so i finally did that lisbon trip ive been planning forever and obviously brought the drone. honestly had a great time but man the rules there caught me off guard a few times. ANAFI rules dont apply obviously but i kept forgetting portugal is part of the EU so they use EASA categories which i sort of knew but didnt really prepare for properly.

the main thing that got me was the altitude limits near certain areas — there were zones around sintra that i just didnt expect to be restricted and i nearly flew into one before the geofencing kicked in. also nobody told me you need to register your drone in the country youre visiting if you dont already have an EU registration. i have a UK flyer ID now which is useless post-brexit so i had to scramble to sort an EASA one before i could legally fly anywhere.

sintra itself when i finally got a legal spot to shoot from was insane though. those palaces from above are something else. just wish i had planned the paperwork side better before showing up with the gear

yeah the EU registration thing tripped me up in spain last year. i just assumed my UK cert covered it and a local guy at a flying spot politely told me otherwise lol. ended up not flying for two days while i sorted it out online. the EASA portal is actually pretty straightforward once you find it but its not exactly advertised anywhere obvious

Sintra is on my list for sure. Did you use any particular app for checking the airspace or just rely on the DJI geofencing? I've heard geofencing alone isn't reliable enough in parts of europe because the maps arent always updated to match local rules. been thinking about getting a drone deploy subscription or something before my trip but not sure if thats overkill for just tourism flying