My husband and my children and I will be driving to Todos Santos this Christmas via San Diego for an extended stay. We will be loaded up in two cars and a trailer. I am wondering if anyone has had any recent experience with the border crossing that they can share with me. Thanks.
Hi apark, I crossed the border in July and had NO problems at all. My friends told me that if you cross in the early hours, at 6-7AM, it is less hectic. A friend just crossed in Nov. coming down for Thanksgiving, and this time they were more organized, had officers in every lane. When I came in July, they did not even stop me to check my papers, I drove right through...Hope this helps a little...My daughter might be driving down for Christmas from San Diego, could she caravan with you? This is her first drive down...
Thanks for sharing you experience with us. This is our first drive down, too. I'm not sure if caravanning will work for us. We will be taking our time getting down the peninsula. We want to stop and explore, so it make take us a week or so.
The reason I ask is because Mexican Customs in Tijuana has become, uhm, capricious this month. They've been checking more than fifty percent of border-crossers instead of the obligatory ten percent and they've been claiming that pretty much everything is prohibited from entering the country.
Everyone I know has stonewalled Customs and has ultimately been allowed to pass. Our interpretation is that these folks have been looking for, uhm, tips. 'Tis the season and all. Besides, Calderón wants to look like he's being tough on drugs.
Crossed @ Tijuana on Dec 29th @ about 8:30am. Before reaching the Mexican side there were US border guys stopping and checking out all vehicles. The Mexican border guys stopped our truck and my in-law's truck and were pretty upset about their boat w/ expired tags on it. (We didn't think this would be a prob. in Mexico)It wasn't on a trailer or anything, just in the bed of the truck. They called a few guys over and eventually let them through. Only took about 20 mins. to get through. We are coming back up through Tecate or Mexicali, I'll post how that goes. Stay thristy my firends. ~B
I crossed in early dec, and it was a little different that i remember it..two line, one with a dog working mostly mexicans, and our line...dont know if that was a random pick or not..they were fast on the inspect, and we were on our way...i usually cross i tecate, way more gentle, but a little extra drive...
Hi all, Here’s a tip: I cross the San Diego TJ border 4 times a week, the very best thing you can do, (provided you have a clean record, never been convicted of a serious crime, including DUI) is get a SENTRI pass; this is pass that allows you and your car to pass back into US from Mexico in a special lane. The SENTRI lane on average only take about 5 minutes to cross, unlike the normal 30 minutes to 2 hours. It cost about $122.00 for you and your car and another $40.00 for additional family or friends, it’s good for five years. If you only go once a month…do the math, it’s about 50 cents a trip, well worth the hassle of applying…the whole process only takes about two weeks and it’s all done on the internet, except for the one time interview and car inspection. The web page is: https://goes-app.cbp.dhs.gov/. One last thing to mention: if you cross into Mexico at the San Ysidro (San Diego) Friday afternoons after 3:30 pm expect to wait at least 30 minutes minimum and longer on holidays and in the summer.
