Hot off the presses: we return to Tijuana with our camera, Passport and cash. Join us! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_uLziizly1U.htmlsi=XmWvRiGWW_5tI2ez
Looks like things have changed since the last time I made the same journey. Back in my Navy days (mid 80's) I was stationed in San Diego, there was no one monitoring your entrance to Tijuana, you just walked thru the turnstile. Coming back was a wait but only about an hour. Also, you did not need a passport to go to Tijuana.
Shit you got military id tho lol but your right I use my California driver license I think if you live in California you can just use your id or license
@@aidenpeltier786 They made it so much easier to come and go with the new buildings completed in 2019. El Chapparal to the west pops out by the outlet stores and is only a 1 mile walk to the Blue Line train. I used to go to a 24 hour bakery to buy oily cakes before returning and walk the 2.7 miles to El Chaparral. I guess it depends on which side you feel like going to - both US Customs buildings are new and efficient. I mentioned 'oily' because little patches formed on the brown paper bag by the time I got to the agent at Customs. One time I had to take a bus to Coronado one late night when rain saturated the ground and interrupted the shunt style ground system of the rails/tracks, so buses go over there for sure. The bus went to a station I never disembarked from before and I took any bus going north because getting soaked sucks!
I use to love crossing the border in the 90s was easy and took about 2 hrs by car to get back Last time we walked over and took us like 4 hrs to get back about 15yrs ago never again and the questioning is so much since I am Hispanic. New subscriber thanks for your appearance on the mark Thompson show. 👍👍
As a US citizen, you will need to get at least a passport card to travel to Mexico or Canada. One restriction with the card is that you can only cross by land (no international flights). Back in the 80s I used to go to Tijuana all the time to party. You could enter Mexico freely and would usually stumble home back across the border without showing ID, although I think the American border guards could demand you show them at least a driver's license. They just never bothered. There was never a wait going either way, or at least not at 2am. Things were so much more chill before 9/11.
@@PhotowalksTVplease make more videos of: 1st time to visit Florida, cooking lessons for college students, which dog to buy, finding powdered Eggnog on the internet, how to be a spy without getting killed, do seniors eat pickles before or after playing, what's it like to hang out with Jason Alexander, what does Bill Shatner eat to stay young and what makes Democrats tick.
Good video! I am a retired CBP port director, and wanted to clarify your experience with photography. Both photography and cell phone use are prohibited in the actual inspection area, and it used to be quite common to confiscate and forfeit the cell phones and cameras of travelers who just would not comply. I don't know if the policy is still that strict, but essentially CBP does not want you to have photos of how the inspection process works, and doesn't want you to remember they layout of the inspection area. The reasons for both are obvious. Look forward to more of your content!
Is this the first time you crossed the US-Mexico border? Usually the US CBP will wave you through if you are a gringo with your state ID. I say gringo without malice.
I walked through on a bridge. It was in the late 1980s and was a little kid. You didn't need a passport to get in or to get out of Old Mexico, and there wasn't any waiting. Times really have changed.
I've entered the line and gone through the border control check (northbound into the US) in about 1/2 hour at 4:30 a.m. If you wait until later in the morning, there will be a long wait. PedEast is open 24 hours a day, but PedWest has been open for only a varying number of hours, and sometimes not at all, since the pandemic. Check before you go. Also, there's a web site you can check to see how long the wait is: bwt.cbp.gov/details/09250401/PED I have walked into Tijuana several times and have never had to wait when going in that direction. I have been there when no agent at all seemed to be present. Sometimes the carousel to x-ray luggage is working, and sometimes not. That has been my experience, anyway.
First, the San Ysidro Trolley Station is at the border. America Plaza is in downtown San Diego, you were possibly confused because you parked near the Las Americas Outlet Mall. Secondly, the pedestrian crossing is rarely over 2 hours. The worst I have heard is 4 hours. I cross twice monthly. This past Sunday it took me 30 minutes at 7:30 am. You WERE lucky without your passport. It all depends on the border agent you get. You also could have just as easily been detained for hours. You don't know your ATM PIN?
Thank you Mike! I wasn’t there Saturday at 7:30 but instead mid afternoon so quite different. Yes I know I was incredibly lucky. On the ATM, I had $10K drained from a debit card so so stopped using one years ago. I don’t have a Pin for my credit cards. I tried to get one in Tijuana by calling Chase but no such instant luck.
