Dec 13, 2015, 1:37 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
"CBX" Pedestrian bridge connects TIJ Int'l. Airport and Otay Mesa
"Cross Border Xpress" connects Otay Mesa and TIJ / Tijuana A. L. Rodriguez International Airport as of 9 Dec 2015
with enclosed pedestrian bridge, including U.S. Immigration and Customs facilities
Link to Cross Border Xpress website.
CBX is an enclosed pedestrian skywalk bridge exclusively for Tijuana Airport passengers who cross the U.S./Mexico border as part of their trip.
- Passport
- Visa if required
- Airline boarding pass
- CBX ticket for bridge use
The "CBX" consists of an enclosed pedestrian bridge that connects TIJ / the Tijuana A. L. Rodriguez International Airport with a facility in Otay Mesa that includes USCBP inspection area (SENTRI kiosks are available), airline ticket counters, an 850 car parking lot and access to multimodal land transport (intercity bus, taxis, Uber). A duty free shopping area and restaurant has been added.
CBX plans to add a gasoline station, shopping center and hotel some time in the future.
Link to San Diego Union-Tribune article 9 Dec 2015
NOTE:
7 Jan 2016: Just received a quick and courteous email from CBX in response to my question regarding whether a passport card is sufficient to cross using the bridge. She confirmed that a passport card is sufficient as they have no additional requirements beyond what is required by customs and immigration and the crossing is considered to be a land border crossing.
Particularly if you live in the San Diego area, you can save as much as 50% or more flying domestic intra-Mexico services out of TIJ.
Q. Has anyone posted about their CBX experience?
FlyerTalk Community Director SanDiego1K has shared her experience in February, 2019 crossing from Otay Mesa, CA to TIJ airport in post #93.
Q. Are there lower cost alternatives to using the CBX?
Yes, but they entail less convenient border crossings (particularly inconvenient herding your baggage through) at San Ysidro or the conventional Otay Mesa crossing and securing transport to TIJ once you've completed border formalities.
NOTE: See Walking into Tijuana? (San Ysidro crossing & new PedWest Aug 2017)
Pedestrian "Cross Border Xpress" /"CBX" Bridge links Otay Mesa, USA - TIJ Airport
Apr 18, 2016, 11:02 am
#61
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: SMF
Posts: 1,251
Just used CBX for flights to/from MEX through TIJ. It really is an excellent facility. There are free baggage carts from the drop-off area up to the Mexican side, where there are porters available for only a few pesos to carry your bags up through Mexican customs. I was surprised how nice the Mexican customs officers were. Seeing we were traveling with two kids she even started filling out the FMM cards with us to help us get through faster. We didn't have to pay the $23 as we were traveling for less than 7 days within Mexico. On the way back, when landing, we passed over the Otay Mesa border crossing which had cars backed up for miles, but upon landing there was no line at customs and we went from baggage claim at TIJ to waiting for our Uber in about 10 minutes. If traveling through TIJ again I would say it is well worth the $12/person or $40 a family.
May 21, 2016, 4:33 pm
#63
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: BNA (Nashville)
Programs: HH Diamond
Posts: 6,225
Check out this great review/overview by Tiffany Funk:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...press-tijuana/
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.c...press-tijuana/
Jun 1, 2016, 6:25 pm
#64
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 3,737
I would only do it again if it saved me $$$. I was in a group of 3 and was able to get a flight to Lima for ~$240. At that price it was worth the hassle, but it wasn't as seamless as I had hoped. It would have better if we had flown business/first to skip the line. Also, AeroMexico had trouble processing my credit card for the border crossing when purchasing the ticket in MXN. So we had to purchase the border crossing tickets on arrival. What I really dislike is that they expect you to save the paper tickets for the return journey across the bridge.
Jun 2, 2016, 12:42 am
#65
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SAN/TIJ or under water.
Programs: Club interjet; Airbnb
Posts: 1,882
As it is now, I pay $7 a day to park in Otay Mesa. The lot has a free shuttle to the border. If there are one or two of us, we use the free shuttle, then take a taxi on the Mexican side to TIJ for IIRC MX$150, so ~US$12, each way. If there are three or more of us, we spring for a $30 van that takes us all the way from the lot to TIJ. Either way, on the return we always take a taxi to "La Linea," walk across and call for the free shuttle to the lot.
The ideal trip is four of us with dive gear utilizing the van to get all the way to TIJ, splitting the van and taxi costs and parking. Comes to about US$25 each for parking and transportation both ways.
