BajaNomad - Getting in to Baja to see friend in Rosarito

Getting in to Baja to see friend in Rosarito

sirqitous - 10-19-2018 at 04:09 PM

Hola,
I'm a newbie here, I live in the SF Bay Area and just want to visit my buddy who lives in Rosarito for a week or less, and do it as painlessly as possible.

I would fly to San Diego I guess, but how to cross over with a minimum of hassle -- I won't be trying to get to the mainland or down to the Cabos, etc.

I was hoping to drive my car down, but I gather it's impractical or not even permitted to bring my car in -- if so, then it certainly doesn't make sense to drive at all (other than to get a rental in TJ or Ensenada, etc. once I'm in Baja)

Thanks for any help!

bajaguy - 10-19-2018 at 04:18 PM

Yes, you can drive, no, it's not a hassle

Get your Mexican car insurance on-line from bajabound.com

Stop at the border crossing with your passport and get your FMM ('tourist permit")
from Mexican Immigration. 7 days or less is free

[Edited on 10-19-2018 by bajaguy]

David K - 10-19-2018 at 04:54 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajaguy

Yes, you can drive, no, it's not a hassle

Get your Mexican car insurance on-line from bajabound.com

Stop at the border crossing with your passport and get your FMM ('tourist permit")
from Mexican Immigration. 7 days or less is free

[Edited on 10-19-2018 by bajaguy]

This!

Where in the world did anyone say driving into Mexico wasn't permitted??? It is the busiest border crossing in the world (cars)! You can just drive into Mexico and if you didn't learn it here first, you wouldn't know you are supposed to have a valid passport and get a tourist card (chances nobody will ever need to show it).

To find Mexican Immigration (INM), stay in the right lane "Something to Declare" and drive WAAYYY over to the covered parking by the giant flagpole, at the Mexican border crossing. Walk into the building with your passport to the far side and just out the other end are the Mexican INM officers where you present your passport. The FMM tourist card is free for up to 7 days and about $29 for up to 180 days.

When you are done get back into the traffic stream entering Mexico and there is a red/green light. IF you get a red light, you pull over for a visual inspection (no drugs, guns, or ammo... oh and drugs include marijuana, medical or otherwise). Next follow the signs for Rosarito, Playas, Ensenada Scenic Highway... a toll road and the toll gate is in 6.6 miles. Rosarito has several exits between KM 29 and 34 (18-21 miles).

thebajarunner - 10-19-2018 at 05:38 PM

Driving to Rosarito is a whole lot easier than my dozen drives a tear from Oakdale to the San Jose Sharks Tank!!

Way easier
Better parking too

sancho - 10-19-2018 at 08:35 PM

If you fly to San Diego, if it were me, I would take the SD Trolley
from downtown San Diego to the border at San Ysidro/Tijuana,
about 22 mi. or so. I'm familiar with the logistics of this, I
assume you are not, so you would have to be very flexible
and do some research. Walk across the border into TJ,
there are 2 ped crossings into TJ, you will HAVE to have
either a valid Pasdport/Passport card, you can't enter
without one or the other. Then I would take the bus or
my choice would be a taxi with other passengers, called
a collectivo. If you don't have a Passport, you can drive
over. I would avoid car rentals, and take public transportation,
that is if you have a Passport, or drive from the Bay to SD
and drive over, again you are officially required by Mex
Immigration to have a passport, but many US citizens
cross without one. It would be much less stress to be
vehicle free in Mex

JoeJustJoe - 10-19-2018 at 09:26 PM

Driving from San Francisco, to Rosarito, is no problem by car with Google maps, and it's a very easy drive.

If you do decide to drive, I would skip the FMM, stop, nobody cares if you get one, for just a border trip, and it's a waste of time for just a Rosarito trip.

However, if you have a little money in your pockets, I suggest "Southwest" or another airlines, into the San Diego, airport, and again pull your smart phone out, for Uber, and when I'm in San Diego, I used Uber pool, for a real savings, and it's only a short 20 minute trip to the border.

