so ive been planning this trip to Iceland for like 6 months and only just started looking into the drone rules there and honestly its a bit overwhelming. i have a DJI Mini 3 Pro so under 250g which i thought would make everything simple but apparently there are still registration requirements depending on where you fly and some of the national parks and nature reserves are straight up no-fly zones which i did not expect.

anyone actually flown there and navigated the whole permit process? specifically around the south coast and maybe near Vatnajokull. would love to know if its even worth bringing the drone or if ill spend the whole trip stressing about whether im allowed to be there

went last summer with my Air 2S and yeah it was a mixed bag. the permit stuff for the protected areas is real, you cant just show up and fly near some of those glaciers without sorting paperwork first. that said outside the restricted zones it was genuinely some of the best flying ive ever done, the light at like 11pm in summer is unreal for footage.

i used the Icetra website to check registrations and cross referenced with the local aviation authority site. honestly just email them directly if youre unsure about a specific spot, they were actually pretty helpful when i did that. just give yourself more than a week before the trip to sort it out

not Iceland specifically but ive done a few Nordic countries and the under 250g thing does make a difference, just dont assume it means totally free reign everywhere. some places still want you registered even with a mini. worth downloading whatever the local airspace app is before you go