If you follow us on our Instagram accounts (@claudiamary and @jairogausachs) you’ll know that Macario, our beloved drone, almost always travels with us. Thanks to him, the memories of our adventures around the world now have a new and spectacular aerial angle. What started as a purchase surrounded by doubts “Will it be easy to use?”, “Will it be worth buying a foldable drone?”, “Which is the best drone for travel?”, has become something practically inseparable from us. Both on the website, in the article about traveling with a drone in the Philippines, and from our Instagram accounts there’s a question that keeps coming up again and again: Which is the best drone for travel?. To help you resolve this doubt and keep the information about the best foldable drones handy, we’ve created this complete guide.
Brief glossary for buying a drone for travel
You may already have read some recommendations about drones for travel and not need this, but if this is your first foray into the world of foldable drones, many concepts might sound like gibberish. So, before we start telling you the best of each of them, we’re going to make it easy to understand the concepts we’re going to talk about.
Battery life
A drone’s battery life for travel is key, since it determines how long the battery lasts. You might have a specific photo or video in mind, but once you take off and see how wonderful everything looks from up there, you’ll want more. In this respect it’s very important to bear in mind that, just like your phone’s battery, your drone’s battery will lose capacity over time. So, if you buy a travel drone with an 11‑minute battery life, over time that will turn into less than 9. If you simply want to raise it a few meters to take some close shots, that will be enough. If you’re after those distant shots of paradise beaches or want to enjoy the pleasure of flying, take into account the time it takes to get to that point, set up the shot properly and then land again.
It’s highly advisable to buy an extra battery so you always have one in case of emergency. From our experience, we recommend that, if you can, you go for a drone that offers at least 20 minutes of battery life.
Range
Range is how far your travel drone can go without your controller losing signal. The vast majority offer at least one kilometer, some offer 2 kilometers, and the one we use can reach up to 7 kilometers.
This distance is only a reference in a place without obstacles. If you intend to fly in an area where there are obstacles between you and the drone, it will be reduced. By law, in most countries, you are required to fly the drone within your line of sight, although many users send it as far as it will go to get the shot they’re after.
Camera
It’s great if your travel drone has a long‑lasting battery and a long range, but if it then takes so‑so photos… that’s a problem. This list will help you understand the different resolution types you might come across. Obviously, the higher the resolution, the better the image quality.
- HD: HD resolution was, many years ago, the top option, but it’s now been left behind. Also called “720p resolution,” it equals 1280 x 720 pixels. It isn’t bad, but it can be much improved.
- Full HD: A travel drone with Full HD ensures good photos and videos. It equals 1920 x 1080 pixels.
- 4K: 4K is also known as Ultra HD resolution and equals 3840 x 2160 pixels. Today it’s the best resolution a travel drone can offer and it’s what we use for our videos. It’s important to bear in mind that to edit 4K video you need a capable computer, so for you a drone that records in Full HD may be enough and 4K might be too much for your setup.
If besides photos you’re planning to buy a drone to record video, you might also want to consider “fps.” FPS stands for “frames per second,” the number of images each second of your video contains. 25/30 fps is what the human eye understands as normal. Recording at a higher number of fps is usually done so you can later play it back in slower motion and give it a feeling of smoothness. Keep in mind that, as with high resolution, editing video with a high fps requires a sufficiently powerful computer.
Weight and size
Two of the most important things to consider when choosing a good drone for travel are weight and size. There are drones with different features and prices, but when we travel we need this device to take up as little space as possible and not be a burden when packing.
The DJI Phantom 4 Pro, for example, is an excellent drone, but with a weight of almost a kilo and a half and a huge size, it’s not exactly the most recommended drone for travel.
Is it easy to fly a drone?
It’s very normal that if you’ve never flown a drone before you’ll have serious doubts about whether you’ll be able to do it—the same happened to us. But don’t worry: flying a drone is not only easy, it’s also fun and addictive.
Each drone brand has its own app to pilot it and, although more and better extra options are included all the time, flying from one place to another is extremely simple. Up, down, left, right, photo and video. Obviously, the more you use it the more comfortable you’ll feel, but you shouldn’t worry about whether you’ll be able to do it, because it really is simple. The vast majority of travel drones we’re going to recommend even have a “Fly Home” option which, by pressing a single button, will bring the device back and land it automatically.
Just use common sense and avoid flying in unsafe places or in adverse weather conditions such as rain or strong winds.
Best travel drones from DJI
DJI is, without a doubt, the drone brand par excellence. After years in the business, they’ve positioned themselves as the company that sets the standard and the one competitors look to in order to gain market share. DJI not only has the best drones for travel, but also offers professional drones such as the DJI ZENMUSE X7, used for filmmaking.
