A PAIR of travel experts have revealed the free thing they never travel without that not only keeps them safe, but also provides them with entertainment and helps to save money.
Rach and Marty run the Very Hungry Nomads blog, documenting their travels around the world for the last two decades.
They recently completed their goal of visiting every single country in the world and provided their readers with some tips to make travelling easier and safer.
One of their recommendations was to get a VPN on all devices, for a number of different reasons.
VPN stands for 'virtual private network', which is a software which when activated changes the "address" of a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile.
VPNs make it much harder for snoopers to monitor your online activity, helping to protect personal data and information.
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That's why Rach and Marty insist on using one when browsing online, especially when using the internet to pay for things.
They wrote: "When you hook up to and browse Wi-Fi on unprotected networks, it’s quite easy nowadays for online hackers to monitor what you’re doing. It takes just a few minutes of you entering your passwords to your online banking or purchasing a flight ticket online, then all your sensitive information can be collected and abused."
As well as protecting your personal data, VPNs can provide you with access to content that might be blocked in the country you're trying to view it in.
For instance, some streaming services can only be accessed from specific countries, while some places like China and block access to certain social media sites.
The VPN allows you to browse as if you're not in those countries, meaning you can access everything you need to.
They continued: "Having a VPN is also useful for countries that have geo-restrictions or geo-blocks. With a VPN, you simply trick the website into thinking your location is different from where you actually are."
VPNs can also keep costs down, with prices for items, flights and other things different depending on where you are in the world.
Rach and Marty said: "Having a VPN on at all times will save you money too. It’s incredible how different the price is for an item to be purchased in Australia, yet by changing the location to the USA, prices seem to drop considerably."
The pair's advice was echoed by another frequent traveller, who said he used a VPN, as well as a few other methods, to get prices for flights down.
Tiktok user Yan, or kingcredit as he is known, shared his methods in a video to help other people learn from his example.
He recommended paying for flights using a VPN to book as if you're in another country.
A VPN allows you to change your IP address to another location, making it harder for the airlines to monitor your searches.
In the same way as using incognito mode, it will prevent websites from tracking your data and increasing prices.
Some VPNs are available for free, although different packages provide users with access to more data and different locations.
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Meanwhile, these tips could also help you save money when booking flights online.
And here are the best days to book and to fly to keep costs down according to travel experts.
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