VPN for travel: what to check before China and hotel wifi, and what a VPN cannot hide

A VPN is one of those travel tools that people buy in a hurry at the airport and then misunderstand. This guide covers the three jobs people actually buy a VPN for on a trip: using hotel and cafe wifi, reaching your usual apps in mainland China, and keeping a browsing session away from the network you are on. It also covers the fourth thing people assume a VPN does and it does not: hide who you are.

It does not rank providers. A ranking needs measurements, such as speed on real hotel networks or success rates inside a filtered network, that nobody has published in a form this site can verify, and a score without a method is not worth your money. What follows instead is what the official sources say, a checklist for comparing providers on facts you can read, and a setup plan for the days before you fly. For the wider picture of staying connected, see the connectivity guides.

The risk on a hotel network is real but narrower than the advertising suggests. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre explains that online services such as email, internet banking and shopping sites already use HTTPS to encrypt data over the internet before it leaves your device. That is why most of what you do in a browser is protected on a shared network even without a VPN. The extra protection a VPN adds is for traffic that is not already encrypted, for your activity as seen by the hotel network, and for apps that behave badly.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency goes further. Its travel advice says to avoid using open Wi-Fi networks to conduct personal business, bank or shop online, and that open networks at places such as airports and coffee shops are an opportunity for attackers to intercept sensitive information. If you must check a bank balance or make a purchase while traveling, it suggests turning off Wi-Fi and using your device's cellular data connection instead. In practice, that makes your own mobile data, whether a local SIM, a travel eSIM or home roaming, the better first choice for anything sensitive.

So when is a VPN worth installing for hotel wifi? Three situations stand out. First, you work from a laptop and handle client files or company systems, in which case your employer may require a VPN anyway. Second, you use older apps or sites that do not encrypt properly. Third, you want a layer between your devices and a network you have no reason to trust, such as an open guest network in a hostel. If none of those apply, spend your effort on updates, strong passwords and two-factor sign-in, which protect you everywhere.

On China, the most useful official statement comes from the UK government's travel advice for China. It says that the Chinese authorities control internet access, that access can be limited around key political events and dates, and that some services are permanently blocked, including Google, Facebook, YouTube and X. It adds that other websites may sometimes be blocked. It also says that China's cybersecurity laws state that online products and services, for example VPNs, need to be licensed by the Chinese government, and tells travelers to stay informed and follow Chinese law.

Read that as a planning problem, not a shopping problem. Whatever you decide about a VPN, assume that the apps you use daily may not work as they do at home. Check which of your services are on the blocked list, find alternatives you can use without a VPN, and download offline maps, tickets and translation packs before you leave. The same page notes that cashless payments through smartphone apps such as WeChat or Alipay are almost universal, and that outside major cities credit cards are not always accepted and ATMs are limited. Set up your payment options before you land and check what each one requires, so that you are not working it out at a counter.

None of this is legal advice, and this guide does not state the law for any country. VPN rules differ by country and some restrict their use, so check your government's travel advice for every country on your route and follow local law. If you are unsure whether a tool is permitted where you are going, the cautious answer is to rely on offline preparation and your mobile connection, not on a workaround. Entry rules are separate: see the guide to China visa-free entry and the China travel guide for the planning basics.

Because test numbers are not available, compare on facts you can read before you pay. The table below turns the decision into a checklist. Every item on it is something a provider either documents or does not, and the absence of a clear answer is itself an answer.

Be skeptical of absolute claims. "No logs" is a claim, and an independent audit report from a named firm, with a date and a scope, is the only outside evidence. A provider that cannot tell you who owns it, where it is registered or how it handles a legal request is asking for more trust than it earns. Be equally skeptical of "works in China" promises, because no provider controls a network it does not run and conditions change from week to week.

Ignore free VPN apps unless you can read their business model. If the product is free, ask what is being sold. Look at what permissions the app requests, what the privacy policy says about advertising partners, and whether the same company runs a paid version with a clear policy. Then read the cancellation steps before you pay, since the hardest part of some plans is stopping them.

Install and test the VPN before you leave home, because app stores and provider websites can be unreachable from some networks. Sign in on every device you will carry, switch on the kill switch if the app offers one, and check what happens when you change from wifi to mobile data. Save the provider's support address, setup guides and any alternative server information offline, since you may need them at exactly the moment the VPN will not connect.

Keep a second option ready. That might be a different provider, your own mobile data plan, or a plan to work offline for a day. A single tool that fails on arrival day should not leave you without maps, tickets or a way to reach your hotel. If you plan to use an eSIM abroad, the guide to choosing an eSIM for Japan shows the questions to ask about data plans, and the guide to travel routers and power banks covers the case where you want one protected network for every device in a room.

Finally, plan for the days when everything fails. Write the address of your hotel in the local language, keep a printed copy of key bookings, and tell someone at home how to reach you if your phone does not connect. A VPN is a convenience, not a lifeline.

A VPN moves where your traffic appears to come from. It does not remove you from the trip. The list below is the part of this guide to read twice.

• Accounts you sign in to. Google, your bank, your airline and your messaging apps know who you are, whatever IP address you show them.

• The VPN provider. It sees where your traffic goes, so you move trust from the hotel to the provider. Logging claims are claims, and an independent audit is the only outside evidence.

• Your device. Location services, GPS, app permissions and the browser's own fingerprint keep working with a VPN on.

• The fact you use one. A network operator or a website can often tell that traffic comes from a VPN address, and some banks and streaming services ask for extra verification or refuse the connection.

• Your payment. A card billed in your home country shows that whatever server you use.

For ordinary hotel wifi risk, HTTPS already protects most of what you send. A VPN is the extra layer for the traffic that is not encrypted and for the network you do not trust. It does not replace updates, strong passwords and two-factor sign-in.

If you only use banking, email and booking sites over a trusted mobile connection, a VPN adds little. Your eSIM or home plan data is already a better choice than shared hotel wifi for anything sensitive, and the router guide covers the case where you want one protected network for every device in a room.

The same goes for a short trip to a country with an open internet. If you decide you need a VPN for one trip, install it for that trip, test it at home, and cancel it when you are back. If you decide you do not, put the money into travel insurance and a good eSIM, and see the insurance guides for what to check.