My Drone Confiscated at Nicaragua Customs...WTF

[DroneTrvlr]

The same just happened to us yesterday....(didn't check the rules beforehand...). We were also told to pay a fine of $11 and they told us that we can't pay this fine the same day as we are flying out with the drone again. Does anyone know, whether that's true? To avoid all the hassle, I would like to simply go to the airport, pay the fine and the storage fees, get all the paperwork done and then take off...instead of driving back and forth to the airport...
Any help is much appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Blake102]

I wonder if the Mavic's would get by. I have a friend who's a drone pilot who got in with one through a land border. Said he stayed for free everywhere offering them drone footage because they are so rare down there.

 

[tomtastic]

Hi, just wanted to say that I did not have any problem getting in with a Parrot Bebop 2 in early 2016.

Of course it's not as conspicuous as a Phantom, but I suppose a Mavic might have the same luck.

I flew it everywhere inside the country, including the main squares of Managua and León, in plain sight of police. One policeman came to me in Managua just to ask about it because he was in awe.

In León I even recorded Miss Nicaragua as she was there with a film crew for an advertisement to promote tourism and they asked me if I could do some takes for them to use.

Also flew to Little Corn Island and back from Managua with it, 0 problems in the airports. And no problem flying out of the country.


Maybe I was just super lucky, but I suppose if it looks more like a toy than a huge drone (like the Mavic) it might be fine.

 

[jeffgiff]

I just entered overland from Costa Rica to Nicaragua near Liberia. I carry my P4 in a backpack. It was scanned and then let in. They never asked to look inside. Any other countries in central America that are giving drones grief?

 

[ElGuapo]

Guys, I just returned from a trip to Costa Rica ( 02/15/2017) and brought the Mavic with on this trip. While there we had the opportunity to book an excursion to Nicaragua. Entered from Liberia thru Peñas Blancas and cleared customs in Nicaragua with the Mavic in the DJI bag without a glitch. Every where we went I asked the locals if it was okay to fly the Mavic and the response I always got was "YES". So I was able to get nice footage, we even went to the Volcano in Masaya and flew around it.

I think the shape of a Phantom is what makes it so obvious to detect, while the Mavic looks more like a toy so no one ever questioned it.

 

[BigAl07]

Please keep in mind a LOT of things have changed around the world since this thread was started in Sep 28, 2014