Tips on travelling to Vietnam/Thailand with my Mavic

[Josh.bungs]

Hey everyone
Had my mavic for about a month now, bought it with the intention to bring it on an upcoming trip.

Now that I'm packing my bag I've started wondering, is there any special considerations to make when packing the mavic.
I'll be flying Vancouver > Beijing (layover) > Saigon.... > Thailand
I've bought some motor protector caps, and a guard for the control sticks. Will pack my props in a small case for safe keeping.

Any other things to plan for?

 

[Falkenfisch]

LiPo Bags for the batteries might be a good idea.

 

[dodgedis]

I'm thinking about bringing mine to Thailand too. I'm interested in hearing what people have to say.


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[BadBob]

I have a buddy that lives there. Vietnam is a very cheap and fun place to go. They are definitely on the good side with the US. Not so much with China right now and they are still socialist so be sure of the rules before you go.


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[neo_xiii]

i am planning to go to Thailand with my Mavic too, i've heard that bringing a Mavic there is not a problem regarding customs, as long as you put your batteries in your checked luggages. I will probably take the propellers off (not sure it's needed though) . Besides most national parks are said to be non-flyable there. A friend of mine was in Maya bay (Koh Phi Phi Leh) last month, and saw someone using his drone. As soon the guards saw it they came to this guy and spend 20 min checking the footage and deleting everything he has recorded at that place, not sure why, but I saw somewhere on the internet that if you want to shoot in that kind of places , you may have to pay a tax for this if it's for commercial use. that's probably the reason why this guy had to erase his video data, even though it was probably not for commercial use.. i'm not sure if this 100% correct but think it could be useful somehow for you guys . If anyone has more info, please tell us! cheers


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[kiteboy]

...as long as you put your batteries in your checked luggages...

Never put your battery in checked luggage, is against all airlines rules, they should always go in hand luggage "Carry on" regardless of where you put your drone!

 

[neo_xiii]

Never put your battery in checked luggage, is against all airlines rules, they should always go in hand luggage "Carry on" regardless of where you put your drone!

ok thanks for the info! i'll definitely do it [emoji28]

 

[Gary cato]

ok thanks for the info! i'll definitely do it [emoji28]

when are you going. i have been living between Thailand and London for ten years. i thought that soon carrying drones through customs was gonna be a problem. so i got a Mavic out there as well as here just in case. I am out there in March and April if anyone is out there flying a Mavic i will buy the beer.

 

[Mako79]

Vietnam requires a permit. You need to apply for a permit via the Ministry of Defense. I have applied twice and have had zero response from the ministry of defense.
Its best bet to find out where the military zones and government official buildings and avoid them.

There was an article on American who lived in Vietnam for 8yrs, who got deported immediately for flying near a military zone (not sure if intentional or not).

 

[neo_xiii]

when are you going. i have been living between Thailand and London for ten years. i thought that soon carrying drones through customs was gonna be a problem. so i got a Mavic out there as well as here just in case. I am out there in March and April if anyone is out there flying a Mavic i will buy the beer.

I ll be travelling to Thailand during April, for 3 weeks. I plan to go to Bkk , Samui, Phangan, Krabi and Phi Phi.. should be good places to shoot amazing videos , i Hope so!
now i'm training my pilot skills for that , as long as trying to find the perfect focus technique , and avoiding that watercolor painting effect that may unfortunately appear from time to time.
My mavic will stay in my cabin luggage , as for the batteries in lipo safe bags. I'll unmount the propellers to put them in the checked baggage and will see what happen, but i'm quite confident about it . Looking forward to have a big Chang there ;-)
Cheers

 

[Peut]

I ll be travelling to Thailand during April, for 3 weeks. I plan to go to Bkk , Samui, Phangan, Krabi and Phi Phi.. should be good places to shoot amazing videos , i Hope so!
now i'm training my pilot skills for that , as long as trying to find the perfect focus technique , and avoiding that watercolor painting effect that may unfortunately appear from time to time.
My mavic will stay in my cabin luggage , as for the batteries in lipo safe bags. I'll unmount the propellers to put them in the checked baggage and will see what happen, but i'm quite confident about it . Looking forward to have a big Chang there ;-)
Cheers

I would go for a big Singa this summer

As far as the airlines concern, we fly to BKK with Emirates this summer. They won't let you put your drone in your carry-on luggage, you have to put them in your check luggage. The batteries should be in your carry-on luggage, when you fly with Emirates. So check your airlines rules of carrying a drone with you.

 

[neo_xiii]

I would go for a big Singa this summer

As far as the airlines concern, we fly to BKK with Emirates this summer. They won't let you put your drone in your carry-on luggage, you have to put them in your check luggage. The batteries should be in your carry-on luggage, when you fly with Emirates. So check your airlines rules of carrying a drone with you.

Good tips to know thanks .
i will travel with Thai airlines , but will check this airlines rules for sure , asking by email .

 

[neo_xiii]

I would go for a big Singa this summer

As far as the airlines concern, we fly to BKK with Emirates this summer. They won't let you put your drone in your carry-on luggage, you have to put them in your check luggage. The batteries should be in your carry-on luggage, when you fly with Emirates. So check your airlines rules of carrying a drone with you.

Apparently , no problem for thai airways to put your drone in the cabin baggage, as long the battery is less than 100WH. I found only one airline that doesn't allow it in the cabin and it is emirates, don't know why though.
my perspective is that i will remove the propellers , put my mavic batteries in lipo safe bags separately with an average of 20% power left and the mavic in a hard case (without any battery), all this in my cabin baggage, which should be fine. Well,I hope so. Looking forward to fly the bird in Railay and Koh Phi Phi ! :-D