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Photo by Giovanni Lamonica, Aralsk, Kazakhstan.

I haven't been everywhere...
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Aralsk, Kazakhstan.



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  #1  
Old 12 May 2016
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DJI drone in Central America
Hi
I'm planning a trip from Panama up to Mexico.
I want to take a DJI drone with me.

Does anyone have an experience with drones in these countries?
Like problems at the border or with the police.


Thanks
Joe
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  #2  
Old 13 May 2016
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nicaragua will not allow them. if they find it you lose it. period no discussion. you will pay $3 per day for storage and maybe you get it back when you leave the country. this process works at the airport. at a land border? good luck, especially since you will most likely be leaving from a different border.
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  #3  
Old 15 May 2016
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Thank you!


I feared something like this.

So I've to think about it, to take the risk or not.

best regards
Joe
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  #4  
Old 16 May 2016
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In Mexico, don't even think about flying it near port, airport, or any state/federal installations. The military and the PFP/Fuerza Civil do not like them. Same goes for a street protest or highway protest closure. I've seen firsthand, flyers harrased by miltary.
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  #5  
Old 19 Jun 2016
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If your experience is like mine, then the chances of having your drone confiscated are very low. I rode every country in south of the US border (except Paraguay and Chile) and my luggage was only deeply inspected once. On several occasions I was asked to open the top of my luggage and a cursory look was taken, Inspections like this were at military check points.

Arriving in Cuba by boat everyone's luggage inspected closely and at least half of the contents carefully checked. The other time was in southeastern Venezuela when I had to remove the fabricated lid from the two spare tires I was carrying on the back seat and a few of the item stuffed in the tires pulled out. It seems there is a bit of smuggling in that part of Venezuela. Or they might have been looking for guns...who knows.

General advice:
  • Only take what you will really use and can afford to lose.
  • Back-up your pictures, clips, tracks daily.
  • Read the manual, practice and learn how to use your electronic gadgets before leaving home (cameras, helmet cam, GPS, etc.)
  • Pack lens cloth and fluid in your camera kit.
  • Buy an extra rechargeable battery for your camera, drone, helmet cam...
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Last edited by Peter Bodtke; 19 Jun 2016 at 14:07. Reason: typo
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  #6  
Old 13 Oct 2016
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Mavic
I was wondering the same as OP. Thanks for all the responses! I'm planning a trip across the US, down through Central America, and back. The new DJI Mavic drone seems like it was made with adventure motorcyclists in mind! I'm hoping to acquire one before my trip. :-)
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  #7  
Old 23 Feb 2019
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I will sell my drone in Costa Rica or Panama
Reviving this thread

I’m coming up from south america through central america.
As Nicaragua does not allow drones and i don’t want to risk it, I’m going to sell my DJI Mavic Pro in either Costa Rica or Panama!
Is one of you guys coming down this way and want to buy it? It’s great for filming the sailing over the Darien gap

I’m currently still in Colombia, it will take about a month or two until I will be short of Guatemala...
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  #8  
Old 24 Feb 2019
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there is an option for getting it through the border into nica: fold it and place the body and spare rotors in your pockets. they only search your luggage.



oh, and don't fly it in nica.
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  #9  
Old 26 Feb 2019
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I don’t think I‘ve got pockets for all the drone stuff
They will find my DJI bag, batteries, etc...
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  #10  
Old 27 Feb 2019
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Quote:
Originally Posted by doomi View Post
I don’t think I‘ve got pockets for all the drone stuff
They will find my DJI bag, batteries, etc...

the inspection is not that thorough. having DJI printed on a bag means nothing. spare batteries attract no attention. i fly in to managua at least 2x per month. they look for very specific stuff and when they see it, you get pulled aside for secondary inspection.


as long as they don't see the drone itself, the rest is meaningless, especially since there is no prohibition against importing drone batteries and bags.
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