Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The mister and I are planning a trip out to California in March, trying to hit up LA, Santa Barbara and San Diego. From my understanding, San Diego is roughly 20miles from the border crossing @ San Ysidro into Tijuana. I want to do a day trip to Tijuana but I have some questions about the area and the crossing.
I hear Mexico is unsafe these days. How safe would 2 early 30's Americans (New Yorkers) be in Tijuana? We would just want to walk around and shop, maybe get a meal...we are not involved in drugs, don't have weapons or anything like that. We are good, upstanding, honest, middle-income, hard-working people.
I hear they do not screen people @ the borders to go INTO Mexico, but coming back...US citizens need a passport, correct? I don't know why- and I don't have any reason to be- but I have this fear that the agents @ the border won't let us back into the states. Like I said, we are not suspicious people by any means- I even have 0 pts on my license and have never even gotten a speeding ticket! Is there any reason they can and would keep us in Mexico? Also, what is the process like typically and how long does it take to cross?
Any advice is appreciated. We probably will walk across the border as opposed to taking a car in. We can park @ the lots in San Ysidro, yes? We have no reason to go to Mexico other than the fact that we WANT to. Is this not a good idea or what? What's the scoop?
You will need either a passport or a passport card to cross back into the US. To my understanding, they do not accept a driver's license or birth certificate anymore. It can take anywhere from half an hour to 3 hours to cross back into the US, you just never know until you get in line.
"I don't know why- and I don't have any reason to be- but I have this fear that the agents @ the border won't let us back into the states."
Well, the "fear" has to be based on something and without knowing you or things about you - which I don't want to know - I suspect there's probably a good reason you're concerned about questions relating to your identity and status. You know the rules and the risks and the choice is yours.
Different opinions of course. I'm an American Vet retired south of Rosarito. Do have my Passport and paid extra for the crossing card for my wallet.
My neighbor who is also a WW11 Vet does not have a Passport or card and crosses all the time just showing his Birth Certificate...go figure. He is 90 (bit older then me) and just crosses w/o any problems.
A fax or E-Mail to your closest Immigration office would answer any true info needed. They will respond to a E-Mail within 24 working hrs...they did for me in TJ.
It is very easy to cross the border in both directions assuming you have a US Passport for your return and don't bring any contraband back. If you walk across then you won't face too much of a line coming back. Driving is usually a nightmare with waits of several hours coming back.
As soon as you cross the border into Mexico, there will be a pile of taxis with the drivers trying to get you to go with them. Seeing as you won't know where you are going, I would take a taxi. You want to go to the Avenida Revolución which is the main tourist drag though it has been pretty dead for years. Make sure you negotiate the price before you get in the taxi.
Tijuana is a pretty dangerous city but you should be OK if you stick to the tourist area. Bear in mind there haven't been many tourists visiting Tijuana for several years now. Make sure you don't go North past Calle 2da as you will be getting into a pretty bad area.
Personally, I wouldn't drive to the border. I would take the San Diego Trolley which will take you right to the border crossing. Here is their link.
Having said all this, I wouldn't waste my time going to Tijuana. I realize that it will be a novelty for you so my take is different as I have been there 100's of times. We have family living there and our son played baseball in Tijuana. Tijuana is not a typical Mexican colonial city and is really not very attractive.
The easiest and safest way is to take a day tour from San Diego to Tijuana. Here is an example:
Alternately, drive eastward an hour on highway 94 to Tecate, USA.
Park your car there in one of the parking lots for, typically, $5 for the day (or at the curb if you can find space). Walk into Tecate, Mexico, and continue down the hill four short blocks or so to find the zocalo (central plaza). Wander around, have lunch. The restaurant on the south side of the plaza has good food, but it has jacked-up prices for the tourists. I recommend instead to eat at La Placita on the east side of the plaza (hope it's still in business!). There's a bakery "El Mejor Pan" in Tecate a few blocks east of the zocalo that's quite good. A couple of blocks south of the zocalo is the Tecate Brewery, which offers tours, but I don't know their schedule. And if you go into their beer garden at any time, the guard at the gate will give you a ticket for a free beer.
Do some research in advance to find the exact locations of these places, and you should be fine.
BTW, technically now you must have a passport to re-enter the USA. Anyone whose getting in without it ... they're getting a favor from the border agents!
I know that they also brew beer in Tecate, is it a good beer ?
In days of yore, there was a supermarket in Calexico right on the border with the Mexican city of Mexicali, you could enter on one side and exit the other side, I wonder if it still exists.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
