BajaNomad

Crossing Tijuana from San Diego by foot

tarugus - 7-18-2014 at 03:38 PM

Hello all,

I tried using the search function here for information on crossing Tijuana from San Diego on foot but did not get any result. I also tried to search manually even for an old thread but it will probably take me a long time to find (if there's any).

So, please pardon my laziness but I'm planning to cross Tijuana next month (August) and would like to get some info from the experts here.

From San Diego, what bus do I take to Tijuana? Then from Tijuana, if I want to visit Rosarito, how do I do it?

Will it be difficult to find budget hotels at Tijuana or Rosarito by that time of the year (August)? Hope for some tips from anyone here. Thanks.

Manni

chippy - 7-18-2014 at 03:48 PM

Take the trolley to the border. Walk across and catch a taxi to the bus station.

tjsue - 7-18-2014 at 07:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by chippy
Take the trolley to the border. Walk across and catch a taxi to the bus station.


Follow these instructions, and you won't have a problem. When you get off the trolley at the border, just follow all the people, and you'll be in Tijuana after you go through the revolving doors.

tarugus - 7-18-2014 at 09:28 PM

thank you both. i'll take note of that. how about budget hotels in both places? not necessarily by the coast. any info, please? thanks again.

dasubergeek - 7-18-2014 at 10:52 PM

OK, a word about lodging in the Baja Riviera area (that's TJ to Ensenada).

There are hotels and there are motels. Unlike the US, where a motel is just a cheap hotel, in Mexico a motel is rented for a certain number of hours. If you want to stay the whole night you have to say so ("es por toda la noche").

I don't know what "budget" means to you. The fanciest hotels in Tijuana run about $100 a night on the weekend. That'd be the Grand Hotel Tijuana, the Pueblo Amigo, and the Ticuán. (Actually, the Ticuán is 850 pesos, or about $65, on weekends.)

If you want to go cheaper, you can certainly go cheaper. The Aqua Rio is perfectly good, right near downtown (one block west of Revolución, on Constitución between 9th and 10th) and runs $32 a night on the weekend. The Palacio Azteca is nice, too, and runs $40ish a night.

Or you can stay at Hotel América, on 4th and Negrete, two blocks east of Revolución. It looks grungy but it's perfectly clean and secure inside, and the last time I stayed there it cost me $18 (though it was a Wednesday).

Others will have to advise you on Rosarito. The Rosarito Beach Hotel is expensive, and if you're going to pay that much you might as well rent a condo in, say, La Paloma and have a good time.

tarugus - 7-19-2014 at 08:50 AM

thank you very much for those info on lodging. i'm writing them on my notes already. that will help me a lot on this upcoming trip. i think i like the price at aqua rio. it's my first time to be in this part of mexico. i spend most of my holidays in cancun/riviera maya.

BajaBlanca - 7-19-2014 at 09:08 AM

Ensenada is so much prettier than Tijuana .... you might consider jumping on a bus for 1.5 hours to be in a beautiful location.

tarugus - 7-20-2014 at 05:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaBlanca
Ensenada is so much prettier than Tijuana .... you might consider jumping on a bus for 1.5 hours to be in a beautiful location.


thanks for the tip. i have a week, so, i might just bus to there. i'll see how it goes.

tarugus - 7-20-2014 at 10:15 AM

Additional question: I believe I'll be needing a tourist card when entering Mexico which I need to show immigration when I go back to enter the US. My question is, where is the Mexican immigration office located when walking into Tijuana? Thanks for any reply.

dasubergeek - 7-21-2014 at 01:23 PM

OK, here goes.

If you are there for longer than 3 days OR if you go south of Ensenada at all, you need an FMM (Forma Migratoria Múltiple). If you are staying for 7 days or less, it is free. If you are staying 7-180 days, it costs about $30.

When you walk into the room where you'll push the button for the traffic light, you'll see a desk off to the side. That's where you get it. Or ask any uniformed officer for "INM", ee-ennay-emmay. The INM officers speak English.

Now, the reality is that absolutely no one checks for an FMM until you get south of Ensenada or you fly out of Tijuana or Mexicali airports. It is up to you to decide whether to comply with the law. You will need a passport to get an FMM.

Finally, there is no checkpoint upon leaving north. The US officers couldn't care less whether you have an FMM, and the Mexican officers don't check. Finding the INM office to turn it in is horrible, because it's at the El Chaparral checkpoint, where the cars cross, nowhere near the pedestrian crossing.

I will tell you that I have had many, many FMMs that were never 'cancelled' and the Mexican immigration authorities never say anything about it. There's an address you can mail the slip of paper to if you want but nearly everyone just throws it away.

wilderone - 7-21-2014 at 06:03 PM

Mexican tourist visa "... which I need to show immigration when I go back to enter the US."
You won't need to show a Mexican visa to re-enter the US - You need a US passport or other types of documents to re-enter the US.
Also, you don't need to take a taxi to the bus station to get to Rosarito. There is an ABC bus station about 2 blocks from where you will enter into TJ that leaves several times a day to Rosarito and Ensenada. Just cross over to the plaza behind where the taxi drivers are all lined up - bear to your left and look for the ABC building.
There is also a bus station in San Ysidro up the little hill where you will be walking into TJ where you can get on a bus to Rosarito or Ensenada.
I can't advise you on hotels - maybe Estero Beach hotel in Ensenada - they have a nice restaurant.

tarugus - 7-21-2014 at 06:39 PM

Thank you so very much everyone for the information. I guess I am now ready to "walk" to Mexico. It's not my first time in Mexico having been to Cancun two consecutive years but it's my first time to "walk" the border. It's made me a bit worried first but reading all the information you guys provided here vanished my concern.

