Charmingmarie
  • Home
  • Expat life
    • How to Spend the Holidays Abroad as an Expat
    • Can you Easily Live in the Netherlands Without Speaking Dutch?
    • American Things I Miss the Most While Living Abroad
    • Here are the Best Places to Live in Europe if you want to Leave the US
    • What I Wish I knew before Moving Abroad
  • Destinations
    • Visiting the Algarve in Winter + what to see & do
    • Visiting Amsterdam For the First Time? 11 Must-Have Tips
    • What to do in Rotterdam for a Weekend Getaway
    • Off the beaten track Netherlands: Hidden Gems
    • Why You Must Visit California Now
  • Love & Dating
  • California
  • Netherlands
    • Dutch Culture
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • My videos
  • Contact
Featured posts
  • A scenic view of a traditional Dutch windmill surrounded by vibrant pink tulips in full bloom at Keukenhof, showcasing the beauty of spring in the Netherlands.
    • Netherlands
    Spring in the Netherlands
  • Aerial view of Mechelen, Belgium, showcasing the stunning Gothic architecture of Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral surrounded by historic buildings and vibrant city life
    • Travel
    Mechelen, Belgium: The Perfect European Weekend Getaway
  • Aerial view of a coastal city with high-rise buildings and a beach, representing the possibilities of how to move abroad without being rich.
    • Expat Life
    • Travel
    How to Move Abroad Without Being Rich
  • Airplane wing over a coastal landscape, symbolizing Americans leaving the USA for new opportunities abroad.
    • Expat Life
    • Travel
    Why Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in 2025 – And Where They’re Going
  • A woman experiencing culture shock while exploring a local market in a foreign country, adjusting to new customs and surroundings.
    • Expat Life
    Culture Shock 101: How to Adjust to a New Country Faster

  • youtube
  • instagram
  • pinterest

  • youtube
  • instagram
  • pinterest
Charmingmarie

California girl in the Netherlands

  • Home
  • Expat life
  • Destinations
  • Love & Dating
  • California
  • Netherlands
    • Dutch Culture
    • Dutch Cuisine
  • My videos
  • Contact
Use a VPN While Traveling
  • Travel

Why You Should Use a VPN While Traveling

  • 3 minute read
Total
130
Shares

When you’re traveling you might not always be able to bring all the luxuries from back home. But let’s be honest, are you really going anywhere these days without your phone or laptop? Most likely not. So today I’m sharing some tips on why you should use a vpn while traveling: how to keep watching your favorite shows abroad, safely access online banking and avoid higher fees for plane tickets.

Watch your favorite shows abroad

So this one you might have heard of before: there’s a trick you can use to keep watching your favorite tv-shows and channels when you are abroad. Streaming services hate you for this, and will try to block you if you are logging in from another country. However, with a good VPN you can avoid these blockades and log into your favorite service. It might be a bit slower than you would usually expect from browsing without, because all the data will first go through the VPN server first. Yet, knowing that you can watch your favorite shows and have better security is relieving, Also, don’t forget to write down the user/passwords for your ISP and/or streaming service because you will still needs these to login to the service once connected.

Did you know: the Netflix library has different titles depending on the country you are watching from? This means certain US shows might not pop up in your account when you are watching from Europe for example, without using a VPN!

Access to online banking

Have you ever tried logging into your online banking account from the wifi in a hotel lobby? You might want to reconsider this as it can be a major security risk. Especially on public wi-fi networks, you can never be sure that no one is looking at you browsing on their network so better to be safe than sorry and turn on that VPN. You don’t want your banking details leaked in a foreign country now would you? I have had very good experiences with Surfshark VPN so far and it’s really easy to use with the browser-plugin. This is why it’s good to use a VPN while traveling.

Also, be aware that logging into your bank account from a foreign country can also trigger some warning/safety systems over at the bank that might cause them to temporarily block access. This is primarily to keep your account safe, but might take a while to get hold of your bank from another country or time-zone, all while you cannot access your money.

Avoid price discrimination

For your next destination you might want to check if the price for your plane tickets are cheaper when booking in another country. Say what? Price discrimination is a practice in the travel industry where airlines use different pricing policies for consumers in different countries to increase their sales. If you want to read more how this works and to make sure you get the best deal every time: here’s a great article.

I also recommend Student Universe as a source to finding discounted tickets, which I have used many times before when arranging my travels and moving abroad. It’s also good to compare different travel sites when planning your next trip in order to get the best possible deal.

Protecting your (online) privacy

Once you are familiar using a VPN, just like me, you might just leave it on at all times (I leave it on at home too). Simply because I forget about it. It not only keeps my privacy protected when abroad, but also from my ISP and some websites that snoop on my online behavior, even back home.

Total
130
Shares
Pin it
Share
Tweet
Save
Share
Share

You May Also Like
Aerial view of Mechelen, Belgium, showcasing the stunning Gothic architecture of Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral surrounded by historic buildings and vibrant city life
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Travel

Mechelen, Belgium: The Perfect European Weekend Getaway

Aerial view of a coastal city with high-rise buildings and a beach, representing the possibilities of how to move abroad without being rich.
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Expat Life
  • Travel

How to Move Abroad Without Being Rich

Airplane wing over a coastal landscape, symbolizing Americans leaving the USA for new opportunities abroad.
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Expat Life
  • Travel

