A Brigada reader asked for updated recommendations on using a VPN while traveling internationally. (Interestingly, we’ve just been on a trip to a Muslim land and, for some reason, ExpressVPN would *never* let us set up billing through our organization’s just ExpressVPN acccount. I (Doug) finally went with NordVPN and found it easy to install – but a really hassle to use when hopping from one Wi-fi to another. It would take forever to figure out how to get it to work. Will this get any easier?) Many workers depend on VPNs for secure access to email, financial platforms, cloud storage, and communication tools—especially when using public Wi-Fi in airports, hotels, or cafés. Others need reliable connections in countries with restricted internet access.
What VPN services have you found dependable, secure, and stable across borders? Are there particular providers that work better in high-restriction environments? Any cautions, pricing insights, or setup tips (mobile vs. laptop, always-on vs. manual, etc.)?
If you have experience—positive or negative—your input could help fellow travelers prepare wisely before their next trip. Please comment!
I have been using NordVPN recently without trouble. I still have an account going with IVPVanish, and have used both overseas. Nord seems to fill my purposes.
I’ve been using ProtonVPN for years while traveling in countries such as Bulgaria, Albania, Germany, Egypt, India, Vietnam, and other Middle Eastern countries — never had a problem. It’s worth it to go with a paid version though to get the upgrade servers.
Agree about Proton VPN worked smoothly and most important for me, shows on phone if connected or not. Paid version allows you to select where you appear to be online from.
I recently was in restricted nations and had issues with accessing bus websites, government websites, etc. while using my paid Nord account. Nord works well most of the time, but it seemed to be blocked a few times in these nations. However, using my free Windscribe account (healthy free monthly data) as a backup worked great!
Yes. I’ve had and used Windscibe for several years, and it’s not been flawless, but it has been reliable.
We had great luck with ExpressVPN in the Middle East and it worked almost everywhere, but we had it set up before we left.
Surfshark has been working great for me the past few years!
Windscribe has been pretty bulletproof for me.
CyberGhost has worked well for us in Africa.
I’ve used Hong Kong based PureVPN, paid subscription, for years. Easy to use; rarely had a problem. Frank
Beware of ExpressVPN and others owned by Kape Technologies (including Private Internet Access, Cyberghost, and several other less well-known providers, as well as multiple VPN review sites). Express has connections to UAE government, and before Kape was selling VPNs, their primary line of business was malware and spyware. This from Windscribe (a competitor), but a good description of Kape’s shady history and ownership: https://windscribe.com/blog/what-is-kape-technologies/
Remember that if you’re using a VPN to hide your activities from a local ISP, you’re merely changing your exposure, where the VPN operator has the same access to that data and metadata. It’s absolutely essential to have a trusted provider, and a careful study of Kape’s business, history and ownership strongly suggests that their products are not trustworthy.
VPNs are useful, but are illegal in several countries. I recently found this site that lists all countries and whether VPN use is legal, as well as other online behaviors to observe.
https://www.comparitech.com/vpn/where-are-vpns-legal-banned/
Also, using DNS over HTTPS (DOH) with VPN only enhances your privacy. DOH not only encrypts the traffic used to look up the website you are navigating to, but it also often speeds up your connection. DOH is provided by Cloudflare, Google DNS, Quad9, NextDNS, and CleanBrowsing. DOH is easy to implement, but it must be done on each device.