When should you get a VPN for travel?

The best time to get a VPN is while you are still in your home country. That allows you to protect data in airports or other locations before arriving at your destination.

Will a VPN protect my data when traveling? Is it enough to stay safe?

A VPN will guarantee safer data exchanges, communication, and access to the internet. It can also do much more by blocking phishing sites that aim to harvest your credentials or other information. However, remember that ensuring the safest journey requires other precautions. For instance, never leave your devices unattended at airports or hotel lobbies. It also helps to turn off auto-connect for Wi-Fi and disable Bluetooth when not in use.

A VPN for travel to improve international or local trips

Anton P. | June 28, 2022

A VPN for travel is an essential to pack for your overseas or local vacation. It helps save cellular data, protects personal details, and gives access to content from your home country.

Furthermore, this tool can impact your vacation during the initial planning and booking. It can prevent you from draining your bank account when purchasing flight tickets or reserving hotel rooms.

Atlas VPN also presents you with a deal perfect for summer travelers. During the summer months, you can purchase a 1-year subscription and get 3 months free!

Why should you get a VPN for travel?

Here is a brief outline of the perks a VPN offers:

A Virtual Private Network can help you in every step, from initial planning, booking, and the actual trip.
A VPN can help find cheaper deals for flight tickets or hotel reservations.
It can also resolve issues like losing access to streaming services or messaging apps used back home.
A VPN connection protects the data you exchange and your online activities.
It lets travelers protect their activities on free Wi-Fi hotspots offered at your destination. Thus, you might disable your mobile data to avoid unnecessary charges and use Wi-Fi instead.

Data protection on unfamiliar Wi-Fi networks

The problem for travelers:

A VPN for travel protects you on vulnerable Wi-Fi networks. That includes hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, parks, and other locations.

The biggest threats on public Wi-Fi are the following:

Criminals can put themselves in the middle of users’ connections. Instead of communicating with the network, you have an entity intercepting the data exchange.
Unsecured networks make it easy for snoopers to capture information from unencrypted sites you visit. If you use your credentials to log in, criminals can hijack your session and log in as you.
The companies providing Wi-Fi can read your internet traffic. It happens when an unknown public Wi-Fi requires you to install a digital certificate to use their services.

The VPN solution:

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic. So, even if a hacker manages to intercept your network connection, the data captured will be useless. High-end encryption protocols like AES-256 guarantee that information decryption is practically impossible.

Once you enable VPN protection, the following online activities become safer on public Wi-Fi:

Banking transactions, payments, or logins.
Shopping.
Regular browsing.
File downloads.
Gaming.
Emailing.
Messaging.

Finding the best and cheapest deals

The problem for travelers:

Differential pricing means that users with specific attributes will pay more than others. For instance, users’ locations get extracted from IP addresses to determine their approximate whereabouts. According to this insight, various booking sites adjust accommodation, flights, or rental prices.

The VPN solution:

A VPN for travel lets you change your virtual location whenever you suspect price discrimination. It can swap your real location for the one in your intended destination. Then, you can use regional discounts or take advantage of some services being offered cheaper for locals.

For instance, say you plan to visit Mexico and live in the United States. You can get a Mexican IP address to see whether any services will be more affordable with a local IP.

Lifting content restrictions with a VPN for travel

The problem for travelers:

International trips can mean that your internet access does not remain the same. You might struggle to access work systems or favorite streaming services.

There are various techniques used to block content. Government institutions can restrict access to specific domain names or filter particular keywords. It is also possible to block IP addresses. Internet Service Providers can follow obligations to delete certain content or search query results.

So, there are two most common scenarios with limited access to the internet:

Local network filtering. Network managers can put certain restrictions on internet activities.
Internet Service Providers blocking or filtering content. ISPs might follow government regulations and block certain services/traffic types.
Throttling access to certain services. It is also possible that ISPs slow down particular traffic types while prioritizing their partners’ traffic. Such limitations are more challenging to detect as they can relate to slower internet connections or other external issues.

