Originally Posted by
Mimo
I agree with the Mexican approach. One option: bus or San Diego trolley to the Mexican border, walk across, Mexican bus (they're nice!) to a major city, get on a plane. Get a MX visa on the other side of the border crossing.
I don't know yet what their security for non-US flights is like. But when I flew from a mid-sized Mexican city (Mérida) to the US, there were no scanners in sight, just the walk-through metal detectors. At the gate, everyone's bags were moderately searched and everyone received an old-fashioned, barely-there patdown. The staff were polite, I wasn't sexually groped, and everyone got the same treatment.
I suspect the procedures at the gate were an accommodation to TSA rules. I'll soon find out what kind of security happens for flights from Mexico to London.
FWIW the San Diego Trolley terminates AT a huge Mexican city that has a relatively fine international airport, TIJ, which has nonstop flights to NRT and PVG as well as numerous daily domestic flight to MEX where you can connect to ANYWHERE. Since TIJ serves no American routes there is no TSA instigated nonsense that occurs in places like CUN that are more well known to American tourists. There is no immigration control leaving the US, you just walk across and immigration at TIJ consist of paying the airline $20 for a Mexican Tourist card and being "stamped into" Mexico before you check in. I've flown AM to NRT several times connecting to as far away as CGK as well as a number of South American destinations connecting from MEX. It is generally easier than flying out of LAX which is my more common international gateway.