Bhutan is a small landlocked country located in the Eastern Himalayas. It has a population of 797k people and a low density of only 50 people per square mile. Visitors to this tiny country make the trek for many reasons. One of the biggest is for the Bhutanese monasteries, but others love the fresh air, landscape/biodiversity, all 4 seasons, great food, the culture, and more. If you are going to visit this wild and wonderful country, be sure to use a VPN whenever you use public WiFi. Before we explain, though, please have a look at the best VPNs for Bhutan list.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.4 | 280 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 160 | |
| 3 |  | 8.6 | 78 | |
When you are in Bhutan, there is a good chance you are not there to use the internet. Penetration in the country is low, however, there are an increasing number of hotels where you can find public WiFi. That is the first reason to use a VPN while there. In most places, WiFi is only available in the lobbies in a lot of the establishments there. That means there are plenty of opportunities for cybercrooks to steal your private data. When you connect to a VPN server, your encrypted connection makes it much tougher for anyone to get ahold of your sensitive information.
The next reason to use a VPN while in the country is to help you get around government censorship. While there is not much censorship in the country, there are some things that are censored. To solve the issue, you need to connect to a VPN in a different region. That will ensure that you are able to see the content that you would like to, providing that it is censored.
What is the Best VPN for Bhutan?
Even though Bhutan has some minor censorship issues, we will focus more on privacy and security criteria first. Only then can we tell you what the best VPN for Bhutan is.
- Military grade elements of strong encryption to help protect you from prying eyes
- Providers that have a strict no logs policy to keep you safe whenever you are in Bhutan
- Ability to get around firewalls, geo-restrictions, and government censorship while in the country
- Mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices
- Servers that perform well in Bhutan and surrounding areas on speeds tests
- High network stability to help avoid dropped connections in the country
And now, Let’s take a closer look at some of the best VPNs for Bhutan.
1. Best VPN for Bhutan: HMA
Sign up for 36 months for just $2.99 a month (75% discount)
HideMyAss was brought to life in 2005 when Jack Cator, a 16-year-old student in England, decided that he wanted to create a service to help people avoid censorship. Specifically, Jack was unable to access social media sites and online games because they were blocked on the school network. HMA added hundreds of thousands of users the first month and has since grown into one of the largest VPN services in the world with over 350 server locations. Privax, the parent company of HMA Pro VPN, joined the AVG team in 2015.
For those that want to find a VPN provider with the most server locations, HideMyAss is your best choice. Just keep in mind that HMA logs user activity which is a concern for some VPN users. HMA hosts some VPN servers in Monaco. To connect to a server there, you will want to go into the “Location Mode” and select “Change Location” to get started. Then click on the “Cities” tab and search for Thimphu. We connected to a server there to test and found the speed to be 118.80 Mbps.
In 2016 HMA and a few other leading VPN providers led the way in simplifying their custom client software. The result is a full set of custom apps that make it easy for any user to connect to the HMA network and encrypt your connection. They have software available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. You can also connect to HMA through your router. HMA offers unlimited VPN access from just $4.99 a month and offers all new users a 30-day risk-free money back guarantee.
2. Best VPN for Bhutan: ExpressVPN
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ExpressVPN brings together fast VPN access with MediaStreamer which acts as a Smart DNS service to unblock access to geo-restricted content. The VPN service will help encrypt your connection and unblock live sporting events. You will even find a list of the latest live entertainment and sporting events on their website. Being in the British Virgin Islands puts ExpressVPN outside the 5 eyes and 14 eyes countries. They maintain a no-log policy that has been verified through high profile legal requests over the years.
ExpressVPN manages a very large VPN network. Beyond the USA, the ExpressVPN network boasts thousands of servers in key locations to help protect their user’s privacy. You can use their network to protect your privacy, unblock censorship, and watch your favorite streaming services from anywhere.
The ExpressVPN app allows you to select a server location down to the city but you do not need to choose a specific server. Instead, the client will select the fastest server in your chosen location. You also need to know that some cities are not shown on the recommended tab inside the client. You may find that issue with servers in the area. Simply select the “All” tab, open Asia, and then open Bhutan. At this point, you can select servers there. When we tested a server in Thimphu, the speed was 27.71 Mbps.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of using ExpressVPN is their support for a wide range of devices. ExpressVPN offers custom VPN software for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Connect from your desktop and mobile at the same time with up to 3 simultaneous connections. You can also install the ExpressVPN web extension for Chrome or Firefox. Want to protect your entire home network with a single VPN account? If so you can use the ExpressVPN router app to get all set up. The MediaStreamer feature adds Smart DNS support to devices like game consoles (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, etc.), media boxes (Apple TV, Roku, Nvidia Shield TV, etc.), and Smart TVs.
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ExpressVPN performed very well in our speed tests. They are a great choice for privacy and to unblock geo-restrictions. Customer support is available 24/7 to provide assistance and answer any questions. Enjoy the best VPN for less with confidence as ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money back guarantee.
3. Best VPN for Bhutan: PureVPN
Sign up for 24 months for just $2.88 a month (74% discount)
PureVPN has been in business since 2007 making them one of the oldest VPN providers on the market. Having an early start has helped them expand and innovate. PureVPN has one of the best VPN clients available on the market. They also have free apps for both iOS and Android.
Innovation is an area that helps PureVPN stand out from the pack. They continue to add new features and add-ons to the service. You can add NAT firewall, a dedicated IP address, StealthVPN browser and a special option called dedicated streaming to help speed up your performance.
Since we wanted to test a server in Monaco, we opened the Windows client and clicked on the “Country Selection Tool” option. From there you can expand any country and select a specific server using the “Browse All Servers” tab. The PureVPN network has servers located in Myanmar (the closest location). We connected to one of them and tested the performance to Thimphu. As you can see, our download speed was 25.87 Mbps.
PureVPN does really well in the pricing category. They have cut pricing by over 50% as the service continues to grow. You can sign up for unlimited VPN and access all their server locations from just $4.99 a month. The annual plan is a great value.
Above, you can see some of the best VPN options to use while you are in Bhutan. Of course, there are more options located on our top 10 VPN list. They will all perform well, but we optimized our decisions based on the best criteria for Bhutan specifically. VPN protection is a good idea whenever you surf the net no matter what you are doing. By using our guide, we can help you make the right decision to fit your needs.