ExpressVPN Review: Real-World Testing in China with the holiday.com eSIM

As luck would have it, not long after agreeing to review ExpressVPN, I found myself booked on a trip to Shanghai. That gave me the perfect opportunity to test one of the biggest claims any VPN provider can make: staying connected from behind China’s Great Firewall. This review isn’t just about ExpressVPN itself. I’ll also be looking at the ExpressVPN eSIM service, provided through holiday.com, and how the two work together while travelling.

Before we get started, a couple of disclosures.

I’m no stranger to ExpressVPN, having used it before this review. I also run my own private Tailscale network, so I already have a good understanding of VPN technology. I’ll inevitably touch on some technical topics throughout this review, but I’ll keep things as practical and easy to follow as possible.

What Is a VPN and Why Use One?

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. In simple terms, it’s a secure way of changing how your device connects to the internet.

For businesses, VPNs have been around for decades. They’re commonly used to securely connect employees to corporate networks, verifying their identity before granting access to company systems and data.

Today, however, VPNs have become mainstream consumer tools.

Many people use a VPN to improve privacy, secure their connection on public Wi-Fi, or make it appear as though they’re browsing from another country.

Others use one to access sporting events that aren’t available in Australia, reach streaming libraries from overseas, or simply maintain access to services while travelling.

Whatever the reason, VPNs have become one of the most useful tools you can have when crossing international borders.

 

Why I Chose ExpressVPN for Travel in China

Internet access in China is significantly more restricted than what most Australians are used to.

Before leaving Australia, I spent considerable time configuring and testing everything I would need to stay connected. My goal was simple: keep Digital Reviews Network running as close to business as usual as possible while travelling.

Without a working VPN, that simply wasn’t going to happen.

One lesson I’d stress to anyone travelling to China is this: get everything working before you board the plane. That includes your VPN subscription, device configuration and any travel eSIMs you plan to use.

Once you land in China, downloading apps, activating services or troubleshooting connectivity can become considerably more difficult – or, in some cases, impossible.

For both my Windows laptop and Android phone, the installation process was straightforward. I’ve also used ExpressVPN on Linux without any issues, so getting everything configured before departure wasn’t difficult.

You can start using ExpressVPN at any time. If you’re travelling overseas, as I was, there’s nothing stopping you from using it in Australia first to become familiar with the software before you leave.

Once installed, connecting is as simple as clicking the large power button.

By default, ExpressVPN connects you to the server that offers the lowest latency from your current location. That’s great if your priority is performance, but not so useful if you’re trying to access content that’s only available in another country.

For example, if you’re in Australia and want to access a streaming service that’s only available in another region, you’ll need to manually choose a server in that country.

You can browse servers from either the Recommended list or All Locations, with ExpressVPN displaying the estimated latency to each server to help you choose.

There’s also a built-in speed test that benchmarks available VPN servers. If you’re planning on gaming, this feature is particularly useful, as lower latency generally delivers a better experience. For everyday browsing, maps and email, it’s less critical, but nobody wants to feel like they’ve gone back to dial-up internet speeds.

One thing to keep in mind is that some websites and online services treat VPN traffic differently. While many people use VPNs to bypass geographic restrictions, some services — particularly banks and other security-conscious organisations — may flag or block logins if they detect you’re connecting from an unexpected country.

During my own testing before leaving Australia, I also found that some ExpressVPN exit nodes couldn’t access the Digital Reviews Network servers, so it’s worth checking any critical services you rely on before you travel.

One feature I’d strongly recommend enabling is the Network Lock (Internet Kill Switch). If your VPN connection unexpectedly drops, this feature prevents your device from sending traffic over your normal internet connection, helping to avoid accidental IP or DNS leaks. You can configure it to remain active all the time or only while the VPN is connected.

Another feature I found particularly useful is Split Tunnelling. Because I run my own private network using Tailscale, routing everything through the VPN would prevent access to my home infrastructure.

ExpressVPN allows selected applications or network destinations to bypass the VPN entirely while everything else continues through the encrypted tunnel. For anyone running home labs, NAS devices or private VPNs, this flexibility is invaluable.

