sbsyncro
Junior Nomad
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Returning to the US via Tecate vs. Calexico East
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!
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Maderita
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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]
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sbsyncro
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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. :-)
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Maderita
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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.
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David K
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TECATE... even if it is slow, beats the heat in line at Mexicali!
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mtgoat666
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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!
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
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Next time buy a car with AC!
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rts551
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Tuesday 9:00 no cars in the "slum" lane, Mexicali east. Sundays it will be busy either crossing. 94 in Tecate today.
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BigBearRider
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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?
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Lobsterman
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Our Return thru Tecate 6/2
"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."
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bonanza bucko
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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
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gsbotanico
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Location: Cardiff by the Sea, CA
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| 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.
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BajaNomad
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Thread Moved
6-5-2016 at 10:01 AM |
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