Mexico?

[#ByDesignDJ]

Has anyone ever traveled into Mexico with their Mavic? Wondering if it will be ok through customs and useable near Cancun.

 

[Top Hat]

Bring a lot of Pesos just in case.

 

[MavicPilot]

I brought my P3A to Cancun last year and I had no issues, but YMMV. One thing, tried several flights over water and the quad kept coming down for restricted airspace (military?). This did not happen in the hotel district, but it did everywhere else.

Also, all of the excursions we went on they saw the quad box and said not allowed.

 

[KyyoS24]

There isnt any legal problem taking them. however, with how corrupt it can be there, Id also recommend carrying extra money in case you get someone shady and need to pay a "fee". a few 20s should be sufficent

 

[Peel]

Has anyone ever traveled into Mexico with their Mavic? Wondering if it will be ok through customs and useable near Cancun.

I'm hoping to take mine to Puerto Vallerta with me over Memorial Day Weekend. Haven't found much info online about official policy.

 

[warden082]

Took mine to Mexico back in Feb/March. No flying around national heritage sites (ie. Myan ruins), no flying at night, no flying over government/military institutions. You may need permission from your resort. I had to fill out a form to fly my Mavic at my resort. Locals don't get to see these things very often, so expect a lot of interest!

 

[DSGDSG]

Flew when I was in Mexico last a couple years ago. I made contact with my resort ahead of time (about an hour south of Cancun) and they encouraged me to fly. Had more problems with the airline in the US than I did with anyone in Mexico customs. I flew whenever weather allowed and I offered the resort pics of their facility to use as they wished and made the same offer to the dive company I used and filmed their boat on the way to the dive site. People couldn't have been nicer to me or about it.

 

[Roofrat72]

Heading to the Riviera Maya in August and planning on taking the Mavic. Thanks for the info on this thread!!

 

[RobP62]

Heading down to the Hard Rock Riviera Maya in November. Huge group of us for a wedding.

I plan on calling the US Consulate, TSA and Southwest Air at BWI and at Cancun. And the airport customs there, and finally the resort (since one side is adults only and the other side is families). I want to be 100% I'm not going to have any problems or waste my time.

Is all that overkill? Probably. But here's why.......

I have a Nanuk 935 and plan on taking the Mav with at least 2 batts, Canon T2i with at least 2 batts for that, and an Olympus TG3 with at least 2 batts for that. My wife is going so I can split it all up between us.

I also have a Hobby Tiger Lipo bag that is a folding brief case style design and it holds 6 Mav batts securley. I should easily be able to fit the other camera batts in the two empty slots. All the Mav batts will be discharged (need to learn how), also be in plastic zip lock baggies (for extra protection from moisture while at the beach) and I plan on either buying batt terminal covers for the Mav Batts or using red gaffes tape to cover them. I'll also have a Galaxy Tab 12.2 Pro and/or maybe by then an iPad mini or whatever I ultimately buy to replace my S7E if it becomes unstable for use with the Mav (fingers crossed on that one but according to this site I'm on borrowed time). And we are both taking our phones (S7E).

If anyone thinks I'm crazy thinking this is possible please let me know. With the group going there are enough of us I could give everyone one batt to carry LOL. At the same time, I can find accounts of batts randomingly being confiscated leaving Mexico. I would like to think with all the precautions I'm taking I won't have any issues. I'm not opposed to a small bribe either if they are bending the rules a little just for no hassle.

We just squeaked out of the Dominican Republic last year with our vape kit but it is intense. Likely because we forgot to disassemble the actual devices. I think too unfamiliarity threw up a red flag. Funny part was it was my wife's unit with a single batt. Meanwhile I had one too and all the spares and no issues. Strange.

Again, too cautious or just plain crazy thinking I can pull this off?
Thanks,
Rob

 

[DSGDSG]

I had three yuneec typhoon batteries each in a lipo bag and the battery for the receiver as well in its own. Going through the airport on the way back to the US, my carry on piqued a lot of interest in Cancun airport when being scanned. On the screen they looked like blocks of C4 with wires and all. I watched as they kept reversing the belt and called more and more people over. Finally I just said, those are drone batteries. They collectively said "ahhhh" while nodding and off we went. That was the extent of my troubles outside of the country. Like I said, when leaving I had to explain the rules JetBlue had regarding drones to the ticketing agents. No one cared about my batteries, but for whatever reason that there was a drone in my checked baggage got them all a flutter. This was two years ago. I'd imagine by now it's old hat for the airlines and the tsa.

Drain the batteries, make sure you the individual isn't above the watt hours allowed and use lipo bags and I'm confident that you'll be fine going to Mexico.

Have you been before? I had issues with humidity only when visiting in the summer when I would leave my camera gear inside the AC all night long then go outside in the morning. I ended up leaving my cameras and stuff outside on my covered balcony in their bag with it unzippered overnight and didn't have any issues with condensation anymore.

 

[RobP62]

DSGDSG,
Well, I hope I'm as lucky because the potential for great results are unlimited down there.

Thank you for the great instructions and information.

Yea, we've been twice but it was over 15 years ago. We were in Punta Cana last year though. Before the Mav was so popular. When I saw the promos for it I knew it would be the ultimate vaca camera so fast forward to today. We do vacation a lot at our own local seashore though and have never just left my camera equipment outside but in doing so, I'm sure I'd be better off. I always worry about interior condensation build up. We keep our room(s) no matter where we are very cold. Just like at home. At home I'll use the garage as an intermediate temp change location, especially in the winter. I'm also going to load my hard case up with those moisture prevention packs. Although now that I'm saying it, I wonder if plain old white rice in a perforated zip lock would be a more effective method? What do you think?

