Starlink satellite internet is a game changer for RV owners, the van life crowd, digital nomads, and others. With virtually global coverage, it’s now possible to access high speed, low latency internet from anywhere. It’s no surprise that the demand and interest of Starlink has skyrocketed among all types of travelers looking to stay connected.
For those of you looking to travel with Starlink, I created this guide to explain how. There are multiple ways to buy Starlink, and it can get confusing. I will detail the two Starlink service plans that allow for portable Starlink operation, and recommend which one you should pick.
Can I Travel With Starlink?
Yes, you can travel with your Starlink kit if you purchase Starlink RV, or purchase the Portability add-on with the Residential plan. Starlink RV is the dedicated travel plan. You can pick between a Standard hardware kit, or the in-motion enabled Flat High Performance version if you need a connection while driving. People with existing Residential service can also take their dish on-the-go by enabling Portability. Portability offers the same travel capabilities of RV, but for existing Residential plans, so you don’t have to buy another dish just to travel with.
Method 1: Starlink RV
Starlink RV is the dedicated travel product from Starlink. With RV, you don’t have a permanent service address like with the Residential service. RV is designed for travelers who mainly use Starlink in different locations. If you are a full-time RV’er, van lifer, overlander, etc., Starlink RV is the best choice.
Starlink RV costs $135/month, with a $599 equipment fee. Speeds range from 5-50 mbps.
The hardware in the RV kit is identical to the Residential version. The difference is how the account and billing is structured. With Starlink RV, you can pause service when you don’t need it. There is no waitlist or limited availability. RV customers are also expected to experience slower speeds in highly congested areas. Their bandwidth is deprioritized on the Starlink network, which prioritizes Residential customers.
For more detail on the RV service, check out our full Starlink RV article.
Method 2: Residential With Portability Enabled
Starlink RV is great as a dedicated unit for traveling. But what if you have a need for home internet and you want to travel with it? That’s where the Portability feature comes in. With normal Residential, you can only use the dish at the designated service address on your account. If you attempt to use it outside of the service address, it will give you an error and won’t connect to satellites.
Portability is an add-on feature for the Starlink Residential plan that allows you to use your dish outside of the service address. It costs an extra $25/month, and can be turned on/off in monthly increments. To use Portability, you will purchase Starlink Residential (which costs $110/month + $599 for equipment) and then enable Portability from your account dashboard. That means the overall cost for RV and Portability is the same. The big difference: you cannot pause Residential service like you can with RV.
Portability is great for travelers who primarily need home internet service, but have the occasional need to travel with it. It’s not as flexible as RV because service cannot be paused, but it enables existing Residential customers to travel without having to buy a separate RV dish.
For more detail, check out our article on Starlink Portability.
Which Method Is Best?
Get Starlink RV if:
- you primarily need recreational/portable/travel internet service
- you can’t wait on the Residential waitlist
- you want the ability to pause monthly service payments
- you don’t mind performance inconsistency
Get Starlink Residential w/Portability if:
- you primarily need home internet service
- you only occasionally need to travel with Starlink
- you want the highest level of performance at home
- you will use Starlink year-round (either at home or traveling)
How To Check For Starlink Coverage
How do you know where Starlink can be used? Thankfully, Starlink provides an up-to-date map that shows where Starlink has coverage. In the screenshot above, you can see that virtually the entire US is covered. The difference in the shades of blue shows what areas are low capacity vs high capacity. RV or Portability users traveling in low capacity areas will experience slower speeds. Areas not covered are dark gray in color.
Starlink Travel Restrictions
If you are traveling with Starlink, there are some restrictions that you should know about. For a full understanding of the restrictions, make sure to check out the Terms of Service on the Starlink website, but here are the important bits for travelers:
Starlink RV: RV service can only be used within the same continent as the shipping address on the Starlink account. So if you order Starlink RV and have it shipped to the US, you could use it in all of North America, but not in Europe.
Portability: Portability, like RV, can only be used within the same continent as the registered service address on the Starlink account. But unlike RV, if you use Portability at one location for more than 2 billing cycles, the service address on your account may be automatically updated.
Hi Noah,
Thank you for all your great posts.
We are on the list for a Starlink residential system here in Panama.
The one problem we have is in Bocas Del Toro, there is no postal service (I do not have an address for my home, only coordinates on Google).
We only get things sent to us through a mail-forwarding service out of Miami.
On my address, I can’t update my delivery address because my service request is registered in Panama but my mailing address is in Miami.
Literally, all of the islands here have this issue, it’s not singular. How will we be able to get the Starlink if we can only send it to an address in the service area?
Additionally, I’m curious if I register it to our US address and add the “portability” option, if that would work or if that would be a good workaround?
Any thoughts?
If there is availability at your US address, I think buying it there, and then changing your service address to Panama would be a good workaround. You should be able to update the service address yourself on the website dashboard, but reach out to support if you have any troubles. Once you have the hardware in the US you could ship it via your preferred method, or even pack it in your checked baggage. Just be sure to turn it on and allow it to “activate” at the US address before you attempt to use it in Panama.
Ok, one last thought – the RV option – are there limits to how long you can use the RV in one location? I know several people here who are using that and the service is great but I thought I read that you can only use it for up to 6 months in one location.
It’s only an issue if you wander outside of your shipping address country.
Thank you for this article, it was very helpful. I see that there is no easy way to contact Starlink customer service, maybe you can help answer this question. I am currently in Baja, Mexico and I want to order the hardware and start service. I would use a Mexican address to receive it but I am Canadian. We live full-time in our van so while my legal address is in Canada, I do not live at that address. It seems that Starlink would work when we are back in Canada even though the address would be in Mexico? When we are back in Canada does the billing change to Canadian rates or remain at the Mexican rates? If we wanted to travel to Europe with it is there a way to change the address to an European one to have use there? Or are they requiring a second purchase of hardware for use in Europe?
RV can be used within the same continent, so you should be able to buy in Mexico and then use it in Canada, assuming you can have it shipped to an address in Mexico. If you stay in Canada for more than two billing cycles, Starlink may require you to update your shipping address to Canada, at which point I believe the billing would change over as well.
For traveling to Europe, I believe you would need to send a request to Starlink to transfer the dish. Technically, you can’t use the dish outside of the continent that you shipped it to, so it wouldn’t work in Europe without Starlink changing it on their end. I haven’t heard if this is a simple matter of requesting it, or if they make you buy a new dish.