In recent years the brand has been releasing very high value‑for‑money drones that suit almost every budget and use case, which is why we’ve dedicated an entire section to them. In addition to these products, DJI offers a reliable warranty and technical service that’s easy to find around the world. The DJI Care service is the equivalent of buying “lives” for your drone. When our DJI Mavic Pro broke, they replaced it with a new one for just 99 euros.
DJI Tello – Beginner and budget drone
The DJI Tello is the “little one” of the family and a good option for those who want to buy a cheap travel drone from a reliable brand. Of course, the low price comes with much more limited features than the following options we’re going to show you.
The DJI Tello costs around 100 euros and has a 13‑minute battery life, which is enough for someone who wants to get started, but can quickly fall short for someone who wants to push it. Its camera is 5 megapixels and records in HD. The range is only 100 meters and the company considers it a learning drone, since it has a propeller guard and they advertise it as a drone that even kids can fly.
Unlike the rest, the DJI Tello doesn’t have GPS. This directly affects control/stability and therefore it’s not advisable to take it too far away or fly it in windy conditions. It doesn’t include a remote controller, so you’ll have to pilot it directly from your phone.
Small and cheap drone for travel
DJI Spark – Good value drone
With the DJI Spark we already start to notice a small step up toward better technical specs, control and reliability. Although the 16 minutes of battery may be a bit short for some, its camera jumps to 12 megapixels and records Full HD video. It has two stabilizers that ensure a much steadier image and you can fly it up to 2000 meters away. It weighs only 300 grams, which makes it ideal for travel. It also has lots of interesting features, such as gesture control. With a simple movement of your hands or arms you can ask this foldable drone to take a photo of you or follow you while you walk.
Bear in mind that the price of this travel drone usually doesn’t include the remote controller. Although it’s possible to fly it using only your phone, it’s much more advisable, easier and more comfortable to also buy this accessory.
DJI Mavic Air 2 – excellent foldable drone for travel
DJI’s Mavic family is our favorite among foldable drones. The DJI Mavic Air 2 is one of the most beloved of the bunch and, unlike what we’ve seen so far, it’s a drone that records 4K video at 60 fps. A real leap forward in the kind of videos you’ll be able to make! If you’re more into taking photos than videos, hold on tight because this ideal travel drone can shoot photos up to 8K—perfect for framing later in your living room and remembering that epic trip. Its battery is also amazing—34 minutes (a considerable change compared to the 21 offered by the Mavic Air 1)—which makes it much more tempting and gives you more flexibility to explore or ration the battery for a couple of flights. It also improves in terms of range, up to 5000 meters, and in the number of stabilizers: with 3 it ensures a smooth image you’ll love.
It also offers the possibility of taking spectacular spherical photos (the kind you can upload to Facebook and pan around), gesture control and the fascinating option to record at 240 fps in Full HD mode so you can later watch your videos in slow motion.
Once folded, its size is greatly reduced, which makes it a great travel drone that also weighs only 570 grams.
or the Combo version with extra batteries and carrying case:
DJI Mavic 2 Pro and DJI Mavic 2 Zoom
The DJI Mavic Pro is the travel drone we started flying with and it was a real game‑changer in the drone world, being the first foldable drone with its features. Over time, even though it was a super powerful machine, they improved it and created the second version with two spectacular models. The DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the Mavic 2 Zoom are like two “fraternal twins” that were released at the same time but with different features.
The common denominator is this: they surpass any other drone on this list in quality: 31 minutes of battery life so you can fly to your heart’s content, a brutal range of 8000 meters to ensure you reach farther than you need, and 6 sensors that protect the drone to avoid collisions. Oh, and it can reach 72 km/h, which is wild.
When choosing between the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the DJI Mavic 2 Zoom, you can quickly see that these are not only the best drones for travel, they’re among the best drones, period. They’re amazing!
The DJI Mavic 2 Zoom offers a 2x optical zoom with no loss, superb 48‑megapixel photos and the Dolly Zoom effect that will leave you open‑mouthed, as it creates a sensation that the background gets closer while the farthest objects move away—something you won’t be able to do automatically with any other foldable drone.
The DJI Mavic Pro 2 has a 1” 20‑megapixel CMOS sensor, a Hasselblad camera, 1 billion colors and an adjustable aperture of f2.8 – f11, which, in plain language, simply translates to: a stunning image in both video and photo. Our favorite drone for recording video right now.