If I like the Baja area, I will probably switch holiday destination from the Yucatan to the Baja Peninsula. The airfare to San Diego from Toronto is almost the same with Cancun anyway and I have family in LA which is a bonus if I needed immediate contact. Too bad my family in LA believes in all the crap they read in the media about Mexico - have never crossed the border, so, they can't really help me with what I need to know.

I appreciate your info, guys. You're all super!

sancho - 7-22-2014 at 12:05 PM

It is impossible to determine one's perception of a certain area
of Mex, if one has not been to that area. The border area,
Rosarito is not a clear example of what Baja has to offer.
Not suggesting there is anything negative, but is not the typical
Baja, which to me, begins a few 100 mi. so of the border. Bays,
beaches, small towns, my favorite city, La Paz. But one generally
has his intro to Baja in the border zone. I've been hopping across the border since the 70's, then later down the Peninsula. The Tourist card/fmm, if it were me, and I was on foot going
to Rosarito, I would not bother with one, either the $23
or the free 7 day, but yes they are technically required for
stays of over 72 hrs. anywhere in Mex, It would be helpful
to have a little Spanish in TJ, you coud ask/find the Collectivo/Ruta
Taxis to Rosarito, or a bus leaving from the Old Downtown
bus station a couple blks before Revolution Ave

San Ysidro Border- South on Foot

shorethingz - 7-23-2014 at 08:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chippy
Take the trolley to the border. Walk across and catch a taxi to the bus station.


Within the last 2 weeks I have crossed going south at San Ysidro on foot. The route was changed drastically.(hopefully it's temporary-it seems it started in Sept last year?) As you leave the Trolley you no longer immediately cross over the freeway. You must go to the left and take a route that is much longer, there are ups and downs over rough patches of concrete, and winding stairs, and not much shade. There was not access to a cab until you eventually get the other side of freeway, and by then you are close to the la linea ABC station. If just walking with a light load, this may not be a problem, but if carrying luggage etc it may be difficult for some.

dasubergeek - 7-23-2014 at 10:25 AM

There isn't a better option, though. The only other place to get taxis requires walking uphill to Ferrocarril at the tail end of the pedestrian line.

tarugus - 7-23-2014 at 12:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by shorethingz
Within the last 2 weeks I have crossed going south at San Ysidro on foot. The route was changed drastically.(hopefully it's temporary-it seems it started in Sept last year?) As you leave the Trolley you no longer immediately cross over the freeway. You must go to the left and take a route that is much longer, there are ups and downs over rough patches of concrete, and winding stairs, and not much shade. There was not access to a cab until you eventually get the other side of freeway, and by then you are close to the la linea ABC station. If just walking with a light load, this may not be a problem, but if carrying luggage etc it may be difficult for some.


Thanks for this update, knowing what's ahead keeps from getting surprise. If this is still the case, there's really nothing we can do about it, right? Or is there any other way to cross without going through this longer walk - like taking a bus across, perhaps? I hope someone else with recent experience chime in with an update. Thanks again.

Crossing border on foot-South

shorethingz - 7-23-2014 at 05:42 PM

I second the idea to go to Ensenada. 2 hr bus ride and about $13 (they leave every 30 minutes to Ensenada) from la linea ABC station.
When arriving San Diego airport there is a city bus # 992 every 15 minutes right out front of baggage areas. You should have correct change $2.25. This bus will take you to the santa fe train/trolley station. Here you buy a ticket from a machine ($2.50). Catch the next Blue line trolley on west side of track. (this takes you to the border). You don't need a taxi if you are going to the la linea bus station, it is about 2 blocks after the walk I talked about early. If you want the central station you'll need a cab.

tjsue - 7-23-2014 at 09:15 PM

You can take trolley to the border and then take a red Mexicoach bus downtown to the bus station. I don't know how much they cost. I don't know why you're afraid of the walk, thousands of people do it every day, and it's not as bad as Shorethingz says it is.

Besides, you don't have to walk and climb steps to get a cab. When you go down the steps after going through the Aduana, make a left, and just keep walking past the steps. When you get to the end of the path, you'll see lines of white taxi libres just waiting for fares.

One of them will be more than happy to take you to your destination.

shorethingz - 7-24-2014 at 12:25 PM

Great tips tjsue I was wondering about Mexicoach, it's been a while since I used them, where do you catch one these days? Good to know about the taxi's when I have luggage. I walk to and from the abc bus with no problems, no reason to be afraid.

dasubergeek - 7-24-2014 at 08:36 PM

The Mexicoach stop is at the Border Station parking lot. As you head south on I-5 or I-805, take the last US exit for Camino de la Plaza. Then turn right off the ramp and right into the first driveway. Parking is either $8 or $10 per day depending on demand, and the lot is guarded at all hours.

As for walking across, it's actually easier now that the southbound entrance is on the east side of the I-5 freeway. Get off the trolley and walk past the McDonalds. You'll turn left and go up the side of the building and then turn right along a nice new path. It's uphill but not stairs. You'll see a huge gate that says MEXICO. Then you walk up a flight of stairs into the customs building. You can get your FMM there if you need one, and then

I don't think there are taxis at the old SENTRI return, because they're not allowed through by the tránsitos on Padre Kino. They are all up at the top of the hill now, or on the other side of the freeway on the Mexican side.