I am with Mike and the others who indicated you had bad timing. The most I have ever taken was 2 hours. The next time you see a six-hour line, go get some lunch, do a little shopping, and come back after the border "rush hour". As a matter of course, I prefer the San Ysidro crossing to Otay. :-) Best of luck on your next trip and might I suggest getting a REAL ID - in NA, most places its as good as a passport; yes, Canada and Mexico are included. Given that it will soon be mandatory to fly, you probably had one, which got you back in trouble-free more than anything.
I agree with Mike. I've crossed at the San Ysidro pedestrian Crossing six times in the past two months and the longest I've waited is an hour. This is midday during the week. It's almost always longer in the auto line than in the Pedestrian line. You're disseminating inaccurate information.
@@frivlus Otay Mesa usually doesn't have a line. Last time I was there a few weeks ago the app said that San Ysidro was a 2 hour wait, with no wait at Otay Mesa. This was on a wed at 2PM. The only drawback is there is no damned cell coverage on the US side of the border. When I started going through US customs on the mexico side and put my phone away I had 5G 3 bars coverage and fast speeds. When I walked out the door into the US I had 1 bar 3G and couldn't connect to uber. I ended up walking up the street to the starbucks a few blocks away. My worst wait time going back was San Ysidro sunday at 7pm. It was 3 hours, standing in line. Best at San Ysidro was pre-pandemic, pedwest, sunday morning at 7am I just walked through. Otay Mesa from what I've heard is usually faster on foot. At San Ysidro there is a lot of public transport, whereas at Otay Mesa there is basically nothing.
In Piedras Negras/ Eagle Pass you only need a drivers license and birth certificate if you don’t bring your passport or passport card. They have a bridge that’s passport only for cars and a bridge that handles just drivers license and birth certificates. Heard anyone walking can do both and is no problem.
Hi Jefferson, I have a question that you can answer:::: If you had had your American Passport on you, would it had been stamped by either USA or Mexico Inmigration? Did you have to fill the Mexican FNM before you go thru the gates. How long can you stay in Mexico doing it the way you did? Does the Mexican Inmigration tell you how long you can stay? You have a max of 180 days if you fly in. Thank you Good video
Ive crossed by foot several times and only once was there even someone checking passports or making you fill out the FNM form. Most times I didnt see anyone at all lol. If you are going to stay longer than 7 days I believe you do have to pay for a visitor permit.
@@Chantel211 Those guys are professionals or what.. Lol at no one being there at all! Longer than 3 days, you'll need to fill out an FMM form ( permit ).
Aiyaaa... Jefferson is not a seasoned traveler. Always bring multiple ATM cards when traveling. Always bring multiple credit cards. Cash is really just a backup in case the ATM cards fail. Luckily in TJ you can use US dollars, but most places you cannot, and I only exchange cash if both my ATM cards fail. Brining a passport into Mexico is not essential, you can get back in as long as you have a drivers license, but most other countries you can't even board the plane without passport.
Again, you probably missed it. I was visiting San Diego and saw a brochure about how easy it was to walk over the bridge to Tijuana, so without any planning, on a lark, I walked over the bridge, sans cash, ATM cards, etc. and made a video about the stupid thing I did!
I knew that I did it in summer boy that was mistake I decide to take my husband we are New Yorkers since I been there but what worked going back the wheelchair he disabled I said sick here before I knew we were @ the front of line not even 5 mins. I learned my from my experience what I did I flew from Las Vegas to San Diego and did the second time too. I loved your Video. I never forgot the passport.
2x that happened to me. Accidentally drive to mexico twice by accident thats why this time im always careful now everytime i go to outlet. 1st i got lucky they let us go back without problem and 2nd time hmnn i will not say yes/no but they did asked us $500 fee for not having our passport 😅.
The Otay Mesa crossing is much faster but if you’re going North to L.A. you’ll be wandering a while to get back to I-5. If you’re going toward Phoenix, the best way is take Mexico Route 2 or divided highway 10 East and cross into the U.S. at Tecate. Right away you can get on I-8 freeway. Nothing is near as jammed as crossing at Tijuana onto I-5.
My aunt went to Mexico. When she tried to come back, she realized she had forgotten her documents. She gave them some of her personal information, as best she could, but they still took her into a little room. She said that in there, an officer put her fingernails up her...and she lost her baby (she was pregnant). At least, that's what she told us. So be careful, if you go to Mexico, make sure you take all your documents (that you will need to cross back), like Sentri, US passport or whatever.
