The Orlando / Tampa area has quite a bit to offer travelers and business people as well. The biggest and most obvious attractions in the area are the Disney theme parks and the Universal Studios theme parks. Though the cities separately are medium-sized, both together make the area one of the top ten destinations in the US. With all of the vacation traffic, there are plenty of infrastructures to support any business you wish. Whether you are going to the area for business, pleasure, or both, you won’t want to use public wifi without using a VPN. Here are a few of our favorites.
| Rank | VPN Service | Price | Visit | Server Locations | No Logs | Browser Extensions | Smart DNS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | $6.67 |  | 160 |  | | |
| 2 |  | $3.49 | | 87 | | | |
| 3 |  | $2.19 | | 95 | | | |
| 4 |  | $3.99 | | 73 | | ||
| 5 |  | $1.99 | | 58 | |
Please note that ExpressVPN is the only VPN in our list with servers in Tampa. The rest host servers in Miami. This area of Florida has quite a bit to offer residents and visitors alike. However, each part has its significant regions. That’s why we’ll look at each one separately. Here are some specific reasons to connect to a VPN while in Orlando.
Some reasons to use a VPN while visiting Orlando
When Walt Disney opened Disney World in 1971, there was not much in the area. Since that time, though, you have the Universal Studios parks, the Disney parks, SeaWorld parks, and others. Of course, there are more, but those are the big ones. When you go to those parks, you already know you will have to wait in lines for your favorite rides. That is especially true of some of the rides at the Disney Park called Animal Kingdom. To make that time go quicker, all three families of parks offer free WiFi to their users. Even though that is great because it saves you data, some will take advantage of that. By connecting to a VPN, though, you’ll add a layer of protection to your WiFi usage. That way, your Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld dreams do not turn into nightmares because of identity theft.
While Orlando does not have many top-tier sports, it has two. Those teams are the Orlando Magic (NBA) and Orlando City SC (MLS). As you can guess, both teams have many fans in the area. However, that can pose a problem if you are there and want to watch either team online. Even if you have a streaming app to follow the team, you need to be “out-of-market” to enjoy a home game or match. To take care of that issue, you need to connect to a VPN in another area. That way, you can watch the Magic tip-off at home without having to leave the city.
The weather in Orlando makes it an ideal place to go to a festival year-round. Whether you prefer food festivals like the Downtown Food & Wine Fest, music festivals like Rebel Rock, or others, you don’t have to look hard to realize that people come from everywhere to attend them. If you are traveling from abroad for sports, amusement parks, festivals, or other reasons, you will have downtime during parts of your trip. That is an excellent time to catch up on your favorite shows and movies. Unfortunately, the media companies will block you unless you connect to a VPN. Doing so will allow you to connect to a server in the UK for the BBC, Germany for ZDF, France for TF1, and others.
What about Tampa? It has its own issues that a VPN will resolve. Let’s look at them now.
More reasons to connect to a VPN server in Tampa
Just as with Orlando, people visit Tampa for many reasons. Conventions are big in Tampa. The city hosts Metrocon, the largest anime convention in Florida. Additionally, you’ll find others like WrestleStock Tampa (celebrating WrestleMania), Repticon, and more. Of course, that means the areas around the convention center are buzzing with activity. Whether you are at the hotel, enjoying the convention floor, or at one of the local businesses supporting it, using free WiFi can be an issue. The constant flow of convention traffic is another situation that is ideal for identity theft.
Being on Tampa Bay lends itself to some great festivals. That includes the Gasparilla Pirate Festival, the Sunset Music Festival, and the Tampa Riverwalk Food and Art Festival. As many of them have been going on for some time, they are all highly organized. Many of them have taken the time to set up WiFi for patrons. However, even high-speed connections can be slow because of the way some companies rout internet traffic. If you are at any one of these events, you may get better speeds by connecting to a VPN.
As with Orlando, Tampa Bay does not have all of the top-tier sports teams, but they have three out of five. These include the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL), Rays (MLB), Lightning (NHL). In recent years, all the Tampa Bay teams have made some great strides in making themselves better. Unfortunately, tracking their meteoric rise locally can be a problem if they are playing at home. That is because of the antiquated licensing rights of most top-tier sports teams. If you are in the city and want to watch online, you are out of luck unless you connect to a VPN. When you do, though, you can take yourself out of the “in-market” status and be able to watch the local NHL, NFL, and MLB games at home online.
What is the best VPN for Orlando / Tampa?
