BajaNomad

Tecate toll road

fandango - 2-25-2014 at 06:40 PM

I was behind a truck on the libre road travelling north today from Ensenada to San ysidro, our top speed was 7mph. It was slow and grueling.

I would like to try a new route.
I looked at google earth and I think a possible route is going towards tecate from Ensenada on the Ruta del vino, mex 3, then taking the toll road to otay. It looks like it is just 30 miles on the toll road and it is 2 lanes.
Total time is 1 1/2 hours ensenada to tecate and 30 minutes tecate to otay. These times would be a little shorter since I would not be going all the way into tecate.

How is the truck traffic on mex 3? Is mex 3 as twisty as mex 1?
Hs anyone taken this route?

Thanks for any info you have.

CakedecT - 2-25-2014 at 06:50 PM

I take mex3 through Tecate all the time now since the toll road collapse. There are several trucks but there are all very courteous about passing. There are a lot of shoulders for them to pull to the right. It is curvy but not too bad. Never more than 90 minutes to Tecate.

DENNIS - 2-25-2014 at 07:15 PM

I believe the toll road from Tecate to Blvd. 2000 is 16 miles and it used to be around a dollar per mile. Tolls have gone up a bit since I was last on that road.
The toll road is a great drive...especially after some rain....and due to the cost, there's very little traffic.

Just wondering....since you go all the way to Tecate, why don't you cross there?

dasubergeek - 2-25-2014 at 07:41 PM

The 2D toll highway is 45 km (28 miles) and costs 98 pesos. They accept dollars (so it'd be 7 dollars and change) but change is only made in pesos, unlike the esc�nica. Once you pay at the Tijuana end of the toll road, make your first exit to the right and you will be on Blvd. Industrial toward the Otay border.

It is faster, even with the wait time, to head west on the Mexican side than on the U.S. side, because the highway from Tecate to San Diego is two lanes, twisty, and the border checkpoint is nearly always open.

Highway 3 is, as CakedecT says, curvy, but the trucks are very courteous. The same can't be said for the four-wheelers.

Be extremely vigilant about following all the traffic laws in Tecate; the police are notoriously strict, even far in the south where the toll road crosses the Ensenada highway.

[Edited on 2-26-2014 by dasubergeek]

fandango - 2-25-2014 at 10:51 PM

CakedecT: thanks for that info, glad to hear about the truckers.

Dennis: that toll is pricey, but I'll try it. I'd like to avoid the 94 and I think it will be faster on the tecate toll road.

Dasubergeek: a good reminder for the policia thanks. I thought it would be better on the toll road than the 94.

Thanks for the tips and info.

Pescador - 2-26-2014 at 07:23 AM

The toll is now 101 pesos. I would imagine they are spending a lot of time making change for that one extra peso, but the Ensenada/Tijuana toll road did the same thing and they are now 31 pesos. Go figure.

David K - 2-26-2014 at 09:41 AM

Why would you drive all the way to Tecate, then not cross into the USA at Tecate??? The only logic is if you are going to be there after 11 pm when that border closes.

dasubergeek - 2-26-2014 at 10:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Pescador
The toll is now 101 pesos. I would imagine they are spending a lot of time making change for that one extra peso, but the Ensenada/Tijuana toll road did the same thing and they are now 31 pesos. Go figure.


Oh, that's right. It's because of the increase in the IVA sales tax from 11 to 16%. Good catch.

Udo - 2-26-2014 at 11:37 AM

The toll road is REALLY not worth the money.
The free road is almost as fast.
And as DK said, why not cross at Tecate. You'll be right there (unless you happen to have a SENTRI pass).
The crossing has gotten a little longer the last few weeks because of the traffic on the free Mex 1 road since the road slide just north of the Ensenada toll booth.
But even as a single lane, the crossing time is anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour.
There does not seem to be a better time to cross than another.