Why Americans Are Leaving the U.S. in 2025 – And Where They’re Going

View of Traben-Trarbach
View Post
  • 3 min
  • Travel

Traben-Trarbach: An Enchanting town on the Moselle River Valley

View Post
  • 3 min
  • Dutch Culture
  • Travel

Utrecht’s Beer Scene: Top Breweries, Bars, and More

View Post
  • 4 min
  • Netherlands
  • Travel

An Insider’s Guide to Unveiling the Best Things to Do in Utrecht

View Post
  • 5 min
  • California
  • Travel

11 Things to Do in Culver City California: Curated by a local

View of the Rhine River in Düsseldorf
View Post
  • 5 min
  • Travel

48 Hours in Düsseldorf – A City Break Guide

25 comments
  1. Fred Scott says:
    October 30, 2021 at 2:12 pm

    I appreciate your help. After I moved anywhere, I realized how important a VPN was. Especially with remote working and banking and passwords, as you mentioned. However, I need to take action because I have been working more remotely to protect our information better. In particular, our password and online banking information. Many thanks for pointing out the VPN safety issue.

  2. Lyanna Soria says:
    July 28, 2020 at 12:33 am

    I’ve never thought of that before and those are some wonderful points to keep in mind. Will definitely try your tips when I travel again.

  3. Eric Gamble says:
    July 25, 2020 at 9:03 pm

    Not going to lie, I am the absolute worst when it comes to using a VPN. In fact, I dont even know if my new laptop has one installed anymore. But I need to get on this because Darcee & I have been doing more remote working everywhere and I need to be better about keeping our information safe. If anything our online banking and passoword information. So thanks for sharing the Surfshark VPN. I didnt even know where to start but it looks like a perfect fit for us!

    1. Hannah Scott says:
      August 7, 2020 at 10:02 pm

      Thanks so much Eric! Once I moved abroad I realized the importance of a VPN. Especially like you said remote working and definitely with banking & passwords. I was notorious for working at a cafe and using the shared wifi without a VPN! Hahah I use it all the time now even if I’m home and get paranoid if I forget to turn it on.

  4. Rosey says:
    July 25, 2020 at 5:43 pm

    I always check for the discounted tickets too. It’s worth it and then some when you find a good deal.

    1. Hannah Scott says:
      August 7, 2020 at 10:03 pm

      Yes definitely!! I’ve saved quite a bit off plane tickets this way.

  5. WorldInEyes says:
    July 25, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    Great work though..glad you shared such valuable information with us..This is truly very helpful and useful blog post…

  6. Rachel says:
    July 25, 2020 at 2:14 pm

    I never thought about this before!! But it makes sense.

  7. Jackline A says:
    July 25, 2020 at 1:47 pm

    Good points. Also as a blogger i use it so I can do work and dont have to worry if where i am going has wifi.

  8. tweenselmom says:
    July 25, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    Using a vpn would definitely be helpful when traveling! I have also tried using this outside and it’s useful, thanks for sharing this with us!

  9. Monidipa says:
    July 25, 2020 at 1:05 pm

    I completely agree with your points And By connecting to a VPN, your data will automatically be encrypted, making it impossible for a hacker to steal it. This should be the top reason to use a VPN while traveling.

  10. Trot.World says:
    July 25, 2020 at 12:45 pm

    Definitely have always found using VPN to be so helpful! This is a great read for those who don’t know about it.

  11. Nomads rtw says:
    July 25, 2020 at 9:42 am

    that is a very useful piece of information many people don’t even know about! thanks for sharing

  12. Angel Ro says:
    July 25, 2020 at 3:25 am

    This is really a great idea or insight. really i was unaware about this,. Thanks for sharing

  13. Heidi says:
    July 25, 2020 at 1:19 am

    Having a vpn in any puBlic space is important. It’s crazy how people can steal your info!

  14. Mrs D says:
    July 24, 2020 at 7:59 pm

    Thank you for sharing this, i have always used the Local wifi whilst i am away but i hadnt thought about the security side of things.

  15. Krysten Quiles says:
    July 24, 2020 at 4:07 pm

    I’ve never even thought about this before but it makes a lot of sense. thanks for the awesome info friend.

  16. Alex says:
    July 24, 2020 at 3:33 pm

    Great post, i always use a VPN when travelling too, especially when using public wifi networks.

  17. Mike says:
    July 24, 2020 at 2:19 pm

    I’ve been wondering about getting a vpN. This was veey helpful.

  18. Jordan Campbell says:
    July 24, 2020 at 11:32 am

    I’ve definitely considered a VPN as an avid traveler, but I’m generally not too far away for very long. One Day, I’ll be traveling the world for weeks on end! One day… Lol.

  19. Aishwaryaa says:
    July 24, 2020 at 7:49 am

    I haven’t heard of VPN because my husband used to do all those. After Reading this post I come to know more about it. Thanks for sharing with us. Very helpful and informative.

  20. Marie Phillips says:
    July 24, 2020 at 5:19 am

    These are actually great reasons to have a vpn. Checking prices is my favorite one yet!

  21. Rhonda Albom says:
    July 24, 2020 at 12:17 am

    Great advice to use a VPN banking and ticket pricing when we travel. We Live in New ZEaland, so already know that VPN is useful for worldwide TV.

  22. chad says:
    July 23, 2020 at 11:01 pm

    I’VE BEEN thinking about getting a VPN for my house network but unfortunately, I don’t know much about it. Thanks a lot for the awesome information.

  23. Bella says:
    July 23, 2020 at 7:12 pm

    I have used a VPN a couple times its so helpful and I use it a lot while im home too. Thanks for sharing this post

Comments are closed.

Charmingmarie
  • Privacy Policy
California girl in the Netherlands © 2025

Input your search keywords and press Enter.