knit-in

Definitely something to keep in mind, thanks.

Any opinion on the Hyatt Place? The location, things to do around, distance from the border?


Many thanks!

stimpy

The Hyatt looks to be close to the Holiday Inn where I stayed. The HI had an active lobby with normal sized rooms. Excellent service with fluent English at the front desk. The area is fine with shopping, restaurants, etc. You can see from Google maps that it's all close to the border. Maybe 15 minutes in traffic.

M60_to_LGA

Hi - I'm jumping into this thread because I'll be in SD next month for a week and was thinking of crossing the border, just to do something different.

Thanks to KevinS for the thorough tips on Tijuana! As someone who's a frequent visitor to MEX, speaks Spanish fluently and is more interested in culture than boozing and the purchase of tourist schlock, would there be enough in Tijuana to hold my interest for a day? Or are there any other places near the border that might be more worthwhile?

One complicating factor is that I won't be renting a car, so I'd have to get around by public transportation. I have no problems whatsoever taking a trolley or bus to the border and then jumping on a Mexican bus.

Thanks for any advice!

KevinS

I would rate Hyatt Place easily and far over the Holiday Inn there; have stayed at both; they are less than a mile apart, but very very different areas.

Holiday Inn is in a slightly less developed area, and right off a minour highway along the river, and is a very NOT walkable area.
The hotel itself is certainly downscale compared to many other properties there as well.

Hyatt Place is right outside Zona Gastronomica and across the street from a high end mall (Chapultapec).
Probably 8 of the top 25 restos in TJ are 3blocks walk or less, and right across from one of the "Rodeo Drive"s of TJ (Sonora).
The hotel itself is bright, new, shiny, clean, and has a BOMB breakfast buffet.

Hyatt every time, no question.

KevinS

@M60_to_LGA sorry for delay; I didn't get a notification on this thru flyertalk.

100%+, the answer is yes. There's enough in TJ that could hold your attention for multiple days; you'd actually have a hard time packing it into one.

Culture could be high end like CECUT (the cultural center / museum) or Museo Historico de Tijuana, or looking at cool historic architecture like UAdBC or JaiAlai Palace (insane buildings) or the old Plaza de Toros Monumental out of Playas, to lower-end popular like Mullme (#1 Lucha Libre & toy museum) or Museo de Cera (wax museum). The Food & Bev scene down there is absurdly good: we just spent an entire week doing almost nothing but eating & drinking and found even more places we're now in love with including some of the best sushi I've had anywhere (not a typo). I read a recent foodie article that said if visiting San Diego for 3days, spend 2 of them eating in Tijuana.

If you speak fluently, you'll have zero trouble getting around. Uber is everywhere in TJ, and is what we use almost exclusively now: no haggling, no arguments about the cost of the trip, no worries about getting driven for a fare. Most of the drivers don't speak much English, but even my maybe 2/3 fluency is more than enough.

Just get to the border (Pedwest > San Ysidro in my opinion, both in and out), walk across, and you're there. Easy peasy.

de nuevo, lo siento por mi respuesta tardía

M60_to_LGA

Thank you @KevinS for sharing your thoughts! I've heard good things about Tijuana's food scene and would love to experience it. I'll bring my passport with me on the trip just in case - although I'll be staying in La Jolla, and depending on how lazy I feel it might end up being a hard sell for me to do the bus/trolley to the border.

One follow-up question: how much time should I budget for crossing the border as a pedestrian (and US citizen)? I've heard of horrific wait times, but I'm not sure how representative those are.

And one more: are there any other places close to the border that are equally or more deserving of a visit?

Thanks again!

KevinS

In order:
* LaJolla to border is 30min or less; you could leave your hotel and be sitting down to dinner somewhere in TJ in less than an hour (other then 3pm-5pm).
* time to get across going into Mexico is solely the amount of time to walk the space. I'd say 20min or less, depending on age & fitness.
* right along the border, it's TJ or nothing, until you get over to Mexicali (about 90-120min drive East). However, you could easily jump further South to 3+ locations:

1) ABC bus from TJ border costs $10 or less and takes you to Ensenada, a really nice coastal city, albeit much nicer other than 11am-6pm Tue-Sun when cruise ships are in. Really pretty harbor city, some killer seafood, and more laidback than Tijuana
2) Rosarito is a smaller tourist spot about 30min South of Mexico, with nice beaches, and very tourist oriented. Puerto Nuevo is where white people eat lobster.
3) if you had the time & the spirit, 90min from Tijuana is Valle de Guadalupe, Northern Baja Wine country. I've only been once myself, very recently, and was blown away by the landscape, the food, the wineries. A good deal pricier than TJ but freaking gorgeous.

If you've only got the 1 day/night, hit TJ, wander down Revu from Arch to 9th street, stopping anywhere for food & bev, or grab an Uber to Zona Gastronomica for high end eating, or Telefonica for probably the best food for the money you'll have in North America

M60_to_LGA

Thanks @KevinS! I'd love to hit Valle de Guadalupe at some point, but it'll have to be when I have more time - I've had several wines from the region and quite enjoyed them. (Tangential question: they're always so expensive when I've priced some bottles out in CDMX, so I end up not taking them home - can't figure that out, but I'm guessing it has to do with low production volumes?)

I'm not renting a car in SD, so I'd have to take MTS to the border - figure it would end up being an hour or so each way (30 minutes by bus to Old Town, then trolley). Not necessarily undoable, just a bit of a schlep.

KevinS

VdG wines: nice, but pricey for what they are. Extremely low production; I was told 3weeks ago that 70%+ of the VdG wine is from LA Cetto, and essentially no one makes enough to be able to export, and almost all the wine made is consumed in Northern Baja. Supply/demand hasn't hit that price point yet, I guess.

Getting to border: if no car you have 2 options - train/trolley is cheaper but slower (hour-ish), Uber/Lyft is faster but more expensive, probably $25-$30.
Oddly is cheaper to get to border in Uber than it is to airport, likely due to the dynamic fares for high-demand locations.

M60_to_LGA

Haha - yes, La Cetto is the Mexican wine I see everywhere, whenever I'm at a conference or business cocktail reception in CD MX. It's quite good, so I'm not complaining.

EmailKid

You can also do the combo, Uber to downtown, and Blue Line to la linea. It's about 45 minute ride, though it *can* get crowded at times. And they DO check for valid tickets on the train at times.

M60_to_LGA

Well, I do plan on paying for the ride because I'm not a savage, so let them check away.

JDiver

When you do cross the border, be sure to tell the Mexican authorities “yo no soy salvaje” - I’m sure they’ll be greatly relieved.

BuildingMyBento

During my brief time in San Diego, I would cross into Tijuana once a week for food.

Walking in was incredibly easy; (naturally) it was the haul back that was unpleasant. I waited 3.5 hours once, 2.5 another. Then, I decided to take a bus to the Otay Mesa crossing (while still on the Mexican side), and made two crossings at ten minutes each.

Since then, another pedestrian crossing has opened, so things might have improved.

Still, the food's awesome, both the random seafood tacos downtown, and the lobster at Puerto Nuevo.

GW McLintock

Looking for any and all information about crossing the border at San Ysidro. I have a day-long SAN layover coming up on Sunday and would like to try to go to Tijuana to get a bite to eat (would cross as a pedestrian). I have Global Entry and I understand I can use that card to cross the border in an expedited lane (I think?).

Specifically, the information I'm looking for is:

• Where is the expedited lane and is it always open?
• How long should I expect to be in said lane?
• Am I totally crazy for trying to do this?

Thanks in advance! I looked for other threads and couldn't find anything with recent info.

-J.