bajajurel - 7-26-2009 at 01:23 PM
Hola Nomads,
The last post I can find on road conditions from Ensenada to Tecate is from 12/2008. Does anyone have an update on this portion of Mex 3? I have
never traveled this road before and I am usually pulling my 19' boat.
1. Is this a good route to avoid the toll road?
2. Is crossing at Tecate any faster than Otay or San Y?
3. Is there an update available on the Ensenada bypass?
Gracias,
Curt63 - 7-26-2009 at 03:24 PM
I drove it on June 13. 2/3 of The road (near Ensenada) is new, wide and beatiful.
I crossed into mex at tecate on June 3 and it there was no wait. There is very little room to park and have your visa stamped. I've heard suggestions
to stop before you cross, walk into mexico, get stamp and walk back to vehicle in US.
Ive also heard about new southbound inspections by Mexicans at San Ysidro. Dont know about Tecate.
In addition, you travel through a beautiful wine country that I like much better than Mex1.
Mex 3 is curvier and has many small and some large hills, but so does Mex1 (along the border fence)
rts551 - 7-26-2009 at 03:30 PM
curt stop it.
The road can get congested with trucks. it is not a 70 mile an hour detour. Most of it is old two lane hiway. Tecate is getting bigger and bigger.
crossing into US involves only one or two lanes. south is only one lane.
Then on the US side you have to traverse another two lane hiway
It can be a shortcut for prople coming from the east.
DENNIS - 7-26-2009 at 03:51 PM
DENNIS
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posted on 6-24-2009 at 04:55 PM
HIGHWAY 3 ----- ROAD CONDITIONS TODAY
Went up this AM and was surprised at what has been accomplished since my last trip. The road, two lanes each direction, is pristine from Sauzal to San
Antonio and a bit beyond. If you want to see it right, see it now.
At about the thirty mile mark, the potholes start although there's an obvious effort in progress to fill them. At any rate, watch the road for the
next twenty miles.
24 KMs from Tecate there is road work. One lane with a flagman. It's only about a mile long and no problem.
Worst part is the potholes and I've seen worse.
C'mon down. There's less construction on 3 than the toll road.
Curt63 - 7-26-2009 at 04:18 PM
I didn't see trucks, but I believe you. I still like Tecate better. Tijuana area makes me really uptight. The drive down the coast from TJ depresses
me cause I remember the way it was when I surfed there in the late 70's.
When I was college age, I got pulled over twice in one trip through TJ and paid fines.
in 2007, if my group of 2 trucks hadn't paid a $60 bribe(It wasn't me) to the Tijuana Police that were "shutting down" access to the San Ysidro
crossing, they would have sent us to Otay right in the path of the wildfires of October 2007 (the big one). Those burroes had no idea a major fire was
raging in the US.
bajajurel - 7-27-2009 at 11:55 AM
Thanks Nomads for the replies. I might try it next month.
LisaR. - 7-27-2009 at 03:06 PM
Another option is to take the toll road from Popotla (just south of Rosarito)to Tecate. We did that the day before yesterday, and the road is
great--there are no tight curves and the road surface is in very good condition. There a few things to think about on that route, though... First,
you will need to exit 1D North before you get to Popotla and drive north on the free road to the exit. We didn't recognize the exit in time, and
ended up paying the toll at Rosarito, then having to make a U-turn in town. It would have been a tricky "retourno" if we had been towing anything.
Another thing is that the toll was 80 pesos--that's right, 80!
As far as crossing at Tecate, we stayed Saturday night in Tecate, and crossed at about 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning. There were 2 cars in front of us!
TWO!!! I couldn't believe it! I think it took a grand total of 4 minutes to get through. The US customs official was very pleasant, asked the basic
questions, scanned our passports, and wished us a nice day. If you time it right, crossing at Tecate is absolutely a better option. On the US side,
the highway toward San Diego is curvy, but it is wide and in excellent condition. Plus, it is beautiful country to drive through.
larry - 7-27-2009 at 07:43 PM
I drove Ensenada to Tecate on Hiway 3 on Sat, the 11th--the road was in great condition and very little traffic, as is usually my experience (once or
twice a year).
David K - 7-27-2009 at 08:23 PM
We drove to Tecate using the Blvd. 2000 and toll road 2-D... last Saturday after dinner at the Half Way House, coming from Ensenada on the free road
(because of major backup at first toll) (San Miguel Village)...
Tecate border line had only a 33 minute wait at 7:07pm!
redhilltown - 7-29-2009 at 11:41 PM
I'm with Curt on this one. Why deal with TJ if you don't have to? Tecate has one lane, less beggars, and a far better vibe than any of the other
crossings...even if you do have to occasionally wait up to an hour. Though, I would love to find the Einstein who designed the crossing in that big
rigs cross in FRONT of the automobile traffic right at the exit. What in the heck were they thinking???