How to Stay Virtually in the UK While Abroad: VPN Routers, Tailscale & Smart Travel Connectivity

In an increasingly remote-first world, many people find themselves working from locations far from their home country — sometimes for extended periods. But while the physical distance might not affect productivity, it can create technical complications, especially when it comes to online location visibility. For remote workers, appearing online as if they’re still in their home country (e.g., the UK) is often essential.

This isn’t just about privacy — in many cases, IP-based location tracking plays a direct role in how your connection is handled. Some companies have region-specific compliance rules, internal firewalls, or logging policies that flag activity from outside approved regions. Even if you’re using a company-provided VPN (like GlobalProtect or Cisco AnyConnect), there may be a short window where your real IP is exposed — or internal systems might cross-reference connection details beyond just the final IP address.

Take, for example, a user named May. She’s based in the UK but working remotely from Canada for a few months. Her company laptop uses GlobalProtect to create a secure tunnel to a UK-based server. Technically, she’s connecting safely. But she still worries that her actual location could be detectable, whether via DNS traffic, timestamps, or other metadata before the VPN kicks in. To stay on the safe side, she began exploring ways to route all her internet traffic — even outside the company VPN — through her home network in the UK.

This article walks through how to achieve that setup, the tools available, and whether a VPN router, a mesh VPN like Tailscale, or even a SIM-based mobile router might be the best way to stay digitally rooted at home, no matter where you go.

1. Do You Actually Need a VPN Router?

Before diving into VPN hardware, it’s worth asking whether you truly need a VPN router at all — especially if you’re using a company-provided laptop with a pre-configured VPN client such as GlobalProtect, Cisco AnyConnect, or FortiClient.

These corporate VPN clients are designed to create a secure tunnel between your device and your employer’s infrastructure, often connecting you through a UK-based server regardless of where in the world you’re working from. That means even if you’re connected to hotel WiFi in Canada, your public IP address — the one visible to your company — usually reflects the UK VPN gateway, not your actual physical location.

In other words, as long as the VPN client is active, your traffic is already secured and appearing to originate from the UK. For most companies, that’s sufficient. The company firewall, access controls, and activity logs will all treat your connection the same as if you were sitting in London.

Because of this, adding a second VPN layer via a router may not actually improve your situation. In fact, it can introduce complexity, such as double encryption, performance overhead, or conflicts with the existing VPN software. Unless there’s a specific need — like hiding your real IP before the VPN client connects, or tunnelling multiple devices — a VPN router might be unnecessary if your laptop already has a reliable, company-managed VPN client in place.

2. When a VPN Router Does Make Sense

While a company VPN client may be enough for basic work connectivity, there are several cases where investing in a VPN router — or a router-to-router VPN setup — makes a lot more sense.

One of the most common reasons is when you want all of your devices to behave as if they are located in the UK, not just your work laptop. That includes your phone, tablet, smart TV, streaming stick, or even a second laptop that doesn’t have VPN software installed. A VPN router can tunnel all network traffic from any connected device through a secure path, giving everything in your setup a UK presence, regardless of where you are.

Another key reason is the need for a dedicated, static UK IP, such as your home broadband IP address. If you’re trying to access UK-only services, media platforms, or even bank accounts that block foreign IPs, routing all traffic back through your home connection using a VPN tunnel ensures consistency and removes any risk of being geo-flagged. This kind of setup becomes even more useful if you want to appear exactly as if you’re browsing from your home — not just from “somewhere in the UK.”

Using a VPN router can also help if you’re relying on mobile internet or want to avoid public WiFi altogether while travelling. Many travel-friendly routers allow you to tether to a 5G SIM or portable hotspot, and still encrypt all traffic through a secure tunnel — giving you privacy and reliability without having to trust café or hotel networks.

Lastly, some corporate or cloud services may examine pre-VPN connection metadata, like DNS queries, regional timestamps, or local IP identifiers. In those cases, even a brief window before your VPN client kicks in could be enough to reveal your real location. A VPN router solves this by ensuring that all traffic — from the moment a device connects — is routed through your UK tunnel, even before the software VPN activates.

In short, if your use case goes beyond one device, or you want total peace of mind that everything is coming from your UK network, a VPN router is the right move.

3. The Best Solution: Router-to-Router VPN Tunnelling

If your goal is to maintain a consistent UK online presence while abroad — without relying on third-party VPN services — then a router-to-router VPN tunnel is the most robust and private solution.

Here’s how it works: you set up one router in your UK home and another travel router to take with you. These two routers are configured to create a secure VPN tunnel between each other using protocols like WireGuard or OpenVPN. Once connected, all traffic from the travel router — and any devices connected to it — is securely routed through your home internet connection in the UK.

The result is that every device you use abroad behaves exactly as if it’s operating from your UK home network. Your public IP address will be your actual home broadband IP, not just a generic UK server provided by a VPN company. This setup gives you full control over your connection, no recurring subscription costs, and no reliance on external providers or shared servers.

For remote workers, this kind of tunnel ensures that all metadata, DNS requests, and IP checks are aligned with your home location from the very first connection. It’s especially useful if you’re concerned about subtle location tracking, or if your company’s VPN software needs to connect from familiar or trusted IP ranges.

