BajaNomad

Securing FMM - Best Method

Wilbur4s - 12-5-2013 at 10:53 AM

Folks,
Newbie here; looking for confirmation of a process of minimizing the time required to secure the FMM, hence the border crossing. Given that I will enter Mexico at the Tecate border, I've got conflicting ideas from different folks and I'm trying to get enough input to determine how best to move forward with this process. Here are the 2 ideas that have been proposed.
1) Day before actual crossing at Tecate, walk across border at San Ysidro and secure FMM. Next day, don't have to deal with it.
2) Day of crossing at Tecate, just secure FMM at Tecate crossing.

My basic concern is, under average conditions, which method yields the least amount time?

Thanks, Will

FMM

bajaguy - 12-5-2013 at 11:00 AM

Pick door #2

Don't overthink the procedure/process

David K - 12-5-2013 at 11:04 AM

#1 if it is not a big deal for you... We did this in 2012, and made it a breeze when we crossed later loaded for Baja.

#2 If during daylight hours, to insure better odds of the person with the cash box being there to take the fee.

Obviously #2 takes the least time... Only only one visit to the border.

A third choice is to get a pre-paid FMM at Discover Baja Travel Club, but you still need to stop at the border INM office to get it validated... The advantage is no worry about a bank teller being there or someone that can take the fee payment.

sancho - 12-5-2013 at 11:53 AM

For TJ, it all depends on how long the pedestrian line is
coming out of TJ, weekends 2 hrs. +, I'm sure
weekdays 10am, maybe from 0 to 20 min., I have done
it that way, but all things equal go to Tecate,
a lot is made of fmm's, which I don't get the point,
prepaid, online hopes, Tour Bus with 50 getting fmm's
in front of you,
I've never experienced anything but 10 min or so

[Edited on 12-5-2013 by sancho]

David K - 12-5-2013 at 02:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by sancho
For TJ, it all depends on how long the pedestrian line is
coming out of TJ, weekends 2 hrs. +, I'm sure
weekdays 10am, maybe from 0 to 20 min., I have done
it that way, but all things equal go to Tecate,
a lot is made of fmm's, which I don't get the point,
prepaid, online hopes, Tour Bus with 50 getting fmm's
in front of you,
I've never experienced anything but 10 min or so

[Edited on 12-5-2013 by sancho]


This!

There can be LONG pedestrian lines to get back into the U.S. at Tijuana... Good point.

Wilbur4s - 12-5-2013 at 04:07 PM

Good input, thanks folks.

mulegemichael - 12-5-2013 at 04:34 PM

we JUST crossed over at tecate this morning....we crossed the border at 8am and were pulled into their "secondary", which is really nothing but a few superficial questions, made us open the back of the 4runner, asked if the 8 tires i had were for my cars or what, (i told him they were for our boat trailers), groveled a couple of bags and opened a tote briefly then told us to move on....AND provided us with a parking space so we could come back and get our fmms...came back to immigration, got paperwork, took it to the adjacent bank to pay,(and this was the longest portion of time), returned to immigration, stamp, stamp, stamp and we were on our way out of tecate....we were filling our gas tank at the fringes of tecate by 8:50am....not bad...here at hotel jardines in san quintin by 2pm and that includes the stinking muddy mess of road construction between the border and here...pretty happy with an adult beverage now...home in mulege by tomorrow afternoon, hopefully.

David K - 12-5-2013 at 06:23 PM

NICE!