Yeah, the new system would need to be competitive to work for me. I might use it traveling solo or as a couple. I will certainly try it out once when it opens.
The ideal trip is four of us with dive gear utilizing the van to get all the way to TIJ, splitting the van and taxi costs and parking. Comes to about US$25 each for parking and transportation both ways.
Yeah, the new system would need to be competitive to work for me. I might use it traveling solo or as a couple. I will certainly try it out once when it opens.
Sounds like it's pretty convenient from the early reports.
Jul 14, 2016, 10:10 am
#67
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 1,333
The parking situation at CBX is beyond horrific. The lot is way too small, so it often fills up completely. When it is full, they direct you to a very rough dirt lot...at least they tell you they will direct you. When I was there, I had to circle around three times before anyone actually directed me anywhere. They told me when I first entered to keep right and they would wave me on. I kept right and there was no one anywhere to be found to wave me anywhere. Next thing I knew, I was back outside and waiting in line to get back in. There was a train of cars behind me doing the same thing. Eventually, I just illegally parked in front of the building until I found someone that would actually help me, rather than BS me. It turns out the person directing people to the dirt lot was not actually there at all.
The lot is a bit scary, especially in the dark. The shrub bushes are 6-7 feet high and there are peaks and valleys from washout that would not be kind to a low car. The only bright side is that they did not charge me anything for my 8 days, so I saved $120.
Using TIJ spared me the wrath of the TSA, and $240 rt to LIM was too good to pass up. If I ever do it again, I will probably just take Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego and taxi it from there, which is much more relaxing than traffic and parking nightmares.
There was no wait at all at CBX in either direction. I did not need to deal with the AM check-in at TIJ, but the security line was practically non-existent at 10 PM on a Friday. The only issues I had were with the absurd security at MEX. There was no line at all, but they ran my backpack through 10 times before they let me pass.
The lot is a bit scary, especially in the dark. The shrub bushes are 6-7 feet high and there are peaks and valleys from washout that would not be kind to a low car. The only bright side is that they did not charge me anything for my 8 days, so I saved $120.
Using TIJ spared me the wrath of the TSA, and $240 rt to LIM was too good to pass up. If I ever do it again, I will probably just take Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego and taxi it from there, which is much more relaxing than traffic and parking nightmares.
There was no wait at all at CBX in either direction. I did not need to deal with the AM check-in at TIJ, but the security line was practically non-existent at 10 PM on a Friday. The only issues I had were with the absurd security at MEX. There was no line at all, but they ran my backpack through 10 times before they let me pass.
Jul 14, 2016, 10:38 am
#68
Moderator: Budget Travel forum & Credit Card Programs, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: YYJ/YVR and back on Van Isle ....... for now
Programs: UA lifetime MM / *A Gold
Posts: 14,428
The parking situation at CBX is beyond horrific.
<snip>
Using TIJ spared me the wrath of the TSA, and $240 rt to LIM was too good to pass up. If I ever do it again, I will probably just take Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego and taxi it from there, which is much more relaxing than traffic and parking nightmares.
<snip>
Using TIJ spared me the wrath of the TSA, and $240 rt to LIM was too good to pass up. If I ever do it again, I will probably just take Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego and taxi it from there, which is much more relaxing than traffic and parking nightmares.
Coming back, well, that's another story, as pedestrian line can take more than two hours
But I'm a carryon only guy
Oct 24, 2016, 9:30 am
#70
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: SAN/TIJ or under water.
Programs: Club interjet; Airbnb
Posts: 1,882
Be aware at that late hour Ubers are usually not available at CBX and one will need to use a taxi and it ain't cheap
Jan 9, 2017, 5:43 am
#71
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 254
With the cratered Peso, I'm seeing Volaris fares from TIJ to most Mexican tourist destinations on the west coast, such as Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta for $100-150 round trip tickets, so I think I'm going to be using this on multiple occasions in the near future.
I just booked a round trip from TIJ to SJD (Cabo) for $115 (2400 pesos) in April, and some of the other dates I looked at within the next month were as low as $90 (1890 pesos).
BTW, I've confirmed that a passport card (as opposed to a passport book) is sufficient for using CBX to fly out of TIJ for destinations in Mexico.
I just booked a round trip from TIJ to SJD (Cabo) for $115 (2400 pesos) in April, and some of the other dates I looked at within the next month were as low as $90 (1890 pesos).
