General Information

Touring and Eating in Tijuana on Foot

• Getting To Tijuana
  • San Diego Trolley
  • Parking your car in San Ysidro
  • Bussing Across the border
  • Baja Shuttle
  • Driving
    • Car Insurance in Mexico
  • Crossing into Mexico
• Being There
  • Taxis
  • Money
  • Dining
  • Water
  • Walking
  • Drugs
• Coming Back from Tijuana
  • Crossing the border
  • Passports
  • Sentri pass
  • Bringing Things Back
    
• Tijuana Pictures

Getting to Tijuana

Trolley. The preferred method. You can hop on the trolley from many locations in San Diego - downtown, Old Town, La Mesa, even Santee. You want the blue line trolley that goes to San Ysidro. The East line of the trolley connects with the south-bound trolley (blue line) going to San Ysidro at 12th and Market Streets in downtown San Diego, requiring you to transfer. It takes nearly an hour to ride the trolley to San Ysidro from Old Town.

Trolleys run 7 days a week. Weekdays, they start running about 5 a.m., the last trolley leaves San Ysidro to return to San Diego at 12:41 a.m. Saturdays, the last trolley leaves San Ysidro at 1:41 a.m. Weekdays, the trolley runs every 15 mins. (or less) and weekends they run anywhere from every hour to every 15 mins., depending on the day and time of day. The complete schedule and map are located on the San Diego Metropolian Transit System website, trolley section.

Parking your car while riding the trolley. A good place to park your car while riding the trolley is the Old Town station, there is ample lighted, free parking. There used to be a few free parking spaces downtown, but now that the city of San Diego has decided it is more important to tear up downtown for a commercial ballpark you might as well abandon the idea of parking downtown.

Parking your car at the border. If you insist on driving to the border, there are large commercial parking lots where you can park for about $8. for 24 hours. You can even catch a Mexicoach bus right in the parking lot for a small fee and they will whisk you across the border in no time and deposit you on Revolución between 6th and 7th streets. If you are familiar with the area, you can hop off before arriving to Revolución. Sánchez Taboada and Marquez de Leo makes a good jumping off point to be only one block from the Mercado and Zona Rio Shopping Center. Be aware the bus stops running at 9 p.m.; so you're on your own to get back if you have a late dinner.

Bussing Across the Border. If you really can't walk across the border, there are buses on the U.S. side that will take you across the border and into downtown Tijuana for $1. Grab one right at the trolley stop, follow the flow of pedestrian traffic and hop on the bus before entering the concrete building that takes you back over the freeway.

Driving. If you insist on driving your car, just take interstate 5 or 805 South to San Ysidro, where they converge to cross the border. There is another entrance at Otay Mesa, but no there are no restaurants reviewed in that area of town (yet.) There are parking lots where you can pay to park your car while you walk across the border.

Insurance. If you drive across the border, be aware that most American car insurance policies are not recognized in Mexico. It is Very Highly recommended that you buy Mexican auto insurance from one of the numerous vendors on the U.S. side of the border. Policies are available by day for about $10. (liability only) or you can buy a booklet that covers multiple trips; this can bring the price down to $6 with a 15-day policy. You fill out a coupon each time you drive to Mexico and deposit the coupon in the vendor's handy ATM-like slot.

Best bets: Buy your policy in one of the gas station minimarts near the border. They accept payment by credit card for any amount, and the service is good. For frequent border crossers, get insurance through Vagabundos Del Mar.

Crossing into Mexico. There is never a wait crossing the border on foot. From the trolley, turn right as you get off, walk in a straight line until you cross a tiny road, and then just follow the flow of traffic westward onto the concrete switchbacks as they go up and cross over interstate 5, then down again. Turn right as you come off the downward ramp and go through one of the two clangy turnstiles and you've made it!

Being There

Taxis in Mexico. As you will see as you emerge from the passageway immediately after going through the turnstiles, the taxi business flourishes in Mexico and taxi drivers are not at all shy about soliciting your business. They are open to negotiation. There is much competition. Always establish the fare prior to getting into the cab. A reasonable fare from the border to, say Don Pepe's (on Fundadores), is a total of $8. (U.S.), quite a bargain if split 7 ways. Taxi drivers are quite willing to allow you to stuff 10 people into a taxi built for 7.

Be aware that taxis right at the border are the most expensive taxis you can get in Tijuana. If you're willing to walk into town a bit, you can flag down a "libre" taxi which is not free, but is less expensive than the yellow taxis. The libre taxis also congregate over by the bus stops near the shopping center to the right after you cross over the border. More detailed directions to the bus stops here in the directions to Las Playas . They tend to move their congregating spot, but if you look around the bus stops or ask someone you should be able to find them. Libre taxis are metered taxis. They are not permitted to pick up passengers right at the border.

There are also route taxis that run predefined routes and are very inexpensive. You probably will want to know a bit of Spanish to take one of these and have pesos ready. You can pick one up along their route or on Second Ave. between Revolución and Constitución.

Money. American dollars are accepted everywhere in Tijuana. There is no advantage to converting your money unless you plan to take Mexican buses and collectivos or travel more into the interior of Mexico. Check out up-to-ddate conversion of pesos to dollars here. Credit cards are also widely accepted. Beware of the new foreign transaction fee that many U.S. credit card companies have recently instituted, charging a percentage of the charged amount, regardless of whether the amount charged is pesos or dollars.

