Best Travel Drone in 2024 – DJI Mini 4 Pro

Good day, folks! Shawn here from Air Photography. In today’s video, we’re going to discuss, in my opinion, the best drone for travel in 2024. For many different reasons, I believe the DJI Mini 4 Pro is the top choice. In reality, any of these drones would make an excellent choice for traveling, as they all fold up into a very small form factor. However, there are specific reasons that make the Mini 4 Pro exceptional for travel, and it’s not just about the aircraft’s size.

The DJI Mini 4 Pro is the Best Travel Drone in 2024

Small, Foldable Drone

With all that said, the size does give the Mini 4 Pro an advantage, not just if you’re looking for a drone for traveling, but also for road trips, hiking, canoe trips, and the like. Having a small, lightweight drone can be very beneficial when it comes to packing. This drone folds up into a very small form factor, fitting very nicely into a carry-on bag if you’re going on an airplane. But again, if you’re planning a canoe trip or a hiking trip and just need something that takes up very little room, you won’t find a drone much smaller than this. This applies across the board to any of the Mini series from DJI, whether it be the Mini 3 Pro, the Mini 3, or the SE series. Any of those small drones will be a perfect choice for travel. However, the Mini 4 does have some advantages over those other drones, which we will discuss shortly.

A Lightweight Drone is Easy to Bring Along

On top of its small form factor, the weight is also a significant consideration. Again, if you’re hiking or taking many day trips, you don’t want to have a big, heavy drone packed in your bag. The Mini 4 Pro weighs around 250 grams, depending on the battery you have in it, which can be very important when every ounce counts while packing light. Even for myself, when I’m on a day trip, I often like to bring a drone with me, even if I’m not sure I’ll end up flying it that day. So, bringing a big, bulkier drone, something like the Mavic 3 Pro or even the Air 3, just doesn’t make much sense to carry around all day, whether I decide to use it or not. The Mini 4 Pro fits in a little shoulder bag, and there’s hardly any weight to it, so it’s not an inconvenient thing to bring along, whether I decide to use it or not.

Fewer Restrictions for a Sub-250-gram Drone

While we’re talking about weight, that magic number of being under 249 grams can be very important, depending on what country you plan on traveling to. In many Countries, the only option you have as a tourist is to fly a sub-250-gram drone. Of course, you’re going to have to do your research, as regulations are quite different from country to country. But if you are specifically purchasing a drone for travel, something like the Mini 4 Pro or any of the other Mini drones is a great choice because you will have the option of flying in more countries than with some of the larger drones.

The Drone’s Battery Size and Weight

Another thing to consider is battery size. Here, we have a battery from the Air 3, a battery from the Mavic 3 Series, and here we have the Mini 3/Mini 4 battery. As you can see, there is quite a size difference and quite a weight difference as well. So, if you’re going to be traveling, hiking, or canoeing and want to bring some spare batteries with you, it’s much easier to bring a couple of batteries like this with you than to pack two or three of these larger batteries. These batteries can actually add quite a bit of weight to your kit.

DJI Mini 4 Pro is Quiet and Unobstrusive

Now, another really important reason why the Mini 4 Pro can be a great choice for traveling is due to how quiet and unobtrusive it is. It’s a known fact that not everybody appreciates drones, and sometimes flying a larger, noisier drone can draw unwanted attention. The Mini 4 Pro, in my opinion, is the best travel drone because it is extremely quiet; once you have it up in the air, most people aren’t going to know you’re even flying it. It allows you to go in, get your shot, land it, and then move on to the next location.

Less Expensive Drone Means More Money for Travel

Another reason why the Mini 4 Pro makes a great choice for travel is that it tends to be a little less expensive than some of the other larger drones. And that can be important for many different reasons. You never know when going into some countries if they’re going to end up confiscating your drone. You might do your research, and yes, you can bring drones there, but sometimes at the Airport, things can get a little tricky, and they may confiscate it. Or perhaps you’re doing some adventure traveling and getting some risky shots with your drone and end up losing it. It doesn’t hurt the wallet as much with a smaller, less expensive travel drone than if you’re flying something like the Mavic 3 Pro.

DJI Mini 4 Pro is a Full-Featured Travel Drone

Another reason this makes a great travel drone is that this is a full-featured drone. In the past, with many drones, we had to sacrifice video quality and some of the intelligent flight features, but that’s not the case with the latest version of the Mini drone, the Mini 4 Pro. DJI has packed so much technology and features into this drone; essentially, it has everything that some of the larger, more expensive drones have. You can do waypoint missions, master shots, panoramas.

The only difference is going to be the camera and some of its features, but the quality of the Mini 4 Pro is exceptional. I had it out with me on the east coast somewhere, and this was the drone I ended up flying the most, just because of its convenience. It’s easy to take along. A lot of the places I wanted to fly were within an airport bubble, and in Canada, the only way, without getting all those extra waivers, is to fly a mini sub-250-gram drone.

Vertical Video to Share Your Travel Experience

Lastly, another reason that makes the Mini 4 Pro a great drone for travel is due to its true vertical video. A lot of times, when we’re traveling and capturing content, it’s being captured for the sole purpose of social media. You might be vlogging, sharing your travel and adventures, and the fact that with the Mini 4 Pro you can film in 4K and vertical, there’s no other DJI drone that’s able to do that. Of course, you can crop video. The Air 3 has that mode where it will film at 2.7K in vertical, but if you want true 4K vertical video, the Mini 4 Pro really is your only option, other than something like the Mini 3 Pro.

So, yeah, folks, that’s basically it for this video. Those are my thoughts on why the Mini 4 Pro is the ultimate travel drone in 2024. If you’re looking to purchase a drone for the specific reason of traveling, road-tripping, or when you want a drone that’s easy to bring along, easy to deploy, lightweight, and is not going to bog you down.

I want to thank you for taking the time to watch this video. Thanks a lot, and we’ll see you in the next one.