VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) is a service that encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a remote server, masking your activity and location. Websites see the server’s location instead of yours, and networks in between cannot read what you send.

For travellers, a VPN earns its place in three situations. The first is security on shared networks: airport, hotel and café Wi-Fi are convenient but untrusted, and an encrypted tunnel stops anyone on the same network snooping on your logins and payments. The second is continuity: banking apps and streaming services sometimes block or flag logins from unfamiliar countries, and connecting through a server at home keeps them working as usual. The third is restricted internet: in China, many Western apps and sites are blocked on local networks, and travellers have long used VPNs to reach them.

An eSIM-specific detail is worth knowing here. Because travel eSIMs typically operate as international roaming products, their traffic often exits to the internet through servers outside the country you are visiting; in practice this means blocked services frequently work on a roaming eSIM in China without any VPN. A VPN still adds encryption and certainty, and our China internet access guide covers the details; rules on VPN use vary by country, so check the current position before you travel.

The main confusion: a VPN is not an internet connection. It runs on top of whatever connection you already have, whether Wi-Fi or an eSIM data plan, and it slightly increases data usage and latency because everything takes a detour through the VPN server. A VPN with no underlying signal does nothing.

Concrete example: a remote worker in a Lisbon café joins the free Wi-Fi, switches on their VPN, and works on company systems knowing the traffic is unreadable to anyone else on the network.

For the broader picture, see eSIM security benefits for travel and our remote work abroad internet guide.