I would then walk into Tijuana, and negotiate a price with a Taxi driver to Rosarito, somewhere between $20 and $30 dollars. I would skip the Uber around the borders, because some of those taxi drivers don't like the competition, and were beating Uber drivers last year!

You can sure save money using a collectivo, but most first time travelers might have trouble finding the ride going their way, nor would they enjoy the ride.

Ken Cooke - 10-20-2018 at 06:19 AM

When returning by car, 4am-6am is consistently your fastest time of day. CBP Border Wait Times APP can provide help when planning to return when your visit is over.

wilderone - 10-20-2018 at 07:17 AM

Fly into SD. Take the MTS bus 992 ($2.25) from airport to Broadway, across from First American Plaza trolley station near the Santa Fe train station. Take the trolley to border ($2.25). Convert some dollars to pesos at one of the kiosks there. Walk across - get no cost FMM for a week (you can't avoid this when you walk across because you're passing through the immigration office). Once you walk out of that building, there's a long winding pathway - but look for the ADO bus station that is near. There is frequent service to Rosarito/Ensenada - every 1/2 hr. or so. About $6 to Rosarito. Have your friend pick you up at the Rosarito Beach Hotel.

[Edited on 10-20-2018 by wilderone]

bobrehfuss - 10-20-2018 at 09:42 PM

I love driving to Baja and do it often. If you have the time and inclination you should drive but you will need to get Mexican auto insurance and FMM. Not difficult or expensive but you will need to get that stuff. From the Bay Area will prob take 9-10 hrs depending on how fast you drive and how often you stop. Unfortunately you will see very little of Baja if you only going as far south as Rosarito. Also you will most likely have a 30min-2hr wait at the border going north.

Another option you might consider is flying from SF to SD. Uber to the Otay border crossing by the TJ airport. Cross at the CBX pedestrian crossing. Uber from there to your friends house in Rosarito. Yes there is uber in TJ. Reverse on your way home. You can do RT air and all four uber rides for around $300-$350. Even less if your friend picks you up and drops you off at the border crossing. As mentioned prior you can get the trolley from the airport to and from the border but for the price I prefer the convenience of Uber.

Alm - 10-21-2018 at 12:50 PM

Rosarito is practically Tijuana.

Flying in to San Diego, without driving:

1) Shuttle or Uber to San Ysidro. Both share the same stop in the airport. $50 for shuttle, less for Uber - if there will be anybody willing to go to SY. 30 minutes ride, plus waiting for a shuttle - could be a few minutes or 30.

1a: minor variation to #1: from airport take a bus 992 to Americas Plaza, and then trolley to San Ysidro. Total trip 80-90 minutes, cost $4.

2) Walk across at SY - they will make you pay $29 for tourist card -
take a cab to the closest stand of Taxi de Ruta, (Av. Madero between 3rd and 4th), and then TDR to Rosarito. TDR is basically a shuttle. Or a cab straight to Rosarito if you don't care about price.

There are other ways as well. You could take Greyhound from SF all they way to Tijuana ($90, very long ride), it arrives to Central de Autobuses, and from there - again a cab to TDR. Cabs parked at the Central de Autobuses (or at the border) are expensive, some kind of monopoly or a union, double and triple prices compared to other cab companies.

There is also Uber from San Diego to Tijuana, or so I heard. Very expensive.

Walking back North:
Pedestrian walk back North in SY is tolerable before 8am, can be very long after 8.30 am. New PedWest at the West end of SY is faster than the old Ped crossing, but there is a longer walk back to Transit Center (if you need the trolley again).

If you decide to drive:
if you take a wrong fork after crossing SY to Mexico, you'll end up in Tijuana downtown - nothing terrible in daytime, but a nightmare during rush hours (at the border too, 3pm-6pm). Return drive to the states is a long wait at the border. 1 hour wait if you get lucky, and finding the end of the line is not straightforward. Tijuana can be annoying.