DJI Mini 2, fantastic value for money
The DJI Mavic Pro was a real hit thanks to its versatility, price and ease of use. After it—and in addition to the Mavic 2 models we mentioned earlier—the DJI Mavic Mini arrived, a smaller but very powerful version. Now this great travel drone has evolved and has been rebranded in its new version as the DJI Mini 2.
Where do we start? Well, with its name—Mini—obviously because of its size and weight. The DJI Mini 2 weighs only 250 grams—just 30 grams more than the latest iPhone! Its size matches, and at 138 × 81 × 58 mm you can carry it as your travel drone on any of your adventures.
Does being small mean it’s not powerful? Not at all! Check out its main features: It can fly up to 4.000 meters away, has a battery that lets you fly for up to 31 minutes, records video in 4K, and has different modes that help you record spectacularly by programming spirals, circles, boomerang, object tracking, etc.
Its 12‑megapixel camera also lets you play with different modes such as panoramic, wide‑angle and spherical.
In short, a very powerful drone that takes great photos and videos, takes up very little space and has a super competitive price. What are you waiting for to get it?
or the combo with carrying case and extra batteries:
You can also go for the DJI Mini 1 version, which is cheaper and has great specs, directly from DJI’s website:
DJI drone packs
Now that you already know DJI’s best value drones, you might be deciding on one. Wait! For each product, the company always releases a pack called “Combo” that usually includes interesting extras at a discounted price. Once you get the hang of your drone, you’ll realize how useful it is to have extra batteries to fly longer, extra propellers as spares for when the standard ones get damaged, or in some cases even the official charger and the drone’s remote controller if it isn’t included in the purchase.
These packs represent real savings you should take into account, and on occasions—like with our DJI Mavic Pro—they include handy details such as a good carrying bag. When you access the different links to these drones, bear in mind that the “Combo” or “Pack” option usually ends up being more economical if you do the math.
Best travel drones from other brands
By now it should be clear that currently DJI is our favorite brand of travel drones (no one pays us to say this, for the record), but it’s true that there are others with very capable devices and very compelling prices. These are the ones that might interest you most.
Parrot Bebop 2
Parrot is also a brand specializing in drones that, after a few years somewhat in the shadows, is gaining momentum again. Currently the Parrot Bebop 2 is one of its best budget foldable drones. Its battery has a flight time of 25 minutes, which is excellent, and its 14‑megapixel camera records in Full HD with 3 axes that stabilize the camera perfectly. It’s built in a “fisheye” format, like GoPro’s, which gives it an extra bit of brightness in adverse conditions. The 300‑meter range is one of its weak points, but by purchasing its special remote control (somewhat bulky for our taste) it can reach 2000 meters. Its frame is very resistant in the event of an accident and its flexible propellers are very durable.
If you don’t need to record in 4K and you’re looking for a mid‑priced foldable drone, it can be a good buy.
Parrot ANAFI
Keep a close eye on the Parrot ANAFI because with it Parrot has taken a step forward in the world of drones for recording video and taking aerial photos. They’ve taken the best features of DJI’s foldable drones and reimagined them in a new device. It records in 4K, has batteries with a 25‑minute life, offers a 2’8X zoom—greater than the DJI Zoom, records in slow motion like the Spark, and its 21‑mp camera features HDR technology.
One curiosity of the Parrot ANAFI is the ability to rotate the camera 180º and record upward. That doesn’t mean you’re going to record the sky (which wouldn’t make much sense), but that you can take shots with a unique angle in places like waterfalls or cliffs. It’s a really quiet drone and, unlike other devices with similar features, it weighs only 320 grams, which makes it ideal for travel. It also has a flight mode to track an object and the ability to easily create the Hyperlapse effect.
Xiaomi Fimi X8 SE
While many still think Xiaomi is nothing more than a cheap phone brand, they keep doing their thing and surprising with high‑quality, low‑price products. They’ve stood out in phones, laptops and now they’re doing it with this foldable drone that, at half the price of a DJI Mavic Pro, offers competitive features. The 33‑minute battery is fantastic, the 5‑kilometer range more than sufficient, and the Sony sensor for its 4K camera is a safe bet. If you want a drone to record video with cinematic options, this one has modes such as tracking, circling or recording while flying away, among other interesting points. Its 3x zoom is digital and nothing special, and its 790‑gram weight makes it comfortable for travel.
Ok… but which is the best foldable drone for travel?
After all this information you’ll surely have a clearer idea of which drone fits what you’re looking for. But if you still have doubts, here’s my top 4:
Still have doubts about which drone to buy? Tell us in the comments and we’ll give you a hand.
