--- title: "Public wi-fi and VPNs when travelling: when they are needed" description: "The risk of ten years ago is not today's risk. What a VPN actually protects, when it is justified and when it is smoke." url: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/vpn-for-travelling markdown: https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/vpn-for-travelling.md lang: en site: Gigapass generated: 2026-10-24 languages: es: https://getgigapass.com/blog/wifi-publico-y-vpn-de-viaje de: https://getgigapass.com/de/blog/vpn-zum-reisen it: https://getgigapass.com/it/blog/vpn-per-viaggiare fr: https://getgigapass.com/fr/blog/vpn-pour-voyager pt: https://getgigapass.com/pt/blog/vpn-para-viajar nl: https://getgigapass.com/nl/blog/vpn-om-te-reizen ja: https://getgigapass.com/ja/blog/koshu-wifi-vpn ko: https://getgigapass.com/ko/blog/gonggong-wifi-vpn zh-hans: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hans/blog/gonggong-wifi-vpn pl: https://getgigapass.com/pl/blog/vpn-do-podrozy sv: https://getgigapass.com/sv/blogg/vpn-for-att-resa no: https://getgigapass.com/no/blogg/vpn-for-a-reise da: https://getgigapass.com/da/blog/vpn-til-at-rejse tr: https://getgigapass.com/tr/blog/seyahat-icin-vpn ru: https://getgigapass.com/ru/blog/obshchestvennyy-wifi-i-vpn zh-hant: https://getgigapass.com/zh-hant/blog/gonggong-wifi-vpn ar: https://getgigapass.com/ar/mudawana/wifi-alaam-wa-vpn he: https://getgigapass.com/he/blog/wifi-tsiburi-ve-vpn index: https://getgigapass.com/llms/en.txt --- # Public wi-fi and VPNs: when you really need one > The risk of ten years ago is not today's risk. What a VPN actually protects, when it is justified and when it is smoke. [Home](https://getgigapass.com/en) › [Blog](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog) › Public wi-fi and VPNs: when you really need one On the road The risk of ten years ago is not today's risk. What a VPN actually protects, when it is justified and when it is smoke. **Bea Nogales** 10 Aug 2026 6 min Photo by Martti Salmi on Unsplash In this article › What has changed › What a VPN is for today › The threats that remain on a public network › The simplest alternative › And a legal warning For years the travel advice ran: do not connect to public wi-fi without a VPN, because anyone can read your passwords. That scenario has changed a good deal, and it is better to update the advice than to repeat it. ## What has changed Practically all web traffic is encrypted end to end, so whoever is on the same network does not see the content of what you are doing. What can be seen is which domains you connect to, and not much more. ## What a VPN is for today - So the network you are passing through does not see which services you connect to. - To reach company resources that require one. - For services that behave differently depending on the country you connect from. - And as an extra layer on networks you do not trust at all. What it does NOT do: it will not protect you from a fake site, a fraudulent link or a weak password. Those threats are still real. ## The threats that remain on a public network 1. Fake networks with credible names posing as the airport's or the hotel's. 2. Sign-in portals asking for more personal details than they need. 3. Sessions that expire halfway through something. 4. And the classic: leaving the phone unlocked on the table. What to look at before connecting is in [free airport wi-fi](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/free-airport-wifi). ## The simplest alternative Using your own mobile data for anything that matters. No foreign network in between, no portal asking for details and nobody to trust. For banking and admin it is faster than arguing about VPNs. ## And a legal warning In some countries the use of these tools is regulated or restricted. Before installing anything for a trip, it is worth checking the rules of the destination country. If you do use a VPN, pick a provider with a clear policy on what it stores. Routing all your traffic through somebody is a decision about trust, not a technical trick. Know where you're going? Pick your destination, days and data. Install it before you leave and pay once. [See destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en#destinos) Bea NogalesDevices and compatibility She has been repairing phones since before eSIMs existed. She explains what a handset does inside without it sounding like a manual. ## Frequently asked questions **Do I need a VPN to travel?** It is not essential: almost all traffic is encrypted. It is used to hide which services you connect to, for company resources and as an extra layer on networks you do not trust. **Is public wi-fi dangerous?** Less so than years ago. The real threats are fake networks with credible names and portals asking for too many details. **What should I do about banking?** Use your own mobile data: no foreign network in between, and faster than configuring anything. **Can VPNs be used in every country?** Not always: in some their use is regulated or restricted. It is worth checking the rules of the destination country. ## Keep reading - [On the road](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/travel-photos-on-your-phone) | Travel photos on your phone: four things that change the result | 5 min - [On the road](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/phone-security-while-travelling) | Phone security while travelling: the settings you do once | 5 min - [On the road](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/internet-on-a-cruise) | Internet on a cruise: why your data plan is no use on the open sea | 6 min