BajaNomad - Baja 500 border traffic

Baja 500 border traffic

postholedigger - 5-30-2008 at 10:45 AM

I'm pretty new to this forum but have been frequenting Baja on a regular basis due to having a friend's place to stay at, at first in Rosarito but now in Ensenada.

Last year I found myself driving back up across the border on the Sunday after the Baja 500. I couldn't find a way to the border that wasn't blocked by el policia. So I tried a different approach by going to Otay. In the end, I ended up taking 6 hours getting across the border. The traffic was insane.

I'm down here in Ensenada now and I have a few friends who were planning to come down here (unrelated to the 500). I just wanted to know if the bad border crossing is the same across the board every time a major event happens down here? Or was my 6 hour ordeal fairly isolated? I just want to give my buddies a heads up. They wanted to come down for some tacos and a little boat tour of the harbor and fish market. Maybe this isn't the right weekend?

bajaguy - 5-30-2008 at 10:55 AM

Anytime there is a holiday, either in the US or in Mexico, border crossings going north are a problem. Plen ahead and adjust your schedule. Crossing north on a Tuesday works, as well as using a SENTRI pass. We cross at Otay with the SENTRI pass and our longest wait on a Monday was 35 minutes.

Where in Ensenada are you????

surfer jim - 5-30-2008 at 11:14 AM

Sundays are allways crowded and with the extra traffic from the race it can only get worse....I say go another weekend.....

fulano - 5-30-2008 at 11:31 AM

If it's any consolation, the entries for the Baja500 are down 40% this year.

ILikeMex - 5-30-2008 at 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fulano
If it's any consolation, the entries for the Baja500 are down 40% this year.

If you don't watch it I'm going to sue your ass for defimation of SCORE

:lol:

postholedigger - 5-30-2008 at 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaguy
Anytime there is a holiday, either in the US or in Mexico, border crossings going north are a problem. Plen ahead and adjust your schedule. Crossing north on a Tuesday works, as well as using a SENTRI pass. We cross at Otay with the SENTRI pass and our longest wait on a Monday was 35 minutes.

Where in Ensenada are you????

Yeah, I don't cross enough to justify getting a Sentri (though it is an alluring thought). I just can't wrap my cheap-burro mind around it.

I'm in northern Ensenada between El Sauzal and Downtown. Near the University/Papagayo area where the main road splits.

Paladin - 5-30-2008 at 04:20 PM

When is the Baja 500???

Or for that matter, are there any holidays I've missed between June 2 and June 20??

Yep those are the days of a long dreamed vacation to Baja.

Bring on the drug dealers, I'm ready :lol:

David K - 5-30-2008 at 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paladin
When is the Baja 500???

Or for that matter, are there any holidays I've missed between June 2 and June 20??

Yep those are the days of a long dreamed vacation to Baja.

Bring on the drug dealers, I'm ready :lol:

Tech inspection/ registration is/ was TODAY... the race starts TOMORROW A.M. (Saturday May 31)... http://www.score-international.com

What is raced?: Some photos from 2 years ago: http://vivabaja.com/606 and from the '03 500: http://vivabaja.com/500

Some say the race has gone to the dogs...

[Edited on 5-30-2008 by David K]

bajaguy - 5-30-2008 at 04:34 PM

Quote:

Try this link, click on the "download edition", then scroll to the events page

http://www.bajanews.info/

[Edited on 5-30-2008 by bajaguy]

bajabound2005 - 5-30-2008 at 06:10 PM

A SENTRI pass is good for 5 years...if you only crossed 2x a year, IT'S WORTH IT! We cross about 1X/month....the first time we used it, we had NO WAIT. That was worth the price of admission right then and there.

sentri

sylens - 5-30-2008 at 06:14 PM

bb2005 and bajaguy are right. they convinced us to go sentri, despite our scottish penny pinching inclination. used it for the first time wednesday and crossed at san ysidro in 12 minutes. took us four hours last december.

well worth it. :bounce:

postholedigger - 5-30-2008 at 11:18 PM

As I post I hear the sound of souped up VW Baja Beetles and other 500 candidates ripping past us on the way to Ensenada. I suppose the toll booth lines will be a precursor for how border traffic will be without SENTRI.

BTW. I don't drive the same car down every time (I do Mission work) so I would have to coordinate and set up multiple SENTRI's along with others who drive the same cars down so the complications/ costs (the benefits still alluring even after the costs) would still be staggering (at least from my analysis and the inquiries I've made).

Ken Cooke - 5-31-2008 at 08:46 AM

Personally, I like crossing in Tecate.

Pescador - 5-31-2008 at 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Personally, I like crossing in Tecate.

Yeah, me too. We crossed Monday at about noon and it took less than 20 minutes and we even had to go to secondary because we had been south for 8 1/2 months. I hope I never have to cross again in Otay or Tijuana.

postholedigger - 5-31-2008 at 03:27 PM

True, the one time I crossed through Tecate we only had to wait for 10 minutes. Then again, unbeknownst to us, we missed the border closing time by 2 minutes. 2 minutes later and we would have found ourselves having to backtrack to Otay or San Ysidro.
BTW, maniacs decided it was worth coming down this weekend so we'll see how they fare come Sunday evening and they take a flying leap at the border.

BajaWarrior - 5-31-2008 at 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Personally, I like crossing in Tecate.

The longest line I've ever encountered crossing any border on a Sunday night was at Tecate and that was around April '07.

Non holiday weekend. 2 1/2 hours.

Ken Cooke - 5-31-2008 at 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BajaWarrior

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke
Personally, I like crossing in Tecate.

The longest line I've ever encountered crossing any border on a Sunday night was at Tecate and that was around April '07.

Non holiday weekend. 2 1/2 hours.

My longest line I've ever encountered was crossing in Tijuana on a Sunday morning - March '07 - 3 hours. Boy, did I need to use the restroom when I finally made it into the U.S.!!

postholedigger - 6-1-2008 at 10:57 AM

Yeah, one time I'd gone on a long run and had to get back across the border right after. I hit the showers and skipped on the gallons of water I usually drink after a run just so I wouldn't have to be worried about having to pee while I waited in border traffic. I was so dying for the bottle of water I had sitting next to me but fear kept me from drinking it till I got to within 2 cars from the border booths.