Here is the thing people miss. At home you settle into a rhythm. You check your bank balance with a cup of tea on your own broadband and think nothing of it. You may do the same on trusted WiFi sources you use regularly, at work for example. On a trip that rhythm disappears. You are out and about most of the day, in places you would not normally be, hopping between hotel WiFi, a cafe, the free network at a gallery and the patchy signal in a queue for a museum. You reach for your phone far more often than you do at home, and far more of it happens on networks you do not control.
That is exactly when a VPN can really be a crucial asset. A VPN encrypts your connection so that whatever network you are on, the data moving between your device and the wider internet is scrambled to anyone snooping on the same WiFi. Without it, you are gambling on a string of unknown networks and hoping the worst doesn’t happen. At its worst, you’re potentially dealing with a serious problem that’s not over by the end of your trip, but rather the implications could well follow you home.
Banking and work, sorted in five minutes
We work for ourselves, so a trip rarely means a clean break from admin. It’s normal for us to need a quick look at our banking app or our invoice software to check a client payment has landed. It is a five minute job, but doing it on open WiFi without protection is the kind of shortcut that can cost you everything you are travelling to enjoy. With a VPN running, we can check in, keep our own and our clients' data secure, then put the phone away and get back to the day with the kids, relaxed rather than wondering whether we just made ourselves vulnerable.
The Real moment Standing in a queue for a gallery, needing to confirm a payment had actually cleared before moving money on. That is not a thing you want to do on a public network. Thirty seconds with the VPN on and it is done, and you are back to enjoying day. |
Keeping the kids happy, wherever you are - Honestly, this is what sold us!
The other half of our use is pure family sanity. Accessing streaming services native to the country you are visiting is a huge win, but also, being able to stick with your home favourites also has its place. A good VPN lets the kids relax with whatever they want to watch, and when you are in a country with a different language that comes with two genuine wins. When they are wiped out after a long day exploring, they can kick back with the shows they would watch at home, which, if you have younger kiddos, is sometimes the only thing standing between you and a total meltdown. And when they are up for it, watching their favourite films dubbed into Spanish or French is brilliant for their language studies, and it does not feel like work.
For teens, there’s a third win which, if you ask our two, almost outranks the rest: catching a film or series on its earlier release in another region. When you are fourteen, being told to wait another fortnight is clearly unreasonable.
On a recent road trip across Canada, the girls got completely hooked on a Netflix show called The Next Step during one solid ten-hour drive. It wasn't available in the UK at the time, but with the VPN on they were able to finish it once we were home. Two weeks later it turned up on BBC iPlayer anyway, which was a small win.
How we tested
We are not a lab. We are a family that has run VPNs on real trips, across campsites, hotels, a few Airbnbs and the patchy edge of mobile coverage, on phones, tablets, laptops and the telly. The things we cared about are generally the things that actually matter to most families when they travel:
• Does it stay connected and fast enough to stream without buffering when the kids need it?
• Is it simple enough that everyone in the family can switch it on without a tutorial?
• Does it cover all our devices, or do we run out of connections halfway through the trip?
• Does it reliably let us reach our home services and the things we want to access from where we are?
Independent testing labs back up most of what we have found, particularly on speed and reliability, and we will flag where the wider testing consensus agrees with our own experience.
The picks compared
1. NordVPN - our top pick for travel
NordVPN is what lives on our devices when we travel, and it is the one we recommend first. It hits the balance the rest are measured against: quick enough that streaming just works, simple enough that nobody needs hand holding, and solid enough that we trust it with banking and work logins on networks we do not control.
In independent testing it consistently lands at or near the top for speed and runs a large, well-distributed server network, which is the practical reason streaming and reaching home services tends to just work rather than turning into a fight.
Why Nord, for us specifically Banking and work admin we can do in five secure minutes and then forget about. Amazing for knowing your data is totally secure wherever you are. As owners of a campervan we’re often staying on campsites with potentially hundreds of other campers around. Knowing we have Nord VPN makes this kind of admin check-in stress free. The kids get their shows and films at the end of a long day, and language practice when they fancy it. It is the one we already know inside out, so on the road there is no learning curve when we are tired. Which is a tip in itself: whatever option you land on, try it out before you head off on your travels to avoid any stressful moments on the road. |
2. Surfshark - best value for a full household
If you are kitting out a whole family and watching the budget, Surfshark is the one to look at hardest. It is the cheapest of the group on a longer plan, and crucially it allows unlimited device connections on a single account. That single feature is tailor made for a family trip where the two parents' phones, the kids' tablets, a laptop and the telly all want covering at once. The apps are clean and modern.