MAP

David K - 2-26-2014 at 03:56 PM



He said

bajaguy - 2-26-2014 at 05:05 PM

He would like to "avoid the 94"...........so apparently he is not interested in crossing at Tecate

Bajahowodd - 2-26-2014 at 06:03 PM

From my perspective, when having driven up from far South in Baja, the 94 is a little like still being on Mex 1. On a good day, the wait at the Tecate crossing cannot be beat.

DENNIS - 2-26-2014 at 06:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
From my perspective, when having driven up from far South in Baja, the 94 is a little like still being on Mex 1.


Never yet seen a busted side mirror on the 94.
Worst drivers on that road are the Border Patrol. Freakin' maniacs.

fandango - 2-26-2014 at 08:45 PM

thanks for all of the information and opinions.

i do have sentri and bajaguy saw that i wanted to avoid the 94.

yesterday (tuesday) at the san ysidro sentri lane there was an agent sitting on the k rail just before you display your card, he had a clipboard and asked each car how long we were in line.

the line was very long and we were barely able to turn right off of blvd centenario it was so backed up and not moving for a few minutes. we were at the window in 16 minutes, we moved quickly once it started moving. 3 sentri booths open, meaning 6 windows. once leaving the booth all lanes went down to 2 lanes to go over the speed mountains. what a nightmare. a guy in a small pick up clipped my back right quarter panel and broke his left turn signal. he left a light rub mark on my paint.:o

dasubergeek - 2-27-2014 at 11:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bajahowodd
From my perspective, when having driven up from far South in Baja, the 94 is a little like still being on Mex 1. On a good day, the wait at the Tecate crossing cannot be beat.


At the weekend it's longer than Otay plus the drive to Otay. It's been ridiculous�last time I crossed at Tecate was a Sunday afternoon and it was 90 minutes. It would've been 60 at Otay. (I had people who couldn't walk across and couldn't SENTRI.)

David K - 2-27-2014 at 03:11 PM

I have waited 5 hours once at Tecate (Sunday 4 pm-9pm)... Another time it was 3 hours... But, all the other times it was under an hour, so the average is still in Tecate's favor. The key is to not cross back on a Sunday afternoon (or Monday on a 3 day weekend). It's fine with us who like Tecate for the rest of you to go to the others, by-the-way! :light::biggrin:

I am wondering with all the money that was spent and changes made last year to speed up border crossing... why is the opposite true...? It would be better if they didn't mess with it (like other recent projects of our government)!

Bajahowodd - 2-27-2014 at 05:53 PM

My post clearly stated "on a good day". I suppose that the folks who just take weekends in Baja, Sunday afternoon is not a good day at Tecate.

Our trips tend to be ten days to two weeks, and we design them so that we can cross in the middle of the week.

No argument over the fact that Tecate has so few booths. So, during busy periods, such as Sundays and holidays, it is to be avoided.

fandango - 6-22-2014 at 11:23 PM

a couple of months ago i travelled north to otay sentri via the ruta del vino and tecate/tj toll road and just took the same route south.

total travel time from the cantu area of punta banda to the otay sentri lane was about 2 hours 25 minutes northbound. 45 of those minutes just to get from cantu through ensenada to the exit for tecate.

there are 2 sections that are just 1 lane without a shoulder which totals about 20 minutes.

most of the truck drivers were courteous but there were maniacs as well. 5 trucks passing 2 doubles at the highest part of the road, on a curve, just after we all had passed a truck that had flipped, spilling his load on both sides of the road.

the toll was 101 mx and the view of the border fence on that road was interesting.

durrelllrobert - 6-23-2014 at 09:00 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by fandango
I was behind a truck on the libre road travelling north today from Ensenada to San ysidro, our top speed was 7mph. It was slow and grueling.

I would like to try a new route.
I looked at google earth and I think a possible route is going towards tecate from Ensenada on the Ruta del vino, mex 3, then taking the toll road to otay. It looks like it is just 30 miles on the toll road and it is 2 lanes.
Total time is 1 1/2 hours ensenada to tecate and 30 minutes tecate to otay. These times would be a little shorter since I would not be going all the way into tecate.

