Jalisco
Drone photo & video · Puerto Vallarta
In short
Drone photo & video in Puerto Vallarta starts at $300: 60 min on location with a photographer who works in Puerto Vallarta, and 25 edited photos + a 1-minute edited film delivered to a private gallery within 7 days.
Why choose drone photo & video in Puerto Vallarta?
Drone work in Puerto Vallarta is a geography problem before it is a creative one. The city is laid out along a single coastline that starts at the airport, so the closer a location is to downtown, the closer it is to the runway. Aerials of the bay, the jungle hills and the coves are some of the best on the Pacific coast, but they are flown from the south shore, by a pilot who has checked the distance from the runway before choosing the spot.
Worth knowing about Puerto Vallarta
NOM-107-SCT3-2019 allows drone flights only between sunrise and sunset, and Mismaloya sits in the ring between 9.2 and 18.5 km from the PVR runway, where the maximum height is 100 m. A sunset aerial session there has to land by about 18:25 in late December and about 19:45 in late June, so the flight is planned for the hour before.
What does the session in Puerto Vallarta look like?
- Playa Mismaloya
- About 17 km from the runway, with the Los Arcos islets offshore and jungle hills behind.
- Playa Conchas Chinas
- Just outside the 9.2 km buffer, with rock coves that read well from directly above.
- Coastal road south of Mismaloya
- The cliffs and bays toward Boca de Tomatlán, further still from the airport.
What does drone photo & video in Puerto Vallarta include?
- 60 minutes on location, with the time in the air set by batteries and conditions
- 25 edited aerial photos
- A 1-minute edited aerial film with licensed music
- Flown by a local pilot under commercial liability insurance, with the drone registered with AFAC when it weighs over 250 g
- Photos and film delivered within 7 days
Permits at these locations: Playa Conchas Chinas: No published fee for a session on the sand. Access is down public stairways between the hillside villas. Playa Mismaloya: No published fee for a session on the sand. Drones may fly only up to 100 m here, inside the 18.5 km ring around the airport.
FAQ — Drone photo & video in Puerto Vallarta
Where can a drone fly in Puerto Vallarta?
Drone flights in Puerto Vallarta are planned south of the Zona Romántica. The Malecón and Los Muertos pier lie within 9.2 km of the PVR runway, where NOM-107-SCT3-2019 requires special AFAC authorisation, while Conchas Chinas sits just outside that buffer and Mismaloya about 17 km out.
Can I bring my own drone to Puerto Vallarta for the shoot?
A paid drone shoot in Puerto Vallarta is flown by a Mexican-registered, insured local pilot, because NOM-107-SCT3-2019 restricts foreign operators and foreign-registered drones. Drones over 250 g must also be registered with Mexico’s AFAC, so visitors check with AFAC before bringing a drone of their own.
Can a drone film whales in Puerto Vallarta?
NOM-131-SEMARNAT-2010, the whale-watching standard for Banderas Bay off Puerto Vallarta, does not mention drones, and no CONANP rule for visitors’ drones over whales is published. Aerial whale footage is therefore not offered as part of a Puerto Vallarta drone session.