VPNs for Digital Nomads: Software, Travel Routers and Home VPNs

Most websites already use HTTPS, so even without a VPN someone on the same Wi-Fi can see which sites you visit but not what you type or read. A VPN hides that too, and protects apps and older sites that don’t encrypt properly.

Where your traffic comes out

The example below is a laptop in a Bangkok cafe. What websites see depends on where the tunnel ends.

Commercial VPN apps are cheap, easy and work on laptops and phones. Avoid free VPNs: most make money from your data, which defeats the point.

Prices are lowest on one- or two-year plans and vary with promotions.

Good for: public Wi-Fi, streaming and websites that block your current country, and general privacy.

Limits: shared VPN server addresses are widely known, so banks, streaming services and company systems often block or flag them. A dedicated IP (offered by NordVPN, Surfshark and others) gives you an address only you use, which helps with banks and some work systems.

A home VPN connects you back to a device at your home, or a family member’s, so your traffic leaves from that home internet connection. To websites and many systems, you look like you are at home.

How it works

1. At home, a router or small device runs a VPN server, such as WireGuard or Tailscale.
2. On the road, your laptop, phone or travel router connects to it.
3. Your traffic goes through your home connection, using your home internet address.

Options

• GL.iNet travel and home routers. The most popular nomad setup: a small GL.iNet router at home (such as the Brume or Flint) acting as the VPN server, and a pocket-size GL.iNet travel router (such as the Beryl or Slate) on the road that connects automatically. Every device on the travel router goes through the tunnel.
• Tailscale. Free for personal use; install it on a computer, Apple TV, Raspberry Pi or router at home and set it as an “exit node”, and your devices can route through it from anywhere.
• Your own router. Many ASUS, Ubiquiti UniFi, Synology, Firewalla and other routers have a built-in WireGuard or OpenVPN server.
• A cloud server running WireGuard, if you want a fixed address in a particular country without a home.

Good for: banking and services that block VPN servers, accessing home devices and files, and a stable, residential internet address.

Limits: you need someone to keep the home device plugged in and to restart it after power cuts; your speed is limited by your home upload speed and the distance; and you depend on your home connection staying up.

Many nomads use two: a commercial VPN on public Wi-Fi, and a travel router connected to a home VPN for banking. A work VPN does not hide where you are from your employer: their IT team can usually see the connection it starts from.

The protocol is the method the tunnel uses. Most apps choose one for you, but it is worth knowing which to pick when a network blocks the default.

• It’s slower. Your traffic takes a longer route and has to be encrypted. Choose a server close to you unless you need a particular country.
• It depends on the connection underneath. On weak or patchy Wi-Fi the VPN drops and reconnects, which can freeze video calls.
• Some apps break. Banking apps, ride-hailing and delivery apps, local streaming and devices on the same network, such as printers and Chromecasts, may not work. Split tunnelling fixes most of this.
• More captchas and blocks. Google, shops and banks treat shared VPN addresses with suspicion.
• Free VPNs cost you in other ways. Most make money from adverts or by selling your data, and some apps have contained malware. Proton VPN’s free tier is a reputable exception.
• Leaks. A badly set-up VPN can reveal your real address through DNS, IPv6 or WebRTC. Check with Mullvad’s connection check, which works with any VPN.
• Battery. An always-on VPN uses more battery on a phone.

Some nomads use a home VPN to hide from an employer that they are working abroad. Understand the risks before you do:

• Company systems can often tell. Many employers check location in other ways, such as device GPS, time zones, login patterns and security tools that detect VPN use.
• It can be a sackable offence. Working from another country without approval often breaks your employment contract or company policy.
• It has legal consequences for your employer. Working from abroad can create tax and employment obligations for the company, which is why many firms restrict it.

The better route is to ask: many companies now allow approved work from abroad for a set number of weeks a year. See finding remote work.

• China blocks most VPNs and only allows government-approved ones. Install and test your VPN before you arrive.
• Russia, Iran, Turkmenistan and North Korea block or ban many VPNs.
• The UAE allows VPNs for legitimate use, but using one to commit a crime or to reach blocked services can be punished, and VoIP calling apps are restricted.
• Turkey, Egypt, Myanmar and some others block particular sites and VPN services from time to time.

In most nomad destinations, VPN use is legal and common. Check your government’s travel advice for the latest.

• Install and test before you travel, especially for countries that block VPN downloads.
• Turn on the kill switch, so your traffic stops if the VPN drops.
• Use WireGuard where you can: it is fast and reconnects quickly when you change networks.
• Keep a second option, such as a different provider or protocol, for networks that block the first.
• Set your devices to your real time zone for calls, even if your VPN says you are elsewhere, to avoid missed meetings.

• EFF Surveillance Self-Defense: practical guides to privacy and security.
• Tailscale: exit nodes: how to route your traffic through a device at home.
• Tech and gear for nomads: the rest of the security and connectivity kit.