Home/Best VPNs/travel VPN

Ranked honestly · Real shortlist · No number-one-everywhere spam

The best VPNs for travel

Travel is where a VPN earns its keep: get your home streaming, banking and sites back the moment you land, stay safe on hotel and airport Wi-Fi, and connect even where networks throttle or block VPNs. Stealth and a free tier matter most here. Here is the honest ranking.

Get ROOT VPN, free Compare VPNs

The ranking

A real shortlist. ROOT is placed where it genuinely earns its spot, not bumped to the top.

  1. ROOT VPNOur pick to start free

    Free, then £3.99 · 10 devices · No-logs

    Built for exactly this: REALITY, Shadowsocks and Hysteria2 look like ordinary traffic and connect where other VPNs are blocked, a growing server network restore your home services, and a genuinely free tier means you can protect one trip without committing to a year. The most travel-ready pick, with a smaller network than Nord as the trade-off.

    Get ROOT VPN, free

  2. ExpressVPN

    From £4.99 · 8 devices · No-logs

    Reliable across borders with a strong record of working on tough networks, plus easy apps on every device. Premium priced for a short trip.

    ExpressVPN alternative

  3. Proton VPN

    From £3.59 · Free tier · 10 devices · No-logs

    Its Stealth protocol helps on restrictive networks, the free tier covers basic protection abroad, and Swiss privacy is reassuring on foreign Wi-Fi.

    Proton VPN alternative

  4. Surfshark

    From £1.99 · Unlimited devices · No-logs

    Unlimited devices covers the whole travelling family on one plan, with a camouflage mode for restrictive networks, at a low long-term price.

    Surfshark alternative

  5. NordVPN

    From £2.99 · 10 devices · No-logs

    The huge network means a fast nearby server almost anywhere you travel, with obfuscated servers for blocked regions. No free tier for a one-off trip.

    NordVPN alternative

How we ranked them

The criteria that decided the order.

Best travel VPN, answered

What is the best travel VPN?
Our top pick is ROOT VPN, for the reasons in the ranking above. ROOT VPN comes in at number 1 on this list and is the pick if you want a genuinely free way in and modern stealth protocols. The right choice depends on what matters most to you.
Is ROOT VPN a good travel VPN?
Yes, and we have placed it honestly at number 1 here rather than pretending it wins every category. ROOT gives you a free tier with unlimited data, four modern protocols and no activity logs, which makes it a strong, low-risk one to try first.
Do I have to pay for a good travel VPN?
Not to start. ROOT VPN has a free forever plan with no card required, and a couple of others on this list offer real free tiers too. Paid plans add more locations and faster servers when you need them.

More ranked shortlists

Browse more, or see the full list of best-VPN guides.

Start with the free pick on this list.

Create a free ROOT VPN account and connect in under a minute. No card, unlimited data.

Get ROOT VPN, free