[Edited on 10-21-2018 by Alm]

JoeJustJoe - 10-21-2018 at 01:57 PM

I checked Uber, on my phone, from the San Diego, Airport, to the San Ysidro, border, is $23 dollars, if you're willing to take the express pool, and ride with other drivers, or if you want Uber ride, all by yourself, it's $33 dollars.

I guess it's cheaper if you want to take a bus, and then get on the trolley, and the wait is not bad, but the trolley stops at every stop, and those trains smell of urine, with all the homeless in San Diego, and the transit cops act like N-zis. Pity those that don't have a ticket.

If you're a senior citizen, over the age of 60, you can ride the buses and trolley in San Diego, for just $1 dollar, but again, be prepared to prove it to the transit cops, if your hair is not all gray.

Someone in this thread said to cross at the CBX. Don't you need an airline ticket to cross into the airport, at the CBX, or is he talking about just the Otay Mesa border crossing?

[Edited on 10-21-2018 by JoeJustJoe]

willardguy - 10-21-2018 at 02:13 PM

drive your own car!

BajaBlanca - 10-21-2018 at 04:10 PM

The trolley is so handy but just like JJJ said, lots of homeless, especially in the downtown area. Sad.

All options are good, it depends on how much you like to drive!

I must admit that the crazy Brazilian driver in me comes out as soon as I cross the border. I just can't help it!

Alm - 10-21-2018 at 04:49 PM

Homeless in San Diego seem to be distributed more evenly than in LA, though they are not interested in remote suburbs towards the border.

Trolley leaves from Americas Plaza, relatively clean area. I don't recall seeing homeless onboard, though possible, as there is no door check like on buses. You are more likely to encounter cuckoos - you know, somebody talking to himself, an inevitable thing in any transit. During off-rush hours from 10am to 1pm both 992 bus and trolley are nice and empty, easy ride. Driver's license should suffice as a proof of senior's discount if anybody asks. Grey hair - really, JJJ?... what if one doesn't have any hair?

Good point on crazy Brazilian driving. Tijuana sucks any day, but rush hour is horrible, words can't describe this. Every few seconds somebody is trying to cut in (or out), very suddenly and quickly, ignoring rules and common sense. If you miss your fork/turn to Rosarito and find yourself in downtown, you need to be very, very careful - and it still might not help during rush hour. In fact, being careful you are more likely to miss your turn because nobody will let you unless you ignore rules too, there is not much courtesy in stampede.

Again, there is a Greyhound option - Uber from airport to San Diego bus terminal, 5 minutes ride. (There is also a trolley from airport, but not from the terminal, you need to take free airport shuttle to that station). Greyhound goes to Tijuana, stops in San Ysidro. Cost $15, takes same 20-30 minutes to the border as any car. At the border people get out, walk through the customs - very short walk, and board the same bus again. You'll likely skip $29 Tourist Card in this case - most passengers are Mexicans, just go with the flow. If they tell you to get Tourist Card - well, then you'll go and get it. You don't have to board the bus again if you don't want to - there are cabs within reasonable distance from the customs, same expensive as those at the TJ bus depot that Greyhound arrives to. There is nothing to it, really.

[Edited on 10-22-2018 by Alm]

JoeJustJoe - 10-21-2018 at 05:46 PM

I live or lived in both places, and I don't know if the homeless in San Diego, seems to be more evenly distributed, because in LA, you have skid row, but the homeless seem to stay within a few blocks of skid row. Then again, you have homeless all over.

In San Diego, you have the homeless, concentrated in the East Village, but they don't stay there, they roam all over downtown San Diego, and just walking most streets in downtown San Diego, you can smell the urine, especially in the summer months, just walking to a place like little Italy.

At least in downtown LA, there is nothing that takes me close to skid row, unless it's a drive by due to traffic.

I don't see the homeless on the trolley, but I can smell the stench of urine on a few of those trolley trains, especially the blue line that goes to San Ysidro.

I don't mean to bash the homeless, but the high rents, and mental illness, are the number 1, and 2 reasons why so there is so much homeless.

So my advise is drive yourself, or take Uber.

