so im heading to costa rica for three weeks and obviously bringing the mavic. ive been doing some research on the rules down there and its kind of a mess honestly. from what i can tell you need to register with the DGAC before you go but some people are saying they just flew without doing anything and had no problems. i dont really want to risk having it confiscated at the border or whatever so trying to figure out if anyone has actually navigated the official process

also curious about flying near the national parks. i know most of them are off limits but arenal volcano area specifically ? anyone been there recently and know whats actually enforced vs just on paper

went last year around january. did the DGAC registration beforehand, took maybe a week to get sorted through their online portal and was like $30 or something. honestly felt better having it done even if enforcement seemed pretty lax when i was there. flew around la fortuna area no problem, stayed away from the actual park boundary and nobody said anything

the national parks are genuinely no-fly and i wouldnt push it there, rangers take it pretty seriously from what i saw. beaches and private land around the volcano were fine though, got some insane footage of the steam coming off it at sunset

not costa rica but did nicaragua and panama around the same time and the vibe is similar across central america tbh. just register if theres a process, carry a printed copy of whatever docs you get, and dont fly over crowds or near airports obviously. most of the time nobody cares but the one time someone does care you want to have your stuff together