Is a Komodo Liveaboard Trip Safe For Families and Kids?

A few years ago the answer to this question was simply no. Starlink has changed that, and Indonesian liveaboards now offer real connectivity in places with no mobile signal at all.

What we offer

Starlink Wi-Fi is available onboard at 10€ per day per person, with a data cap. It is not included in the package because satellite bandwidth at sea is genuinely expensive and metering it is the only way to keep it working for everyone.

Why there is a cap

One guest streaming video can consume what twelve guests need for messaging and email. The cap is not a margin exercise; it is what stops a shared connection collapsing. Expect messaging, email, web browsing and social posting to work well. Expect video streaming and large uploads not to.

Managing expectations

Coverage at sea is good but not flawless. Terrain, heavy weather and the boat’s position all affect it. If you have something genuinely time-critical, do not plan around satellite internet from a moving boat in a remote archipelago.

Mobile signal

Close to Labuan Bajo or Sorong you will have normal mobile coverage. Once inside Komodo National Park or out in the Dampier Strait, largely not. Southern Komodo and the Banda Sea have effectively none.

The case for staying offline

Worth saying: a significant number of guests buy the Wi-Fi on day one and stop using it by day three. Somewhere with no signal is increasingly rare, and a week of it is part of what people remember.

About the boat

The KLM Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. See our full FAQ for booking and onboard detail.

Salah Teman

Salah writes for Teman Liveaboard, the owner-operator of the KLM Teman. The Teman is a 36-metre Indonesian phinisi, handbuilt in Sulawesi and launched in 2017, carrying 12 guests in 5 ensuite cabins with a permanent crew of 10 and a Cruise Director. The team behind her has more than 20 years sailing the Indonesian archipelago. The boat works Komodo National Park from June to September out of Labuan Bajo, Raja Ampat from November to April out of Sorong, and runs Banda Sea and Ring of Fire crossings between the two seasons. The dive site guides on this blog are written from the operator's own logs and itineraries, with conditions, seasons and equipment guidance checked against the dive team who work these sites every week. Where a detail depends on the day — depth on a given tide, or where a current will take you — we say so rather than guess, because that is a briefing the Cruise Director gives on the boat, not something a web page can promise.

See Full Bio