diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index 4137d754bf..d2b5558b39 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -3,7 +3,9 @@ dist: trusty
 
 # we don't need sudo, so can run in a container, which makes startup much
 # quicker.
-sudo: false
+#
+# unfortunately we do require sudo as per https://github.com/travis-ci/travis-ci/issues/8836
+sudo: required
 
 language: node_js
 node_js: