Traveling with your drone is more complicated than traveling with a camera or a phone. Before relaxing and pursuing your drone-related activities, consider some key concerns and considerations. To help you prepare, we will cover most of the important ones in our must-know drone travel tips.
Always know the local drone laws.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of knowing local drone laws. You can get into serious trouble if you don’t conduct thorough research. Instead of trying to learn how to shoot better travel videos with a drone, spend some time on this. Be warned that knowing the fundamental drone laws for a state or country is not enough. You must also be aware of the rules and regulations for any national park, city, or landmark you visit. For example, drone use is entirely banned in the Grand Canyon, which is valuable information to consider before traveling with your drone.
Be particularly cautious when it comes to drone laws regarding the use of drones in urban areas.
What happens if you break the rules?
You might be thinking, ‘Who cares?’ I will send my drone up quickly to get one excellent shot, and that’s it. I won’t get caught! This is not an intelligent thing to do. The most lenient of consequences you could face for doing so is fine. And before you go thinking you would be okay with ‘paying’ for a photo or video, know that such fines are excessive. In the U.S., the cost can range from $5,000 to upwards of $5,000. Even in countries abroad, you can still expect to pay at least $3,000 in local currency. And remember, this is the least severe consequence you could face. Your drone could be confiscated. You could be deported from whatever country you are visiting. It is even possible for the whole thing to end up in your permanent police record.
Know if you should take your drone with you at all.
One of the most critical drone travel tips is to triple-check if you risk taking your drone through a particular country’s customs. There are currently fifteen countries that ban drones from passing through customs: Algeria, Barbados, Brunei, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Morocco, Nicaragua, Senegal, Syria, and Uzbekistan. If you attempt to travel here with a drone, be aware that it will be confiscated. This makes organizing electronic devices when moving to these places and preparing everything properly tricky if you are fond of your drone. At least as a one-time visitor, you will only be parted from your drone while on vacation there.
Keep in mind the weather you will be experiencing.
Always research the weather you will be traveling to. Any experienced drone user will know that weather conditions significantly impact both the use of their drone and its subsequent maintenance. You do not want to have to rely on your knowledge of what to do when you crash your drone because the country you visited experienced heavy rainfall, and you still insisted on flying according to your original plans. If you are traveling somewhere solely to obtain drone photos or footage for any reason, then weather research should be at the top of your to-do list anyway. This also means you should bring any maintenance and storage equipment required to handle the weather conditions.
Take your drone with you as a carry-on.
If you are wondering, you will be relieved to know that you can take a drone onto a plane if you remove the batteries beforehand. Additionally, if you plan to travel by plane, one of the most useful of our drone travel tips is to take it with you as a carry-on. Plane luggage compartments are not very gentle with whatever ends up in them. This means that your drone will face a very bumpy ride. And that’s not something you want to be done to a delicate piece of equipment! It is much better to have your drone by your side and ensure that nothing untoward happens to it.
Bringing drone accessories onto a plane is typically not an issue.
Bring extra batteries
It is, of course, smart to bring extra batteries when traveling, regardless of the type of battery-powered device you are using. The same naturally applies to drones, but a few questions come up. Can I take drone batteries onto a plane? If so, how many can I bring? The answer to the former question is yes if the battery’s watt-hours are under 160. The latter question has a slightly more complex answer. If your batteries are between 100 and 160 watt-hours, you can bring along two, but you will need to obtain permission from the airline to do so. On the other hand, if your batteries are under 100 watt-hours, you can bring as many as you want in your carry-on bag.
Use a proper bag or case.
Our final drone travel tip is always to use a proper drone bag or case—preferably the original one that came with your drone or one purchased directly from the manufacturer. This is the best way to keep your drone safe and secure. Otherwise, you risk making your effort to learn about your drone and how to use it pointless if you accidentally break it in transit.
A drone bag is the best possible protection for your device!
Final comment
We hope our must-know drone travel tips will help make your travel plans come together much quicker. Remember that, even if you ignore all our other advice, you should always research the laws regarding drone use in the place, state, or country you visit! Fly Safe.
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