If you need to configure advanced settings like Split Tunnelling, my advice is simple: do it well before you travel and test everything thoroughly. Once you’ve landed in a foreign country, especially somewhere with internet restrictions like China, it’s far too late to discover something doesn’t work the way you expected.

holiday.com eSIM Review: Staying Connected in China

As part of the ExpressVPN Express Pro plan, I was eligible for a holiday.com eSIM covering up to five days. That dovetailed neatly with my four-day visit to China.

One thing to note is that, despite the service being included through ExpressVPN, you still need to create a separate holiday.com account to manage the eSIM. Aside from that, the process was fairly painless.

The first step is to select your destination, followed by the duration of your plan.

Bundles are available in 3, 5, 7, 10, 15 and 30-day durations, with varying data allowances. For China, prices start at around US$3.50 and go up to approximately US$26.00.

However, not every destination offers an unlimited data bundle, and China is one of them.

This created an issue with the voucher included in the Express Pro plan. The voucher was designed for a five-day unlimited eSIM, but because holiday.com does not offer an unlimited China plan, the code could not be redeemed as supplied.

After I contacted ExpressVPN, some backend adjustments were made so the voucher could instead be used for a five-day, 3GB China eSIM.

For full transparency, it was not a seamless redemption process, but support was able to resolve it and get the eSIM activated before I travelled.

As with the VPN itself, you should install and configure the eSIM before leaving your home country. Make sure your phone supports eSIMs, install the profile while you still have reliable internet access, and then enable the eSIM and mobile data roaming once you arrive.

I did not encounter any connectivity issues during the trip. Because the eSIM was purchased and provisioned outside mainland China, my mobile data traffic bypassed the Great Firewall without requiring any additional configuration.

Even so, I kept the ExpressVPN client enabled so I could maintain access to Google services and my usual online workflow. Interestingly, the app initially routed me through the United Arab Emirates automatically, although I could manually switch to servers in Japan, Germany or Australia without any problems.

 

ExpressVPN in China Review: Real-World Travel Experience

Four days isn’t a long-term test, but it was enough to answer the question I set out to ask: could I stay connected while travelling and continue running Digital Reviews Network from behind the Great Firewall?

The answer is yes, easily and with minimal issues.

Things that I did learn about ExpressVPN and holiday.com eSIM.

The holiday.com eSIM roamed onto China Unicom’s LTE network rather than 5G. Over the four days on the ground, I never found this to be a limitation.

China Unicom is one of the big three telcos and I got reliable LTE connectivity not only in Shanghai, Suzhou and Nanxun, but also in transit between those cities. I will caveat this last line by saying I was not constantly on my phone whilst in transit, either engaged in conversation or having a catnap.

Because the eSIM’s data was routed outside mainland China, I was able to access Google services, Gmail, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Facebook, Reddit and other services normally blocked by the Great Firewall. Yes I kept my Reddit streak alive.

I still ran ExpressVPN for the additional privacy and the ability to choose my apparent location, but the eSIM itself proved to be an excellent foundation for staying connected.

Over the four days, I used 1.67GB of mobile data. Bearing in mind that I avoided most social media and had my phone on battery saver mode most of the time.

Several members of the travelling media group also noticed their phone batteries draining faster than usual. While we couldn’t conclusively identify the cause, our best theory was that running dual SIMs together with constant international roaming placed additional demand on our devices.

A gotcha that I did pick up on, is that whilst WeChat pay is super easy and convenient when the merchant scans your QR code, the reverse is not the same.

One interesting issue cropped up while paying with WeChat Pay. Normally, merchants simply scan your payment QR code and everything works. However, at one store I was asked to scan the merchant’s QR code instead. Despite several attempts, the payment wouldn’t complete.

As soon as I disconnected ExpressVPN, the transaction went through immediately. It’s a good reminder that banking and payment services don’t always appreciate VPNs, particularly when your traffic appears to originate in another country.

The eSIM took care of my needs when I was on the road. ExpressVPN took care of my needs when I was on hotel Wi-Fi and working.

More importantly, I never found myself unable to work because of internet restrictions. Between the holiday.com eSIM and ExpressVPN, I maintained access to the services I rely on every day, allowing me to keep Digital Reviews Network running while travelling through China.

I even published the D-Link BE7200 announcement while travelling by bus between Suzhou and Nanxun. If I can update DRN from the back of a coach in rural China, that’s probably the best endorsement I can give this combination.

