so i just got back from a week in the algarve and brought the mini 4 pro along. first time flying internationally and honestly it went smoother than i expected but there were some things i really wish someone had told me beforehand.

customs was fine, nobody cared about the drone at all. but when i actually got to the beaches i had no idea portugal requires ANAC registration even for tourists flying sub 250g drones. like i knew about the EU drone regs in general but didnt realise you still have to register with the local authority. i had my A1 cert from the UK but that doesnt just carry over automatically the way i thought it did.

ended up flying anyway because i couldnt find anyone to actually enforce it and the spots were incredible, those sea stacks near lagos are unreal. but i felt sketchy about it the whole time. anyone else dealt with this? is there like an easy way to get sorted quickly when youre already in country?

yeah the EU open category stuff is confusing because people assume harmonized means identical but each country still has its own implementation quirks. portugal is actually one of the stricter ones about the registration thing even for lighter drones. i did a trip to spain last year and it was similar, had to register on the AESA portal which took like 20 minutes online but then i was good. probably worth just doing it the night before you fly anywhere tbh, most of these portals are pretty painless now.

those lagos spots are on my list, glad they delivered. did you manage to get out to sagres at all?

wait you need to register even with a mini 4? i thought the whole point of sub 250 was you didnt have to deal with all that. going to lisbon in march and was just gonna bring it and wing it