[Edited on 10-22-2018 by JoeJustJoe]

willardguy - 10-21-2018 at 07:07 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JoeJustJoe

I live or lived in both places, and I don't know if the homeless in San Diego, seems to be more evenly distributed, because in LA, you have skid roll, but the homeless seem to stay within a few blocks of skid roll. Then again, you have homeless all over.

In San Diego, you have the homeless, concentrated in the East Village, but they don't stay there, they roam all over downtown San Diego, and just walking most streets in downtown San Diego, you can smell the urine, especially in the summer months, just walking to a place like little Italy.

At least in downtown LA, there is nothing that takes me close to skid roll, unless it's a drive by due to traffic.

I don't see the homeless on the trolley, but I can smell the stench of urine on a few of those trolley trains, especially the blue line that goes to San Ysidro.

I don't mean to bash the homeless, but the high rents, and mental illness, are the number 1, and 2 reasons why so there is so much homeless.

So my advise is drive yourself, or take Uber.

skid roll

STFU you idiot!

JoeJustJoe - 10-21-2018 at 08:36 PM

Willardguy, I will fix my mistake, now stop your obsession with me, otherwise I will follow you around and make comments on all your posts. Believe me, you won't like it.

bobrehfuss - 10-21-2018 at 08:42 PM

It was me that said cross at CBX and you do need an airline ticket so that was bad advice. I’ve only crossed when flying and it didn’t occur to me. Thanks for pointing that out. I’d still do the same thing that I recommended just cross at the pedestrian crossing in Otay.

Alm - 10-21-2018 at 08:48 PM

There is (almost) no walk in downtown San Diego when taking 992 bus and then trolley. Bus arrives to the same Americas Plaza where the trolley leaves from. Trolley is literally around the corner from 992 bus. Well, I don't need to convince anybody, have taken this route many times in all the variations that I mentioned. Car, too.

willardguy - 10-21-2018 at 08:49 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JoeJustJoe

Willardguy, I will fix my mistake, now stop your obsession with me, otherwise I will follow you around and make comments on all your posts. Believe me, you won't like it.

im already in that line for a cup of coffee...remember?

and I think you're confusing obsession with disgust

[Edited on 10-22-2018 by willardguy]

Alm - 10-22-2018 at 09:24 AM

Just keep in mind that San Ysidro it closer to everything than Otay ped crossing (except for when you need Otay airport).

San Diego Ubers are not too thrilled about Otay and SY. When going South, you may or may not get Uber quickly - no big deal if you won't, there is a trolley to SY and Greyhound to Tijuana. You'll likely arrive to the border in the afternoon. Once in Mexico, there can be a heavy local traffic from Otay towards downtown (in the afternoon), and much longer distance than from SY. I had one really scary cab ride from Otay to downtown at 5pm, impossible to describe if you haven't seen Mexican driving before. The guy just didn't care about his life.

[Edited on 10-22-2018 by Alm]

JoeJustJoe - 10-22-2018 at 12:12 PM

I was wondering why Bobrehfuss, was recommending Otay, instead of San Ysidro,which is much closer. Maybe, less traffic or something?

I never got the impression that San Diego, Uber, drivers, were not too thrilled about a trip to the border.

It seems to be a decent fair of about $30 dollars, which is better than a short trip to a nearby hotel, or picking up drunks at all the San Diego, bars at closing time, where the patrons are sometimes loud, obnoxious, or they puke in the Uber.

I do imagine the wait at the airport, FIFO, for Uber or Lyft, drivers is not fun because they are not making money while waiting for a fare.

But when I'm in San Diego, and open up the Uber app, it allows me to see all the Ubers that are close by and just waiting for a fare.

I never had to wait more than five minutes for a Uber in San Diego.

BajaBlanca - 10-23-2018 at 02:36 AM

the schoolteacher in me says

BOYS!!! BEHAVE!!!!! lets stick to the topic!

That being said, I have a hard time with the homeless on the trolley. I rarely go by myself to san diego but when I do, it is so much easier to jump on a trolley and head to old town or downtown but it is not a delightful experience at all.