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Costa Rica Rules and Regulations

Hello everyone! I have been researching this issue with regulations and restrictions regarding drone laws for months and I STILL have not been able to clear things up. I emailed 3 different DGAC officials with no reply; I have spoken to the FAA multiple times and they gave me no help. I am a high school senior and I will be traveling to Costa Rica in April with my high school on a tour. It's my dream to take footage with my drone.
Apparently, the restrictions that were put into place on August 13, 2017 fully go into effect 6 months later (February 13, 2018). I still do not know if the license/hours of training/high school diploma applies to tourists using their drone in Costa Rica.

Please keep me updated on your trip experiences and whether or not you encountered any trouble!
 
Hello everyone! I have been researching this issue with regulations and restrictions regarding drone laws for months and I STILL have not been able to clear things up. I emailed 3 different DGAC officials with no reply; I have spoken to the FAA multiple times and they gave me no help. I am a high school senior and I will be traveling to Costa Rica in April with my high school on a tour. It's my dream to take footage with my drone.
Apparently, the restrictions that were put into place on August 13, 2017 fully go into effect 6 months later (February 13, 2018). I still do not know if the license/hours of training/high school diploma applies to tourists using their drone in Costa Rica.

Please keep me updated on your trip experiences and whether or not you encountered any trouble!

I live here in Manuel Antonio, one of the busiest tourist areas in the country and have been flying every day for a month with zero problem
 
I live there. I manage the El Avión restaurant and live at the Hotel Costa Verde. Please look me up! The name is Ken
Hi Ken!

I'll be in Manuel Antonio from the afternoon/ evening of Jan 27 - Jan 29. Your restaurant is on my bucket list! I'll ask for you when I arrive. I'm bringing a Spark in lieu of my Mavic, easier to transport. I even got it registered in Costa Rica! Hope to meet you!

~Joe
 
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Hi Ken!

I'll be in Manuel Antonio from the afternoon/ evening of Jan 27 - Jan 29. Your restaurant is on my bucket list! I'll ask for you when I arrive. I'm bringing a Spark in lieu of my Mavic, easier to transport. I even got it registered in Costa Rica! Hope to meet you!

~Joe

Email me at [email protected]
 
I was there not too long ago. I cant imagine anyone enforcing anything in Costa Rica. Maybe stay away from wild life . Lots of good Volcanoes you can get pretty close to and plenty of jungle beaches. Rent a Jeep and go where you wish. Great place, but its more like going to California than another country. They did a random search on me at the airport. Made me almost empty my suitcase. They asked me " what was in the backpack". I told them a drone. They didn't even open it.

"I can't imagine anyone enforcing anything in Costa Rica..."
Made my day [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji23]
Pura Vida Mae!
 
Now that's one place I'd be very careful. Ask before flying for sure. I do know that flying in National Parks is not allowed, but you may be able to do it out of private property. There's also an airport nearby (La Fortuna) so DJI go itself may not let you take off.
Sure you can! There's a spot called "El Silencio" which is as close as it gets to a colossal volcano like Arenal!
If you carry gloves and a helmet you can keep going at your own risk.
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Hey there. I’m from Germany and I am traveling to Costa Rica in March. I guess, I am not able to fly my bird With this new regulations. But what about just bringing it in to the country? Will they bother me if I can’t show them that I’m a proofted Costa Rican drone pilot? What could be happen? Can they take my drone away for just bringing it into the country?
 
Hey there. I’m from Germany and I am traveling to Costa Rica in March. I guess, I am not able to fly my bird With this new regulations. But what about just bringing it in to the country? Will they bother me if I can’t show them that I’m a proofted Costa Rican drone pilot? What could be happen? Can they take my drone away for just bringing it into the country?



Hello. You won’t have any issues at all here in CR. There’s no law but a regulation. Just follow common rules and you’ll be fine. Just flew two weeks ago in Manuel Antonio National Park... no issues at all. You can bring your bird for sure.
 
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Hello. You won’t have any issues at all here in CR. There’s no law but a regulation. Just follow common rules and you’ll be fine. Just flew two weeks ago in Manuel Antonio National Park... no issues at all. You can bring your bird for sure.
Thx for your Reply. Still I’m confused. The email attachment I read on page number 3 on this threat is from 2015. Since there was an big change in August 2017 i understood, that even for personal use I will have to get all this bulls..t done. So you are saying, that there won’t any problem at the airport to bring my bird into cr? That would be just great.
 
What does the dji app says? No problem with non flying zones (except the regular zones like airport, city’s,zurqui ...)?
 

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