BTW, I've confirmed that a passport card (as opposed to a passport book) is sufficient for using CBX to fly out of TIJ for destinations in Mexico.
Jan 11, 2017, 7:32 pm
#72
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
With the cratered Peso, I'm seeing Volaris fares from TIJ to most Mexican tourist destinations on the west coast, such as Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta for $100-150 round trip tickets, so I think I'm going to be using this on multiple occasions in the near future.
I just booked a round trip from TIJ to SJD (Cabo) for $115 (2400 pesos) in April, and some of the other dates I looked at within the next month were as low as $90 (1890 pesos).
BTW, I've confirmed that a passport card (as opposed to a passport book) is sufficient for using CBX to fly out of TIJ for destinations in Mexico.
I just booked a round trip from TIJ to SJD (Cabo) for $115 (2400 pesos) in April, and some of the other dates I looked at within the next month were as low as $90 (1890 pesos).
BTW, I've confirmed that a passport card (as opposed to a passport book) is sufficient for using CBX to fly out of TIJ for destinations in Mexico.
. Great feedback; thanks for posting.
Jan 15, 2017, 10:03 am
#73
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 254
The parking situation at CBX is beyond horrific. The lot is way too small, so it often fills up completely. When it is full, they direct you to a very rough dirt lot...at least they tell you they will direct you. When I was there, I had to circle around three times before anyone actually directed me anywhere. They told me when I first entered to keep right and they would wave me on. I kept right and there was no one anywhere to be found to wave me anywhere. Next thing I knew, I was back outside and waiting in line to get back in. There was a train of cars behind me doing the same thing. Eventually, I just illegally parked in front of the building until I found someone that would actually help me, rather than BS me. It turns out the person directing people to the dirt lot was not actually there at all.
The lot is a bit scary, especially in the dark. The shrub bushes are 6-7 feet high and there are peaks and valleys from washout that would not be kind to a low car. The only bright side is that they did not charge me anything for my 8 days, so I saved $120.
Using TIJ spared me the wrath of the TSA, and $240 rt to LIM was too good to pass up. If I ever do it again, I will probably just take Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego and taxi it from there, which is much more relaxing than traffic and parking nightmares.
There was no wait at all at CBX in either direction. I did not need to deal with the AM check-in at TIJ, but the security line was practically non-existent at 10 PM on a Friday. The only issues I had were with the absurd security at MEX. There was no line at all, but they ran my backpack through 10 times before they let me pass.
The lot is a bit scary, especially in the dark. The shrub bushes are 6-7 feet high and there are peaks and valleys from washout that would not be kind to a low car. The only bright side is that they did not charge me anything for my 8 days, so I saved $120.
Using TIJ spared me the wrath of the TSA, and $240 rt to LIM was too good to pass up. If I ever do it again, I will probably just take Amtrak from Anaheim to San Diego and taxi it from there, which is much more relaxing than traffic and parking nightmares.
There was no wait at all at CBX in either direction. I did not need to deal with the AM check-in at TIJ, but the security line was practically non-existent at 10 PM on a Friday. The only issues I had were with the absurd security at MEX. There was no line at all, but they ran my backpack through 10 times before they let me pass.
Feb 26, 2017, 10:05 pm
#74
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 254
If I had used CBX, the crossing itself would have cost me $16 each way, and Parking at CBX would have been $15-17 a day.
Instead, I paid $6 a day to park in San Ysidro, crossed both ways for free with zero wait in each direction in San Ysidro, took taxis to and from the TIJ airport on the Mexican side for $10-12 each way.
If I had parked in San Ysidro and used CBX, while cabbing on the US side, it would have cost me ~$50 more. If I had parked at CBX and used CBX, it would have cost me ~$70 more.
This is contingent on knowing when and how the San Ysidro crossings will have little to no waiting time, but I'm familiar enough with that to know I would not have had a problem.
Last edited by DeweyCheathem; Feb 27, 2017 at 5:20 pm
Feb 27, 2017, 5:01 pm
#75
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: ATL
Programs: Global Entry, UA, AA, BA, DL, Bonvoy
Posts: 281
The March/April 2017 issue of Westways magazine (Auto Club of So Cal) has a short story about CBX. The article says an average of 4800 passengers per day use this facility and SENTRI and GE are available to northbound passengers. I'd never heard of it until reading the article a few minutes ago.