ATM's. A friend recently withdrew a small amount of money from his U.S. account from a Tijuana Banamex ATM machine. The transaction charge was $6.

Dining. Mexicans dine late, so best bets are with an early dinner. In general, the further a restaurant is from Revolution (the main tourist drag, so to speak), the more likely it is to have repeat business. The Hikers generally try to stay away from restaurants on Revolution. Seafood restaurants can be counted on to be good; more so than any other category. Go with the flow; if in an Italian restaurant-try the Italian dishes; not the seafood. Unlike in the U.S., people selling music, flowers, or photos may interrupt your meal. Smoking is not banned in Mexican restaurants. Mariachi bands are ubiquitous, and while very festive, can easily overpower conversation.

Water. Mexican tap water is not potable. Most restaurants serve bottled water. If you feel unsure, ask for bottled or mineral water. We regularly order fresh salads and drinks with ice cubes and have not had a problem with Montezuma's Revenge.

Walking. Walking in Tijuana is as safe as walking in any American city. You must be alert and watch where you are going. The sidewalks are full of cracks, the curbs are non-standard height and it is not uncommon to find deep holes in the middle of the sidewalk totally unmarked.

Drugs. Many people go to Mexico and buy drugs that require prescriptions in the U.S. Many of the drugs require a prescription in Mexico as well, although it is easy to find a pharmacy that will sell you drugs without a prescription. A tourist from Wisconsin once spent 6 months in La Mesa State Penitentiary for buying $500. worth of drugs, including Valium, from a pharmacy in Mexico without a prescription. He was arrested outside the pharmacy by Mexican police and charged with trafficking in controlled substances. Fortunately for him, the charges were reduced and later dropped, but it took six months.

Coming Back

Crossing the border. Delays are the rule if crossing by car and the delays can be quite long if you choose to return at the end of a holiday weekend. Have a picture ID ready to show the agents.

We generally cross Saturday evenings on foot, sometime after 9 p.m. It is quite rare for there to be a long wait at that time. We rarely cross the border during the day on weekends. 1/18/03 at 3:30 pm, we were reminded why. The line was worse than we had ever seen it; we really believed that the wait would exceed 3 hrs. We paid $1 each for the Mexicoach bus which was sitting in the street right next to the line. Paying the fee at least allowed us to sit while waiting in line. We made it across in 1 hour. The people on the trolley that walked across reported that they waited 1 1/2 hrs.

Passports. As of Jan. 31, 2008 if you are a U.S. or Canadian citizen, you will need proper paperwork to return to the U.S., both walking and by car. According to the U.S. Department of State website you will need either a passport OR a government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license, plus proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. A limited-use, wallet-size passport card is under development and expected to be available in the future.

SENTRI (Secure Electronic Network for Travelers Rapid Inspection) - If you are a frequent border crosser and pose little risk to border security, you may apply for a "Sentri pass", (Dedicated Commuter Lane Program) which enables you to cross to the U.S. in a vehicle in a special "Sentri lane" for quicker entry to the U.S. You must fill out U.S. Governmet Form I-823. If you have a criminal history, you do not qualify. I recently heard of a case where a long-time holder of a Sentri pass had his pass revoked for "criminal history" - the history was a drunk driving conviction 11 years prior. For those in the San Diego area, you must visit the SENTRI DCL Office in Otay Mesa, CA in person twice. Total cost for various fees: $129. If you are approved, on your second visit your car will be inspected and a transponder installed in your vehicle. For more information, see the U.S. Border and Customs website. Call (619) 690-7600 Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. to make an appointment.

Pedestrian SENTRI - Mid-year 2004 the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency began a new test program for border-crossing pedestrians. Currently free, the passes will eventually cost you at least $25. The pedestrian SENTRI lane will operate Monday through Friday during peak crossing hours of 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. It is anticipated that as more people enroll, the hours of operation will be expanded. You do NOT need to have the Sentri car pass to enroll. To enroll, go to "Old Border Building", which is on the east side of Interstate 5. It is SOUTH of the car border crossing. It is the spanish style building just north of the yellow line painted on the roadway which is the actual border. You must show a passport, paycheck stubs or other proof of financial stability, a utility bill, and a mortgage statement or rent receipt . Individuals interested in applying for the program may call (619) 662-2227 (Confirmed they do answer at this number), 690-7601, 690-7602, 690-7603 or 690-7604.

A thoroughly entertaining first-hand account of obtaining a pedestrian SENTRI pass.

At one point after 9/11 a clever entrepreneur opened a new business at the border, to ease your crossing pains. For $5, you could rent a bicycle for 5 minutes, pedal right up to the bicycle-only lane and cross the border efficiently. The company has drop-off point on the U.S. side of the border where you can return the bicycle. However, this business has not been open during our recent Saturday night treks.

Bringing things back. You must declare anything you bring back to the U.S. from Mexico. You are permitted only 1 liter of alcohol and $400. worth of goods purchased in Mexico duty-free. Animals and agricultural products are also strictly regulated and the rules can be a little mysterious. You can bring back many fruits, including bananas, cactus fruits, limes, melons, papayas, pineapples and strawberries. Check the U. S. Customs Service website for specifics.

 

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