How to use a VPN to watch your favorite movies on vacation

Judging by my Instagram feed, everyone except me is on vacation right now. I'm constantly bombarded with pictures of friends in exotic locations having the times of their lives – but the joke's on them, because I can still watch all my favorite streaming shows and movies...

Wait – you're telling me that they can do the same thing easily with one of the best VPNs ? Well, if you've got vacation plans this summer I suppose you should know how to use one of the best streaming VPNs too.

All the world's a stage

Wherever you are in the world, you can use a VPN to connect to a server back in your home country and access the likes of Netflix as if you were sitting on your very own couch.

Why would you want to do such a thing? Well, due to rights management, most streaming services have a lot of region-specific content that's only available when in certain territories. If you're halfway through a show and were dreaming of watching it by the pool, you might be out of luck. However, because using a VPN spoofs your IP address, you can access the internet as if you were in a different country.

In fact, some streaming services aren't available outside the U.S. at all. HBO Max, for example, is inaccessible in the U.K. (and many other regions) without a VPN, and the same goes for Hulu.

Streaming content safely is also important, especially if you're on a public connection like hotel Wi-Fi. The extra encryption of a VPN and the "no-logs" policies that most top providers have mean you can sit back and relax without worrying about scammers targeting you.

Which VPN is best for streaming?

That depends on what you're looking for, but not all VPNs are created equal. Many of the best free VPNs and some premium VPNs can't unblock most streaming services, so we've tested the best options for streaming performance. Our conclusion is one of NordVPN, ExpressVPN or Surfshark will be right for you.

NordVPN: from $3.09 a month
NordVPN our top pick of VPN overall, and it has no problems unblocking the top streaming services. You can try it out with its 30-day money-back guarantee and claim a full refund if you don't like it. View Deal

ExpressVPN: from $6.67 a month
There's a lot to love about ExpressVPN. It's one of the easiest VPN services to use that we've seen – you can connect with just one click. Those looking to unblock the top streaming services will be in luck too. If you subscribe for a year, you'll get another three months on top. View Deal

Surfshark: from $2.19 per month
If you want a leading VPN at the best possible price then Surfshark is very hard to beat. At a fraction of the cost of other services, it offers a super-speedy VPN with unlimited connections. In our testing, Surfshark also proved an excellent option for unblocking content on streaming services. Plus subscribing for a year or two years includes three months extra subscription for free. View Deal