The VPN solution:

A VPN for travel can help you give fewer insights into your activities, which complicates blocking or filtering. Since it encrypts and reroutes internet traffic through VPN servers, network managers and ISPs can no longer monitor traffic fully.

Additionally, travelers can connect to VPN servers in their home country and regain access to local services. Therefore, you do not have to stay behind on your daily affairs, favorite shows, or sports matches.

Requirements for the best VPN for international travel

A VPN for travel should satisfy your need for security, access, and privacy during your international or domestic trip. Here is a checklist for picking a VPN service as your traveling companion.

Advanced security strategies and techniques

A VPN for travel should take no shortcuts regarding internet traffic protection. It should follow industry standards and be actively improved. For instance, AES-256 and ChaCha20-Poly1305 are the protocols Atlas VPN chooses. They are practically unbreakable and continue to show their reliability.

Also, Atlas VPN states that it does not collect unnecessary data. The latter includes your browsing habits and original IP address. Thus, pick only those VPNs that do not collect information on what you do online.

Furthermore, it helps if a VPN for travel has additional security features. For instance, Atlas VPN offers these:

SafeBrowse brings you a cleaner internet experience. It blocks malware, ads, phishing sites, cryptojacking, and many other threats.
SafeSwap and MultiHop+ servers rotate IP addresses in the same location or between different ones.
Data Breach Monitor alerts if personal details related to your email address have been compromised online.
Kill switch prevents data and IP leaks when the internet or VPN connections become unstable.

Compatibility with your favorite devices

A VPN for travel should provide suitable device coverage. The chances are that most of your browsing during the vacation will happen via smartphones. Thus, ensure that a VPN is compatible with Android and iOS systems. Luckily, a VPN can go further, including TV and PC support.

Atlas VPN supports the most popular devices: Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Android TV, and Amazon Fire TV/FireStick. Therefore, the protection is available for working on a laptop or contacting friends via mobile messaging apps.

24/7 support

A VPN is only as good as its ability to resolve problems for its clients. So, enough resources should be available to fix the most common issues. Additionally, live support is an excellent addition for those wishing to troubleshoot their problems.

Atlas VPN offers an extensive Help Center and live chat for our premium users. This service can be beneficial for travelers wishing to resolve issues while abroad.

A broad selection of VPN server locations

A VPN for travel should have servers in your home country. As a result, you can retain access to local services regardless of where your next trip takes you.

Atlas VPN operates 750 servers in over 40 locations. Thus, there should be no issue in finding a server in your home country.

A VPN for travel that supports fast internet speeds

Internet speed in a foreign country can be unpredictable. The chances are that you will not receive the same performance as you do back home.

The last thing you want is a VPN for travel to reduce this speed further. VPN encryption and rerouting can indeed impact internet speed. However, these are tips for getting the best speed possible with a VPN:

Connect to VPN servers in the country you visit. Pick servers closer to your current location if your main priority is security and speed.
Look for speed-optimized servers back home. Your provider should support an enjoyable experience regardless of the server location chosen. Atlas VPN works to ensure that traffic encryption and rerouting make as little impact on speed as possible.
Consider the protocol used. Atlas VPN supports WireGuard and IKEv2/IPSec protocols. You can set them manually or choose the Auto option. Atlas VPN will evaluate all factors and choose a suitable protocol.

A VPN for travel deal: 1-year plan +3 months free

Summer is the hottest season for travel. So, Atlas VPN has a special offer for travelers planning to take a trip. We run a VPN for travel summer campaign, letting you pay for a 1-year subscription and get 3 months free! Thus, it is an excellent deal for anyone wishing to stay safe during summer vacation.

If you have always wanted to try a VPN, now is the perfect time to do so! This attractive offer means you can enjoy our premium service for free for the first 3 months. The 1-year subscription will only start after these free months pass.