I'm flying to cancun next week. Any advice on taking a mavic through customs and flying it in Mexico. Read various articles etc. A few have said you pay tax on drone value.

Bring a lot of Pesos.
Just in case.

Mexico has fewer drone laws than the US so it's not a problem. You can just bring it as you would any camera. When packing to travel, drone batteries must be in carry-on luggage and are not allowed in checked luggage (easiest just to keep the entire Mavic with batteries in the carry-on bag) Make sure to keep your filming to landscapes and stay away from city population - You don't want a Mexican gang thinking you invaded their privacy.

Good advice and thanks Trevor.

Let us know how it went when you get back...Happy travels

gilly4 Posted at 2017-7-22 05:04
Good advice and thanks Trevor.

Adding to my comment about invading privacy. Most paranoid people who want their privacy protected tend to think our drones have major zoom lenses. That's not the case, but they don't know that, and it makes them more afraid of drones.

Going to Cancun on August 5th with my Mavic. First time taking it on a plane. I bought the special fireproof pack to store my batteries and plan on bringing everything as carry-on (Mavic, Osmo mobile and batteries). I read mixed comments on the net about different experiences flying to Mexico and most of them seem to say that there was no problem. A couple said that they charge a VAT tax so I called the Mexican consulate in Montreal to ask about their policy regarding drones. The person that I spoke to assured me that there would be no problem, but could not provide me anything on paper to bring with me in case of problem. When I asked him about the VAT tax, he could not answer for sure, he just told me that there could ne a very small fee. What condition would bring on this fee? He could say, but usualy there is no fee. That's not very helpful, but I imagine that in the end, it's all about how you describe the Mavic. I am planning on just declaring it as photo equipment.

I will let everyone know how it goes after my return, august 14th.

I'm hoping for smooth sailing....

I'm also interested to hear how it goes, as we're going to Isla Mujeres in December, and I've read the same thing about having to pay a hefty VAT.

I was in Cancun 3 weeks ago and had no problems taking my Mavic packed in a small case with 3 batteries as a carry on bag.
it was folded in the case a went threw Xray with no questions at all.
We flew interjet up and American back from California, the sunrise was awesome and i was up waiting for them 3 days in a row.

virtguy Posted at 2017-7-25 11:51
I'm also interested to hear how it goes, as we're going to Isla Mujeres in December, and I've read the same thing about having to pay a hefty VAT.

This tax or VAT you are talking about must be when they think you bought your drone while in Mexico. I would also suspect it happens at corrupt small boarder crossings on roadways. I've never had a problem at customs in an airport. They treat the Mavic like any other video camera. They X-ray it and then you carry it onto the plane. If anyone has actually had to pay this tax, could you please chime in. I'd really like to learn more about it.

fansb87b065a Posted at 2017-7-25 11:38
Going to Cancun on August 5th with my Mavic. First time taking it on a plane. I bought the special fireproof pack to store my batteries and plan on bringing everything as carry-on (Mavic, Osmo mobile and batteries). I read mixed comments on the net about different experiences flying to Mexico and most of them seem to say that there was no problem. A couple said that they charge a VAT tax so I called the Mexican consulate in Montreal to ask about their policy regarding drones. The person that I spoke to assured me that there would be no problem, but could not provide me anything on paper to bring with me in case of problem. When I asked him about the VAT tax, he could not answer for sure, he just told me that there could ne a very small fee. What condition would bring on this fee? He could say, but usualy there is no fee. That's not very helpful, but I imagine that in the end, it's all about how you describe the Mavic. I am planning on just declaring it as photo equipment.

I will let everyone know how it goes after my return, august 14th.

I think with the fireproof pack you're actually allowed to check your bag and send it with the rest of the checked luggage. That is what the fireproof containers are for. Still better to plan on carrying it on though, just in case they don't like the fire rating of your particular bag. The whole idea is that if a fire starts down below, it may go undetected for too long and nobody can get down there to fight it. Planes have actually crashed from that happening. If a fire starts in your carry on, someone can just use a fire extinguisher and quickly put it out. To my knowledge Mavic batteries have never started a fire, but other types of batteries have.

I just came back from Puerto Vallarta last week.  No Problem.  Didn't even have to take it out of my carrying case.  It's actually below the 2kg mass which means no regulations other than restricted airspace apply