BajaNomad

Returning to the US via Tecate vs. Calexico East

sbsyncro - 6-3-2016 at 12:00 PM

I usually come back via Calexico East and with my SENTRI its a breeze. But I have a trip coming up in late June and will have friends with me that do not have SENTRI. I don't want to risk my Global Entry status getting caught with them jumping out and meeting me on the other side, so I'm considering the jaunt to Tecate and crossing there.

We'll be leaving San Felipe on a weekday early morning, so it wont be in the full heat of the afternoon or a weekend, but it will still be hot and busy in Calexico, I'm sure.

After crossing we're heading to Santa Barbara, so heading west doesn't cost us anything in terms of efficiency.

What are people's thoughts on crossing at Tecate versus Calexico East? The drive to the crossing on the Mexico side looks like about 30-40 minutes longer for Tecate.

Thanks!

Maderita - 6-3-2016 at 12:27 PM

I would cross at Tecate. You can avoid much of the Mexicali cross town traffic and have cooler temperatures at the border. Weekdays, mid-day should be a short wait.




[Edited on 6-3-2016 by Maderita]

sbsyncro - 6-3-2016 at 12:46 PM

Thank you! I just realized that we'll be crossing on a Sunday, not a weekday which is probably better for Tecate and worse for Calexico. :-)

Maderita - 6-3-2016 at 01:02 PM

Sunday is the worst day to cross the border to the USA. Ideally, you would aim for Tecate by 11:00 AM. The earlier the better, and the shorter the wait times.


David K - 6-3-2016 at 04:48 PM

TECATE... even if it is slow, beats the heat in line at Mexicali!

mtgoat666 - 6-3-2016 at 08:04 PM

Mid day on a weekday traveling with commoners (non-sentri) I would just take the 2nd class lane at one of the Mexicali crossings.. You'll save time compared to driving to tecate and taking 94.

P.s. Just last week I tried the sentri lane at Mexicali west, it was a breeze, and lanes for 2nd class citizens looked pretty light on a Weekday afternoon,...
Quote: Originally posted by sbsyncro  
I usually come back via Calexico East and with my SENTRI its a breeze. But I have a trip coming up in late June and will have friends with me that do not have SENTRI. I don't want to risk my Global Entry status getting caught with them jumping out and meeting me on the other side, so I'm considering the jaunt to Tecate and crossing there.

We'll be leaving San Felipe on a weekday early morning, so it wont be in the full heat of the afternoon or a weekend, but it will still be hot and busy in Calexico, I'm sure.

After crossing we're heading to Santa Barbara, so heading west doesn't cost us anything in terms of efficiency.

What are people's thoughts on crossing at Tecate versus Calexico East? The drive to the crossing on the Mexico side looks like about 30-40 minutes longer for Tecate.

Thanks!

mtgoat666 - 6-3-2016 at 08:06 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
TECATE... even if it is slow, beats the heat in line at Mexicali!


Next time buy a car with AC!

rts551 - 6-3-2016 at 08:31 PM

Tuesday 9:00 no cars in the "slum" lane, Mexicali east. Sundays it will be busy either crossing. 94 in Tecate today.

BigBearRider - 6-4-2016 at 01:42 AM

Tecate only has two lanes, no SENTRI and no Ready.

Is anyone else concerned about losing SENTRI/Global Entry status for dropping someone off at the border so they can walk across themselves? What's problematic about doing that?

Our Return thru Tecate 6/2

Lobsterman - 6-4-2016 at 06:39 AM

"Thursday: 6/2
Packed up and departed BOLA at 0600 for El Cajon with boat in tow. Went through only two drug check points which lasted about one minute each with no cars in front of us. Got to the Tecate Border Crossing at 1600 and to our amazement there was also no one in front of us in either lane. I thought they had closed the border. After looking at our passports for 30 seconds, entering them into the computer and asking us where we were going, he waved us through without having to go to secondary inspection. That must we a record border crossing of only 1 minute during rush hour."

bonanza bucko - 6-4-2016 at 06:45 AM

I asked the guy in the SENTRI booth at Calexico West if it was OK to drop off passengers who did not have the pass and then pick them up on the US side after they walked across. He said it was done all the time and is OK. So we did that with two people. Worked fine. Our passengers got out of our car about 30 yards from the SENTI booths and just past the Mexicali park that is on the left of the SENTRI lane.

I had thought that allowing walk throughs was a violation as you implied. The CBP guy said it was not.

The walk across at Calexico West is only a few yards and the crossers come up inside a building where they are checked by CBP on the US side. I think the walk is a lot longer at Calexico East.

BB

gsbotanico - 6-4-2016 at 07:00 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BigBearRider  
Tecate only has two lanes, no SENTRI and no Ready.

Is anyone else concerned about losing SENTRI/Global Entry status for dropping someone off at the border so they can walk across themselves? What's problematic about doing that?

There is only a safety problem with dropping someone off at the border to walk across and finding a place to meet them on the US side. Mexico can't take away the Sentri pass. We do it at Otay all the time. San Ysdiro is next to impossible unless meeting the walkers at a trolley stop further up the line.

Tecate without Sentri and Ready Lanes is good place to cross with non-Sentri passengers, but it can be a long wait on the weekends in the summer (1-2 hours). An alternative is to use the toll road between Tecate and Otay on the Mexican side. It's faster than Highway 94, but Otay is congested around the crossing and finding the Sentri lane is a little tricky the first time. Otay is not as hot as Tecate in the summer.