Tried it for walking for the first time. In the past only used El Chap for car and bus, and the old Ped East for walk-in.
Compared to the old Ped East - a LOT of walking, with up and down ramps. Not a problem for a healthy and/or younger people as long as you don't have
heavy or bulky luggage - even with the best luggage cart on uphill ramp you feel the weight. Southbound up-ramp on the Mexican side is steeper than
Northbound.
There is also a bit of walking (10 minutes?) from the trolley to El Chap Southbound entry, though with a tolerable up-ramp.
On the positive note, I was surprised to see a very short "regular" pedestrian line Northbound at 8.30 am, less than 10 minutes. Nexus/Sentri line was
non-existent, the only officer in Sentri was taking people from a regular line. On the Ped East even with Sentri card there was always 10-20 minutes
Nexus line, and the regular line was 60-90 minutes or longer.
Southbound pedestrian line for "estranjeros" without Mex passport was also nonexistent on El Chap.
[Edited on 12-19-2019 by Alm]BajaBlanca - 12-19-2019 at 04:04 PM
I love chaparral, I really am a BIG fan. The stores on the US side don't open until 10 am, so there is never a line before this time when you are
headed north. I am a glutton for punishment, I always have a really big suitcase, sometimes two, filled with goodies for my scholarship kids.
I get dropped off on the US side and walk across or take a taxi from or to the bus terminal on the Mexican side. Cheaper from the terminal to pedwest
as it is controlled. One has to ask the driver how much they are charging to get you to the bus terminal when at the foot of pedwest since they will
overcharge. Been there and stupidly done that.
del mar - 12-19-2019 at 05:43 PM
so if you wanted to drive up and walk across chapparral into the u.s. where could you park on the tijuana side?bajabuddha - 12-19-2019 at 06:06 PM
One has to ask the driver how much they are charging to get you to the bus terminal when at the foot of pedwest since they will overcharge. Been
there and stupidly done that.
That's fer dang sure. Besides, "uno cerveza por favor" and "donde esta el bano", the term "quanto questa" was a term first learned and used in '83 to
Mazatlán with the taxis. Triple price from bar to hotel as hotel to bar.
Buyer beware, siempre. Alm - 12-20-2019 at 05:19 PM
I took Mex cab from El Chap to a quite remote ABC/Aguila bus terminal in Otay-ish area. Had him stop and deviate a few times for some things in
Tijuana, and even then it was only 11 USD in pesos. By comparison, Greyhound bus from SY to the same terminal costs 15 USD.
I didn't hire him right after the customs pedestrian bridge, but crossed the street to the corner store towards the end of the long line of cabs,
mostly Taxi Libre. Maybe that's why he was more agreeable.
As I wrote in another thread, night bus Southbound is not to be feared. Less than half-full at Tijuana, had 2 seats for myself. Mostly empty after
San Quintin-ish, I took 4 seats - 2 on each side of aisle, to stretch my legs completely, this is when I could nod off. Seats on one side of aisle
are not exactly across the seats on the other side, but are offset by several inches though I doubt this is intentional.BAJA.DESERT.RAT - 12-20-2019 at 06:01 PM
Hola Alm,
i thank you for this post.
it looks like a more difficult walk than at the old crossing.
the old crossing where the tram stops IS a long walk for me BUT, at least it is relatively flat. if there is a next time, as i have problems walking
that far, i was thinking maybe i can hire one of the guys with a hand truck to take me to where i can get a taxi.
BIEN SALUD, DA RATAlm - 12-21-2019 at 02:19 PM
I recall seeing people with hand truck before the old crossing.
OTH, there are/were affordable pedicabs and SY transit bus to the El Chap crossing every 20 minutes or so. So for Southbound, the up-ramp on the US
side and 0.6-0.7 mile walk to El Chap can be avoided.
Once you enter El Chap Southbound doors, it's ~ 1/4 mile to the cabs, with an up-ramp and down-ramp.
About buses again... As much as the night bus Tij-GN is fine, daytime bus back to Tijuana sucks. There is A/C and heating but there is no
ventilation. It arrives from La Paz or even from Cabo, not terribly full but without a single cubic inch of oxygen inside. And then they torture you
with 6-8 nonstop movies on overhead screens. Newer buses have built-in monitors in the front chair and free headphones, but there are still some older
buses.