Once configured, the tunnel runs in the background and requires no ongoing input — just power up the travel router and connect. It’s a set-and-forget setup that brings enterprise-grade location masking into your home workflow.

4. Free Alternative: Use Tailscale with Exit Node

If you like the idea of routing your traffic through your home in the UK but want to avoid the complexity or cost of setting up a traditional VPN tunnel between two routers, Tailscale offers a powerful and free alternative.

Tailscale is a WireGuard-based mesh VPN that lets you securely connect multiple devices across the internet as if they were all on the same local network. One of its most useful features is the ability to designate any device on your network — such as a PC, NAS, or Raspberry Pi in your UK home — as an “exit node”. This means any other device in your Tailscale network can route all of its internet traffic through that home device, effectively giving you your home broadband IP address no matter where you are in the world.

Setting it up is simple:

1. Install Tailscale on your UK-based device and enable exit node functionality with a single command or toggle.

2. Approve that exit node from the Tailscale admin dashboard.

3. On your laptop or travel router, install Tailscale and set it to route all traffic through that exit node.

If you’re using a router like the GL.iNet Slate AX, Tailscale can be installed directly through its web interface. Once connected, any device that joins your travel router’s WiFi will automatically route through your home IP — no need for port forwarding or third-party VPNs.

Best of all, Tailscale is free for personal use, supports end-to-end encryption, and doesn’t require fiddling with router settings or firewall rules. It’s one of the easiest and most privacy-conscious ways to create a virtual link back to your home, especially if you’re only routing a handful of devices and want a setup that just works without a subscription.

5. Recommended VPN-Capable Routers (Sorted by Price)

If you’re considering setting up a home-to-travel VPN tunnel or just want a router that supports flexible, secure VPN options (including Tailscale), here’s a list of the most recommended VPN-capable routers — sorted from cheapest to most powerful. Each device supports site-to-site VPN and can serve as part of a full UK-to-abroad routing solution.

Whether you’re after a travel-friendly unit or a UK-based VPN exit node, pairing two of these routers — or combining one with a home PC running Tailscale — can give you full control over how your traffic is routed and how your location appears online.

Let me know if you’d like help picking a combo that fits your setup best.

6. Bonus: SIM Router Option for Complete Travel Independence

For remote workers who want to stay completely independent of hotel, café, or public WiFi networks, a SIM-based router is an excellent alternative. These devices allow you to insert a local or roaming 4G/5G SIM card, giving you your own private internet connection wherever mobile coverage is available.

Instead of relying on shared or potentially insecure WiFi, a 5G SIM router gives you full control over your connectivity — ideal for staying productive and secure on the move.

Two approaches:

• Dedicated 5G SIM Router – A standalone router with a built-in SIM slot (e.g., ZTE, Huawei, TP-Link models)

• Travel Router + USB 5G Modem – Devices like the GL.iNet AXT1800 or Flint 2 can connect to a 5G USB modem, turning them into mobile routers with VPN support.

If you’re planning extended travel or need reliable signal in rural or remote areas, pairing a VPN router with mobile data ensures you’re always connected — securely.

➡ Read more: Best 5G SIM Routers of 2023–2024 – Get It Right First Time

7. Final Thoughts

If your remote work setup involves just a single company laptop with its own secure VPN client (like GlobalProtect), then chances are you’re already covered — your location is virtually hidden, and no additional VPN router is necessary.

However, if you’re seeking complete peace of mind, want all traffic to appear as coming from your home broadband IP, or need multiple devices to share that same secure connection, then router-to-router VPN tunnelling is the most robust solution. It ensures every packet of traffic exits through your actual home in the UK — even before the company VPN kicks in.

For those wanting a cost-effective and flexible option, Tailscale with a UK exit node is a brilliant middle-ground. It’s free, easy to configure, and works across laptops, mobile devices, and travel routers — with no monthly VPN provider fees or complex setup.

Choose based on how many devices you need to protect, how much control you want, and how comfortable you are with setting up your own exit infrastructure.

🛒 Shopping List: Featured Products & Setup Gear

VPN-Capable Routers:

• GL.iNet Brume 2 (GL-MT2500) – Amazon

• GL.iNet Beryl AX (GL-MT3000) – Amazon

• GL.iNet Slate AX (GL-AXT1800) – Amazon

• GL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) – Amazon

• ASUS RT-AX58U – Amazon

• ASUS RT-AX86U – Amazon

UniFi Routers:

• UniFi Dream Router (UDR) – Buy Direct

• UniFi Dream Machine Pro (UDM Pro) – Buy Direct

Firewalla Devices:

• Firewalla Blue Plus – Amazon

• Firewalla Purple – Amazon

• Firewalla Gold – Amazon

SIM Routers & Travel Add-Ons:

• ZTE 5G Router (unlocked) – Amazon

• Huawei B535 / B818 4G/5G Router – Amazon

• USB 5G Modem (for GL.iNet routers) – Amazon

Tailscale

• Tailscale Setup Guide (Free Personal Use)

• GL.iNet Routers Supporting Tailscale

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