Northern Ireland is the northeast region of the country of Ireland in the UK. It shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. With a population of 1.81 million people, it makes up 30% of the island’s population. The region has some decent sized towns, with 25 of them over 10k people. The largest city is Belfast. Many visitors travel to the area for the natural beauty, history, and even business opportunities. No matter what reason you have for visiting the region, though, you need to connect to a VPN while using the internet. That is because this great area is still part of the UK, at least for now. Let’s talk about some of the reasons to do that. First, though, please look at our list of the best VPNs for Northern Ireland.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
| 4 |  | 9.0 | 110 | |
| 5 |  | 8.8 | 73 | |
As we mentioned, Northern Ireland has some great places to visit for natural beauty. Some of these include the Cuilcagh Boardwalk Trail, the Private Guided Walking Tour in Derry City, the Giant’s Causeway, and many more. Though they are all in different parts of the region, they have one thing in common. You can get in your steps quickly on your favorite fitness tracker. Even though those are great, they transmit massive amounts of data back and forth to your smartphone. Instead of leaving yourself vulnerable, connect to a VPN. When you use one on your smartphone, you can protect both devices at the same time. That way, you can focus more on not slipping on moss instead of who might get your health information.
This region of the UK lends itself to different companies establishing operations there. That includes companies like IPSwitch, Pitney Bowes, Redhat, and more. Again, Northern Ireland is still part of the UK. If you are planning on connecting to the internet, you are subject to the rules of the Snooper’s Charter. The key is to take advantage of a VPN’s encryption layer. By doing so, you can focus more on business instead of worrying about government spying.
Festivals and celebrations are big in Northern Ireland, and these include St. Patrick’s Day, the Balmoral Show, the Orangefest, Féile an Phobail, and more. Whether you choose one of those options or many others, you may be tempted to go through the evening to celebrate. However, some will take the downtime at night to stream content. Unless you connect to a VPN, you’ll only be able to access UK content. While that can be troublesome, you can explore new content from other areas by connecting to a VPN. Choose your home area or pick another area and you can enjoy as you wish. Then, you can feel free to enjoy all the fests in the day and old or new content at night. The question is which one should you use?
What is the Best VPN for Northern Ireland?
The best characteristics to look for when answering this question are security-related first. After we mention them, we can properly determine the best VPN for Northern Ireland.
- Strong encryption with military-grade characteristics to help protect your privacy while in Northern Ireland
- Providers with a strict no-logs policy to help keep you safe while in the country
- Servers in the UK that perform well in Northern Ireland
- Ability to get around geo-restrictions while there
- Mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices
- High network stability to help you eliminate dropped connections
And now, Let’s take a close look at some of the best VPNs for Northern Ireland.
1. Best VPN for Northern Ireland: ExpressVPN
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With servers on every continent except Antarctica, ExpressVPN operates 160 server locations in 94 countries. That means they have one of the largest VPN networks, and they have a presence in almost half the counties in the world. While the service may be more expensive than some of its competitors, you get a premium VPN dedicated to privacy (ExpressVPN keeps no activity logs, so your browsing is kept private) with some of the fastest speeds, apps for every device, and 24/7 customer support to help troubleshoot any issues.
One of the things that ExpressVPN is good at will allow you to gain access to international libraries of content, such as with Netflix or Amazon Prime Video. Both these popular streaming services offer access to different titles depending on your location. From the massive US library to the UK, Canada, or India, we feel you should be able to access all of the content when you travel outside your home region. You can use the ExpressVPN MediaStreamer feature or connect to a VPN server to help break through those barriers.
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 Northern Ireland: NordVPN
If you are a fan of a top-level sports team and happen to be in the city where they play, you already know that the broadcasters will stop you from seeing them online. That is usually because of licensing rights and they call them blackouts. Of course, you can watch them on TV, but some do not have TVs anymore. The solution to the problem is to connect to a VPN by using NordVPN. In this case, you simply need to select a server that is not in the market area. Then, you can watch your favorite team play.
As the world has changed in recent times, a large number of people have ventured to internet streaming for their entertainment needs. The issue is that sometimes, you may want to see a different library of content. That is one of the reasons you would want to connect to a NordVPN server. Whether that library comes from the same source as with international streaming companies like Netflix, or region-specific options like iPlayer from the BBC, you will be able to access those and more by connecting to a VPN.
3. Best VPN for Northern Ireland: Private Internet Access
Established in 2010, Private Internet Access has an excellent reputation in the community. They support several different privacy foundations and organizations, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Fight for the Future, the Internet Society, OpenMedia, Open Rights Group, and many more open source projects. That shows their commitment to protecting the privacy of their members and why so many users love the service. In addition to reasonable pricing, Private Internet Access offers a trustworthy service that you can not go wrong with if you choose it.
If you are a fan of mixed martial arts (MMA), you may have noticed that Private Internet Access sponsors some of the fighters. Of course, they sponsor other things as well. They have long been popular in the sports market, giving users the ability to watch sports in various parts of the world. Whether you want to watch new events or are traveling overseas, connecting to a VPN is a good idea. That will help you get around any potential viewing issues you may have.
4. Best VPN for Northern Ireland: CyberGhost
For everyone that keeps a sharp eye on privacy, you will be glad to know that CyberGhost does, too. One of the ways they do that is by using 256-bit military-grade AES encryption as your chief option. Keep in mind that in many countries, ISPs have a legal obligation to store logs on their customers for as much as two years. Because of that, keeping yourself safe with a VPN should be as big of a priority to you as it is to them.
If you are familiar with the Amazon Firestick, Roku, or other streaming devices that you plug into your TV, you know they are great. What you may not know, however, is that a vast amount of the content is only available in the US. If you are traveling abroad or outside the country, connecting to a CyberGhost VPN server located in the US is crucial. When you do so, you will be able to gain access to your favorite shows and movies, all at your fingers.
5. Best VPN for Northern Ireland: IPVanish
If you like to travel abroad, you may quickly notice that your favorite streaming service is not available. For those that want to watch international services like Netflix, you may see that you are not able to access some of your favorite content. Of course, that is why you would want to connect to IPVanish. When you do, you can connect to a server in your home region or find another one to watch in. No matter what you choose, you can’t go wrong with IPVanish.
Some of the most valuable sports teams in the world have international followings. Those include sports organizations like the Dallas Cowboys (NFL) in the US, the New York Yankees (MLB) in the US, Real Madrid (Soccer), and more. If you are outside their home country, though, you can only watch them if you connect to a VPN server in the home country from IPVanish. Of course, you would also need to have a subscription to one of the sports apps, depending on what you want to watch.