We based our list of the best VPNs for the Orlando area on the following criteria:
- Speed tests performed on VPN servers in Tampa or Miami to Orlando
- Strong encryption to protect your online privacy while at festivals, conventions, amusement parks, and more
- Preference given to VPNs who do not keep usage logs
- Network reliability for streaming live sports
- Support for torrent traffic and popular online games
- Mobile apps and streaming support for Amazon Firestick users
Without further delay, here is a list of the best VPN services for the Orlando / Tampa area:
1. Best VPN for Orlando & Tampa: ExpressVPN
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If you are worried about having issues getting things set up on your favorite devices, ExpressVPN can put your mind at ease. Along with extensive video setup guides, they offer several other resources as well. Those include a troubleshooting section and a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section. You can send an email, file a support ticket, or speak with someone directly through the live chat feature available on their website as part of their 24/7 customer support. That will help ensure you get the best possible results and have a great user experience.
If you are a fan of certain sports teams like those you may find in the English Premier League, you can watch some of the games on the BBC iPlayer website. Of course, you would need to be in the UK. However, if you are not, you will want to connect to a UK VPN server. To watch BBC coverage of your favorite football team or any other sports from outside the region, you would simply connect a server located there. That way, you can enjoy seeing your team lay waste to the competition.
You have likely heard of ExpressVPN as their reputation precedes the quality of the service. From a worldwide network of servers to extra features like MediaStreamer, ExpressVPN tops the competition. We use the service in our office and while traveling. From privacy protection to gaming, and streaming, their network provides excellent performance. Give the service a thorough test during the 30-day money-back guarantee. You can sign up for 12 months and get 3 months free, a 49% discount with our ExpressVPN deal.
2. Best VPN for Orlando & Tampa: NordVPN
While NordVPN isn’t the oldest player in the VPN community, they have certainly made a splash in the space. They are very popular, and the company took its name from the Nordic ideals of trust, confidence, and innovation. Since their founding in 2012, you can not visit any type of media without seeing an advertisement of some sort. They mention that they have 12 million users worldwide. Given that, you are in great hands if you choose NordVPN. They manage a large network to help meet your goals for using a VPN.
While all providers promise security, some may not be protecting your privacy when using their service. However, NordVPN does an excellent job of doing that. You can quickly test their DNS security by using the leak test on their website or checking an independent site. By doing so, you will see if others can detect your location. If they can’t, though, you won’t have to worry about groups or organizations tracking you if you are connecting to a VPN. DNS leak protection is a must-have for VPN users.
3. Best VPN for Orlando & Tampa: Private Internet Access
One of the ways that connecting to a VPN with Private Internet Access will help is by granting you access to different parts of the world. As big as gaming is these days, you probably realize that developers release games in many different countries. However, that also means that you can get early access to some games if you are in the right place. With Private Internet Access, you only have to connect to the right area and you will be able to get access to your game as soon as it comes out.
Private Internet Access offers apps for a whole host of custom apps that you can install, depending on which device or operating system you have. Those include Windows 32 and 64 bit, macOS (64-bit), Linux (64-bit), Android, and iOS. Additionally, they have extensions for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and the Opera browser. If there is not an app for it, they have quite a few setup guides to help you configure several different types of routers like PfSense, Tomato, DD-WRT, and more.
4. Best VPN for Orlando & Tampa: IPVanish
Unfortunately, not all countries are as free with letting their citizens see content as others are. Some countries openly admit to monitoring the online behaviors of anyone using the internet. That is why you need to connect to a VPN server from IPVanish. If you visit a country like China and view the wrong thing online, you could end up speaking with the authorities. However, connecting to a VPN server will provide you with a layer of encryption that will help keep you safe online no matter where you are.
No matter where you are in the world, sports leagues like the English Premier League are well known. If you are a fan of any of the teams in the league like Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, or others, you know that trying to watch them outside the UK can be difficult. The way to be able to view your favorite team is to connect to a VPN server located in the UK from IPVanish. After you connect, log on to your viewing app with your credentials, and you will be all set.
5. Best VPN for Orlando & Tampa: PrivadoVPN
Protecting your gaming activity and privacy is important to us. It is also important to PrivadoVPN. No matter how many hours you spend playing, protecting your achievements, currency, and account details are essential. One of the best ways to do that is to connect to a VPN. By doing so, you will create a layer of encryption on your account. That will help secure your important data so you can concentrate on what is really important.
PrivadoVPN offers great features like IP protection and a kill switch. Those are both features you would expect to find in some of the higher-priced players in the community. The IP leak protection feature will stop your system from revealing your IP address. There is no point in connecting to a VPN if it won’t protect you. The same can be said for the kill switch feature. If the VPN drops your connection without a kill switch, you are at risk of exposing your data to others while it re-connects. Both features are a must for those that like to protect themselves.
