You can, and that's a great way to try it out. Tails recommends against using it in a VM for serious purposes though, since at that point it's only as secure a

You can, and that's a great way to try it out. Tails recommends against using it in a VM for serious purposes though, since at that point it's only as secure as your host OS. If your host was comprised then Tails in a VM might not protect your communications.