Gringo :
Touristic Information.
BEST TIMES to Cross Through the Border Gate.
BIG BIG HINT DISCOVERED BY THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES!!!!! Bicycle. Bicycle. Bicycle. Cross north into the U.S. on the far right. Bicycles can slip through much more quickly than cars or pedestrians.
Entering the United States:
Good: WEEKDAY afternoons, WEEKEND mornings are BEST.
Bad: Weekday/Workday Mornings, Weekend/Holiday Afternoons are WORST.
Details below.
WITH THE NEW SECURITY PROCEDURES, CROSSING TIMES ARE LONGER, AND IT BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT TO PLAN YOUR RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES AT A TIME WHEN LINES ARE SHORTER.
BUT ALSO, your experience in Tijuana can be BETTER -- as tourist customers (that's you) are even MORE VALUABLE & WELCOME Now (because fewer people are coming) and -- even more important -- because Mexicans have felt GREAT sympathy and shock about the attack on the United States. (See the Gringo's experience at the September 15th Fiesta of Independence.)
See also: Tips on Crossing the Border with Minimum Hassle.
BEST AND WORST TIMES :
- "it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."
- BEST: Workday Midday or Afternoons, and Early Sunday Morning.
- WORST: ON MONDAY-FRIDAY Workday Mornings, and Saturday/Sunday/Holiday Afternoons. In the workday mornings, hundreds of thousands of Mexicans are (legally) going to work and to school in the U.S. and the gates are usually CROWDED CROWDED CROWDED... so, if you've slept over in Tijuana, consider waiting, enjoying a good breakfast, and crossing after ten or so, or in the afternoon (weekdays).
- ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY mornings are better than afternoons, as weekend visitors to Tijuana tend to all want to go back to the U.S. in the late afternoon and evening.
- HINT: Come down Friday or Saturday, spend the night in a hotel (we will soon add our reviews and information), eat well, or even drink, see a movie, nightclub show or gallery opening, and go back on Sunday morning.