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Is it possible for an end user to set a "custom route" for packets outbound to the "internet".

Let me put this in perspective using a server and a game.

  • 'isp x` is in charge of 99% of all data/telephone infrastructure in the country
  • 'isp y' is just a isp.
  • 'isp z' is just a isp.

With my ISP (isp x), my ping to this (current isp x, previous isp y):

No VPN

  • "server" = 220ms
  • "game" = 265ms

VPN

  • "server" = 220ms
  • "game" = 235ms

and from memory: isp y : game = 189-195ms

Meanwhile a colleague of mine, does the same test on his ISP (isp z):

No VPN

  • "server" = 185ms
  • "game" = 195ms

VPN

  • "server" = 185ms
  • "game" = 215ms

I know my ping time is dependent on routing and exchange configurations and many other factors.

Is there any way one could change the path the packet takes to reach its destination fast?

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  • No, not really. The spec solution is to use IP SourceRoute, but most routers filter out traffic with sourceroute set, and it will break in response to changes upstream that you cannot be made aware of in advance. The whole point of packet-switching is that neither end point need know anything about the network between them and allow the operators of the interstitial networks to operate them as their need demands, including dynamic packet-by-packet optimizations.
    – Frank Thomas
    Feb 2, 2016 at 13:18

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It's not possible to choose your own path.

As @FrankThomas mentioned, there exists an IP "Source Route" option (also known as RH0 in IPv6), but during the short time it was supported, the security risks outweighed the benefits so much that practically all systems have removed support for it.

Besides, even if you could specify a custom path, there's no guarantee that it would remain valid for long. Peerings between ISPs get established and shut down every now and then; sometimes routes get reshuffled due to maintenance or attacks. I've seen the same destination take four different paths during a single day.

It's possible that there isn't a good direct path between two ISPs – maybe all the short paths go through private networks which simply happen to be multi-homed, but that doesn't automatically mean they would (or could) carry massive amounts of third parties' traffic. (Your VPN provider is one such network – most likely it obtains Internet connection from two ISPs, but has no agreement to provide connection to them.)

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