ExpressVPN Performance During Travel

I deliberately avoided obsessing over benchmark numbers during the trip. In practice, ExpressVPN was responsive enough that I never noticed it getting in the way of my work. Uploading articles, remote administration, chats, email, web browsing and cloud services all performed reliably. While there was naturally more latency than working from Australia, the connection remained entirely usable.

What Could Be Improved?

I mentioned these throughout the review already.

I ran into an issue redeeming the voucher. I freely admit I used a cheat code here: instead of going through normal customer support, I asked my ExpressVPN PR contact if they could investigate. They arranged for the backend team to modify the voucher so it could be redeemed for the China 5-day, 3GB plan.

Some core DRN services were inaccessible from certain VPN exit nodes.

WeChat Pay issues when I need to initiate the payment, vis-a-vis the merchant initiating. I didn’t have issues using Wise and transferring money though.

It was a LTE service rather than 5G.

Lastly is not something that doesn’t work, but a feature request. I had a little notepad to say which exit nodes works with the services I need. I would love to be able to add a memo to favourited exit nodes so everything is kept together.

More Than a VPN: Extra Features Included with Express Pro

ExpressVPN is not just a simple VPN service, although you can certainly use it as such on a Basic plan.

The Express Pro tier that I am using, offers:

• ExpressVPN with 14 simultaneous connections.
• Dedicated IP
• ExpressKeys
• ExpressMailGuard (full capabilities)
• Identity Defender (U.S. customers only, full capabilities).
• Advanced protection against ads, trackers, and malicious sites, and a parental control feature to block adult sites.
• ExpressAI
• eSIM for up to 5 days from holiday.com

Touching briefly on these features.

Ad blocking is always handy. You could use public and private DNS servers, but if it’s there in your subscription, use it. You want to stop this kind of traffic well before it comes near your devices.

ExpressKeys is a password manager. If you are still relying on a Post-It Note, or an Excel spreadsheet, then you really need to look into a password manager. Personally I have everything invested in a type of BitWarden instance.

ExpressMailGuard is ExpressVPN’s email aliasing and inbox protection service. Think of it as being to your email address what a VPN is to your IP address: instead of giving websites your real email address, you give them an alias that forwards messages to your actual inbox.

This is a particularly useful feature to obfuscate your real email address. As I just discovered a few days ago, Linkt (formerly known as Transurban) sold my email address to the Labor Party here in Victoria. Thanks for nothing.

But if I had used ExpressMailGuard, any email sent to that alias would have been forwarded to my real inbox. And I could easily dodge this bullet by simply disabling or deleting that alias without affecting my primary email address.

ExpressAI is ExpressVPN’s privacy-focused AI assistant. Unlike most mainstream AI services, ExpressAI is designed so that prompts and uploaded files are processed inside confidential computing enclaves and aren’t used for AI model training. It supports multiple AI models, file uploads and live web search.

While my focus for this review was testing the VPN and travel eSIM in China, ExpressAI is a worthwhile inclusion for anyone who regularly uses AI tools but is concerned about the privacy of sensitive documents or conversations. It is potentially simpler alternative to running your own local LLM.

Incidentally, I had no issues accessing ChatGPT on the trip.

ExpressVPN Review Verdict

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, agreeing to review ExpressVPN just happened to coincide with a trip to China. That fortunate timing gave me a far more demanding test than simply using it from my home office.

I didn’t review ExpressVPN from the comfort of my home office – I reviewed it while depending on it every day in one of the world’s most heavily restricted internet environments.

It was mission critical for me and I was not disappointed by the results.

Everything worked as well as could be expected, and none of the issues were particularly surprising to me. But hopefully my experience documented here will give another traveller a heads up.

ExpressVPN subscriptions cost varies depending on the plan and duration. For just a single month, it is USD$14.99 for a basic plan. This drops to USD$2.99 a month if you run with a two year subscription.

If you’re simply looking to encrypt your home internet connection, the Basic plan will probably be enough. However, frequent travellers, remote workers and anyone who values the additional privacy features – including the bundled travel eSIM, password manager, email aliasing and ExpressAI – will get considerably more value from Express Pro.

The plan I was provided for this review is the 12 months Express Pro, which is worth USD$8.99 a month.

ExpressVPN has, as of May 2026, achieved 27 Independent Security Audit.

DRN would like to thank ExpressVPN for providing the service and support for this review.

 

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