How is the truck traffic on mex 3? Is mex 3 as twisty as mex 1?
Hs anyone taken this route?

Thanks for any info you have.


You can avoid the 2 uphill grades, curves and slow traffic leaving Ensenada on the free road by taking highway 3 as far as San Antonio de Las Minas then taking the first paved left turn and following that road back to the free road (comes out at the Valle de Guadalupe turn off). Adds 7.6 miles to your trip north but probably reduces travel time to La mission by at least 20 minutes,.


(edit to change San Jose to San Antonio)

[Edited on 6-23-2014 by durrelllrobert]

dasubergeek - 6-23-2014 at 10:18 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Quote:
Originally posted by fandango
I was behind a truck on the libre road travelling north today from Ensenada to San ysidro, our top speed was 7mph. It was slow and grueling.

I would like to try a new route.
I looked at google earth and I think a possible route is going towards tecate from Ensenada on the Ruta del vino, mex 3, then taking the toll road to otay. It looks like it is just 30 miles on the toll road and it is 2 lanes.
Total time is 1 1/2 hours ensenada to tecate and 30 minutes tecate to otay. These times would be a little shorter since I would not be going all the way into tecate.

How is the truck traffic on mex 3? Is mex 3 as twisty as mex 1?
Hs anyone taken this route?

Thanks for any info you have.


You can avoid the 2 uphill grades, curves and slow traffic leaving Ensenada on the free road by taking highway 3 as far as San Jose de Las Minas then taking the first paved left turn and following that road back to the free road (comes out at the Valle de Guadalupe turn off). Adds 7.6 miles to your trip north but probably reduces travel time to La mission by at least 20 minutes,.


It's a little less obvious than that: you take Highway 3 and then once you get through San Antonio (not San Jos�) de las Minas, where the traffic light is, you have to U-turn and then turn right. There's a big sign for it, though, for El Tigre. Then, as you say, left at the stop and back to the free road. The intersection where you make that left is all chewed up, though.

If you're not afraid of dirt roads--and the dirt roads in the Valle de Guadalupe are paradise compared to elsewhere on the peninsula--you can turn left at the traffic light (it looks like a driveway but it isn't) and go up the dirt road, which is smooth and graded except for the last 50 meters where it meets the El Tigre road. Saves you a little more time since you're not going further into the Valle.

(If you're fond of using Google Street View to get your bearings, the GSV images of S. A. de las Minas are ancient, before the traffic light went in, so you won't be able to see it as well. If you're coming from Ensenada, it's just before the Oxxo on the left side.)

durrelllrobert - 6-23-2014 at 04:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dasubergeek
Quote:
Originally posted by durrelllrobert


You can avoid the 2 uphill grades, curves and slow traffic leaving Ensenada on the free road by taking highway 3 as far as San Jose de Las Minas then taking the first paved left turn and following that road back to the free road (comes out at the Valle de Guadalupe turn off). Adds 7.6 miles to your trip north but probably reduces travel time to La mission by at least 20 minutes,.


It's a little less obvious than that: you take Highway 3 and then once you get through San Antonio (not San Jos�) de las Minas, where the traffic light is, you have to U-turn and then turn right. There's a big sign for it, though, for El Tigre. Then, as you say, left at the stop and back to the free road. The intersection where you make that left is all chewed up, though.

If you're not afraid of dirt roads--and the dirt roads in the Valle de Guadalupe are paradise compared to elsewhere on the peninsula--you can turn left at the traffic light (it looks like a driveway but it isn't) and go up the dirt road, which is smooth and graded except for the last 50 meters where it meets the El Tigre road. Saves you a little more time since you're not going further into the Valle.


Sorry, I meant San Antonio. David K's map above shows this clearly (except for the u turn)

DENNIS - 6-23-2014 at 05:01 PM

Did the Otay / Tecate toll road again today....$101 Ps for 15.3 miles of heaven. We were almost the only car on the road.