A Couple Abroad

What is a VPN?

A VPN allows you to have private and secure access to the Internet, it encrypts all of your online data to protect you from any would-be hackers. This includes protection for things like your usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, browser cookies, and anything else that can be private to you. As well as complete protection, you can also manipulate your location, telling the VPN to another country or area, and then websites will believe you are in that country. This can be incredibly beneficial while traveling for many reasons, we will go into more detail below.

VPNs are incredibly simple to use, with most working almost the same way. On NordVPN you literally just sign into your account on any device (NordVPN lets you use multiple devices at once). You then can either choose ‘quick connect’ or choose a specific country yourself. If you are just using the VPN for security features, then hit quick connect, this will give you much faster internet speeds while still keeping all of your data safe. However, if you are using the VPN for TV, Netflix, or potential travel deals, then hit your country of choice. The speeds will be a little bit slower, but NORDVPN has secure networks all around the globe so we’ve personally never had an issue with internet speeds while travelling all around Southeast Asia.

Our VPN Of Choice: NordVPN

You’ve probably heard about VPNs and if you have, NordVPN is likely the main company you’ve seen around, and that’s for good reason. We’ve used them for over 3 years now and the features are amazing, we get great speeds no matter where we are, and all of our passwords are saved and protected for ease of use and safety. If you don’t know what a VPN is or why they are so useful while traveling, then keep reading as we will go into detail and some of the features we couldn’t live without.

Why You Should Use a VPN for Travel Specifically

1. Safety and Security

As most people already know, the internet can have risks, especially when using public wifi’s that you do not know are secure. This will be a common occurrence while travelling, connecting to cafes, restaurants, and hostels WIFI, you will never know if you are truly secure so using a VPN is extremely beneficial. Hackers can sit around on these public networks, wait for someone to connect, and then take personal information like passwords, addresses, emails, banking information and even card details if you use them online, so take precautions before connecting. VPNs like NordVPN encrypt and secures all of this data, keeping your personal data safe while you roam the internet and world.

2. Watch TV while Travelling & More Netflix Options

Depending on how much you’re travelling, you will likely have those days where you just want to sit back, relax and watch some TV. You may have found yourself stuck in surprise torrential rain that Southeast Asia is famous for and want to just stay in your hostel/hotel until it subsides. However without a VPN, this can be an issue, most streaming services only allow access from certain countries, BBC in the UK, Hulu with a handful of countries. Using a VPN to act as if you are in that country will allow you to watch the shows you were craving from back home. 

You may be sitting there thinking, ‘well Netflix is available everywhere’, and although this is true, the actual catalogue of shows/films is completely different for different countries. There are complete series that are available on US Netflix but have never been on UK and by using a VPN you can get around this to watch any show or film you want. Just set the VPN to your country of choice, log in to Netflix, and that countries selection will be waiting for you. We have used this a surprising amount of times while travelling, early nights, rainy days, there will likely be a time that you just want to sit in and escape into TV.

3. Use a VPN for better travel deals

Using VPNs can also allow you to get better deals on flights, accommodation, and activities while you travel. Companies are cheeky and use cookies and your location to judge pricing, by changing your VPN around multiple countries, you may find that the price has suddenly dropped a little bit, and every little helps while backpacking. Sometimes it doesn’t change, but it is always worth a try, we have found some flights and some tour packages have been significantly cheaper when we’ve changed our country connection.

You can check out NordVPN here with a 64% discount for 3 extra months for free: Get NordVPN

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