It’s owned by the same parent as Nord but runs independently, and in testing it sits as a close second on speed. If price and device count are your deciding factors, this is the value pick.
3. Proton VPN - the privacy purist's choice
Proton VPN is the pick for readers who put privacy at the very top of the list. It is Swiss based, built by the team behind the encrypted email service, independently audited, and it offers a genuinely usable free tier with no data cap. That free option is a real gift if you only need light protection, though heavy travel streaming will want a paid plan.
It is a narrower fit than Nord or Surfshark for a streaming-and-banking family, but as the honest privacy first option it has a clear place, and we would rather point you to it than pretend one VPN is best at everything.
4. ExpressVPN - premium and beginner friendly
ExpressVPN is the polished premium option. The apps are the easiest to use of the lot, setup is painless, and it has a long standing reputation for reliable streaming and a strong privacy record. The trade is price: it is the most expensive here, and in independent testing it tends to rank a little behind Nord on raw speed and behind Surfshark on value.
If budget is genuinely not a concern and you want the simplest possible experience, it is a fine choice. For most travelling families weighing cost against everything else, Nord or Surfshark will make more sense.
At a glance: the four compared
| NordVPN | Surfshark | Proton VPN | ExpressVPN |
Best for | Overall and travel | Families on a budget | Privacy first | Premium and simple |
Unlimited devices | No | Yes | No | No |
Free tier | No | No | Yes | No |
Speed in testing | Fastest | Close second | Strong | Reliable |
Ease of use | Simple | Simple | Moderate | Easiest |
Price position | Mid | Lowest | Low with free tier | Highest |
Final verdict and scores
Across everything that matters on a trip, NordVPN is the one we trust and the one we recommend first. It is not the cheapest and it is not the simplest by a hair, but it is the best all rounder for a family that needs secure banking on the move and reliable entertainment for the kids in the same package.
The verdict If you only take one thing from this: when you travel you are online more, in more places, on networks you do not control. A VPN turns that from a gamble into a non-event. NordVPN is the one we put on every device before we leave, and it is where we would tell you to start. |
FAQ
Do I really need a VPN when I travel?
Yes, if you connect to WiFi you do not control, which on a trip is most of the time, a VPN is worth it. It encrypts your connection so your banking, logins and personal data stay private on hotel, cafe and campsite networks. The risk of skipping it is small on any single connection but adds up fast across a trip, and the consequences can follow you home.
Which is the best VPN for travel?
For most travelling families, NordVPN is the best all round choice. It is fast enough for reliable streaming, simple enough for everyone to use, and secure enough to trust with banking on networks you do not control. Surfshark is the best value if you need to cover many devices, and Proton VPN is the pick if privacy is your top priority.
Can a VPN let my kids watch our home shows abroad?
A reputable VPN lets you connect through a server in another region, which can help you reach the services and libraries you use at home while travelling. It is also useful for language learning, since children can watch familiar films dubbed into the local language. Always check each streaming service's own terms.
Is it safe to use banking apps on holiday WiFi?
Using banking apps on public or shared WiFi without protection carries real risk. Running a VPN encrypts the connection so your details are scrambled to anyone on the same network. We treat it as non negotiable before opening a banking or invoicing app away from home.
How many devices can one VPN cover?
It depends on the provider. Most cap simultaneous connections, but Surfshark allows unlimited devices on one account, which suits a family covering several phones, tablets, a laptop and a smart TV at once. Check the device limit before you buy if you have a lot of gear.
Free or paid VPN for travel?
Free VPNs often limit speed, data or servers, and some fund themselves in ways that undercut the privacy you are paying for with your data. Proton VPN is the rare free tier we would trust for light use. For travel streaming and consistent security, a paid plan from a reputable provider is the sensible choice.
Specs at a glance
Provider | Free tier | Standout feature |
NordVPN | No | Top speeds, large network. |
Surfshark | No | Unlimited devices |
Proton VPN | Yes | Swiss privacy, no data cap free tier |
ExpressVPN | No | Easiest apps |
Where to get them
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