Thanks again. I like to hear positive stories!
Rob

 

[ColoMavic2017]

Has anyone ever traveled into Mexico with their Mavic? Wondering if it will be ok through customs and useable near Cancun.

I took my P4 to Cancun last year and had no problem in customs coming or going. The locals had a blast watching it.

Here was my first attempt at editing.

 

[RobP62]

Very Nice! Thanks for posting it up and the encouragement! I really like the higher altitude coastline footage.
With the Mavic now getting Fixed Wing Mode some of that will be really fun.

What type of case and all the particulars did you use to get it there and what all did you take with you. The P4 is not so small.

Also, LOL, sorry, but did you use any filters on the P4 or anything during post production.

I guess the key down there is to remember how separate the party time from the flying time for sure!
Thanks again,
Rob

 

[ColoMavic2017]

Very Nice! Thanks for posting it up and the encouragement! I really like the higher altitude coastline footage.
With the Mavic now getting Fixed Wing Mode some of that will be really fun.

What type of case and all the particulars did you use to get it there and what all did you take with you. The P4 is not so small.

Also, LOL, sorry, but did you use any filters on the P4 or anything during post production.

I guess the key down there is to remember how separate the party time from the flying time for sure!
Thanks again,
Rob

I used the PolarPro Drone Trekker. Loved this bag. I was able to carry my P4 and my DSLR with one lens and a tripod. Great bag and recommend it for sure. Yes I used Polar Pro ND filter for those shots. I don't remember exactly but I believe it was a 4 stop. I filmed this at about 0800 hrs, I think still feeling the effects of the night before ya know. Interestingly enough the resorts wi-fi allowed my tablet to get a general location telling me I was in a class E airspace for what it was worth.

 

[RobP62]

I used the PolarPro Drone Trekker. Loved this bag. I was able to carry my P4 and my DSLR with one lens and a tripod. Great bag and recommend it for sure. Yes I used Polar Pro ND filter for those shots. I don't remember exactly but I believe it was a 4 stop. I filmed this at about 0800 hrs, I think still feeling the effects of the night before ya know. Interestingly enough the resorts wi-fi allowed my tablet to get a general location telling me I was in a class E airspace for what it was worth.

Thanks for the info! I almost went with that Trekker. It was my choice until I found the Nanuk 935 on Amazon for an incredible price.

Now I'm trying to decide on the filters. Freewell has a 3 piece set of multicoated nd/pl in 4, 8 & 16. The same thing by PolarPro are 20 bucks more. Trying to research which are better.

Thanks again and keep up the great work.
Rob

 

[omega_vfx]

RobP62, I would advise you to not attract attention to your batteries, even if you follow proper procedure. Just adhere to FAA regulations but don't talk about it unless asked. There are youtube videos of a guy who got grounded because he asked if he did everything to secure his LiPo batteries - which he did - but airport personnel have no clue about regulations and asking them can make things worse.

As for Mexico, as others have said - do not fly over Mayan ruins, I got snatched by the INAH , their institute for heritage sites, and they deleted all the videos where any ruin was visible. Everywhere else, nobody cared if I flew, people were always nice and interested.

 

[Craig540]

I went July 4th 2017 and had no problems coming or going back.

 

[Woolnut]

This may be a daft question but where did you put the Mavic and batteries? I think i will be going to Mexico (Riviera Maya) in June this year and i really want to take mine!

 

[MavicPilot]

This may be a daft question but where did you put the Mavic and batteries? I think i will be going to Mexico (Riviera Maya) in June this year and i really want to take mine!

I went to Cancun in 2016 and then Cozumel in 2017 and I had no problems either time.

During Cancun I had my P3A and the bird went in a hard box and was checked in. The batteries were taped over and carried on - I was likely over the limit with camera batteries, quad, portable usb power, etc. No issues. The P3A battery (only had one) was in a LiPO bag.

During Cozumel, I had my MP with 3 batteries. I put black tape over the batteries and distributed them among st three carry on bags, but they were in LiPO bags.. The MP was transported in a camera bag with the DSLR. No issues on incoming or outgoing and I had 2 GoPro's, a Yi, and two other cameras including extra batteries for all. All of those extra batteries were had the contacts taped.

Cozumel was a lot better for quad use then Cancun as there are less people around and less wind. But, that is likely partially luck. I had an extremely fun time videoing my family parasailing and other sea adventures.

 

[Woolnut]

I went to Cancun in 2016 and then Cozumel in 2017 and I had no problems either time.

During Cancun I had my P3A and the bird went in a hard box and was checked in. The batteries were taped over and carried on - I was likely over the limit with camera batteries, quad, portable usb power, etc. No issues. The P3A battery (only had one) was in a LiPO bag.

During Cozumel, I had my MP with 3 batteries. I put black tape over the batteries and distributed them among st three carry on bags, but they were in LiPO bags.. The MP was transported in a camera bag with the DSLR. No issues on incoming or outgoing and I had 2 GoPro's, a Yi, and two other cameras including extra batteries for all. All of those extra batteries were had the contacts taped.

Cozumel was a lot better for quad use then Cancun as there are less people around and less wind. But, that is likely partially luck. I had an extremely fun time videoing my family parasailing and other sea adventures.

Ah okay, thanks for sharing.

So if I get a couple of LiPO bags and use the Mavic bag I got with the Fly More Combo it sounds like I should be fine bringing it in on hand luggage...