Geez, everyone knows you need a passport to go to Mexico for the last, I don’t know 5 years. I walk over the border every 3 months and there is zero line after 9 PM or so. Just go to the local taverns or the red light District (Hong Kong) and have some dinner and some cervesas and wait out the traffic. Just like everything in Southern California you have to time it right. Would you drive to LA in the dead of rush hour? Common knowledge, or common sense. And no cash? Really? Just wow!!!
Interesting story. I live right next to the Canada Border. There are buses for Canadians who want to go to *NORTH to see Tigers games. It is organized by the Windsor Ontario rapid transit system. Super efficient and they are lined up so when one leaves another bus is right behind it. Canadians probably get home faster than people in SE Michigan who have to park! *Yes I mean NORTH: There is no "South Detroit" like in the Journey song. It is actually Windsor Ontario that is South of Detroit.
He says he was inspired after a show in Detroit, as the song was being recorded, and that lyric sounded the best. Even if its not called South Detroit there, its called Downriver, regardless of Windsors presence across the river, its a giant city with four opposite directions. Northern areas would be Bloomfield, Rochester, Pontiac, etc., and southern areas would be Romulus by the airport and Flat Rock further south, and yes even Southgate, all literally south of what pple would consider Detroit. There's some gritty industrial areas there that maybe Neil Perry was conjuring up and singing about had he been there, which still would be an authentic recollection. l know they've played there many times, l saw them myself in their hey day in a smaller town outside of Detroit, and lm sure he's been in or sang in many Detroit bars, clubs and arenas in Journey to be 'a singer in a smoky room, smell the wine and cheap perfume'. Even if he wasn't 'born and raised in south Detroit' himself, the people who live there were, and could certainly identify with those lyrics as can anyone in a small town. "Don't Stop Believin'" Just a small-town girl Livin' in a lonely world She took the midnight train goin' anywhere Just a city boy Born and raised in South Detroit He took the midnight train goin' anywhere A singer in a smokey room The smell of wine and cheap perfume For a smile they can share the night It goes on and on, and on, and on Strangers waiting Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searching in the night Streetlights people Livin' just to find emotion Hidin' somewhere in the night Workin' hard to get my fill Everybody wants a thrill Payin' anything to roll the dice just one more time Some will win, some will lose Some were born to sing the blues Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on, and on, and on Strangers waiting Up and down the boulevard Their shadows searching in the night Streetlights people Livin' just to find emotion Hidin' somewhere in the night Don't stop believin' Hold on to that feelin' Streetlight people Don't stop believin' Hold on Streetlight people Don't stop believin' Hold on to that feelin' Streetlight people
I went to TJ with my mom and her sisters and my Aunt decided to buy a bunch of tequila in TJ and try to sneak it back into the US. They asked if we had anything to report and I dont know how they knew, but they did. I was pretty young but I can still picture my aunty Wanda pouring bottles of tequila down this big drain in the ground 😆😆😆
@@norwegianblue2017 Hmmmm. Borders can be tricky, even when you have your ducks in a row. There seems to be no end of RU-vid videos of dopey folks crossing a border with something a 5 y/o would think twice about.
@@brianbell3417 Oh absolutely if we are talking about post 9/11 America. Our federal government is so bizarre. A passport and ID required to come back legally as a US citizen. But no paperwork required if you are a foreign national breaking through a border fence illegally. Just waved on through!
let's say you walked back through that one way spinning gate. Is there border patrol officer on the San Ysidro side observing the gate making sure no one is coming back out of that gate?
Has this man ever traveled? I'm not trying to be rude, but anyone with enough travel savvy to want to go to Mexico while in San Diego should really be smart enough to check passport requirements and, more importantly, have some cash. "All electronic" doesn't work in so many places in the world, and that shouldn't be a surprise. Also: I've done this many many times and to me a HORRIBLE wait to get back is 2 hours. I've never seen anything remotely close to 6-8 hours.
You don’t need anything to cross into Mexico.. just go right through the cattle guard. When you come back then you have to have an ID ready and any government issued ID is fine until 2025 or passport. Mexican people cross everyday for work on USA soil with Resident cards.. totally normal..
Today is May 25 2023 I want to go Tijuana this weekend. I am taking my US passport and my real ID just in case. Naci en El Salvador pero ya no he ido a TJ in sometime due covid 19 and stuff.
@@desert1791 I went and all they asked is the U.S passport even when entering because I am not from Mexican. The reason is that if you stay more then one week or so customs 🛃 charges a fee.
@@Beatbyawhiteboy First thing they will ask you is your passport followed by how many days and the purpose of your visit. I think that is you are staying over 21 days they will charge a fee of 30 USD if you are Mexican they won’t.
I never leave Canada without a passport, all travel papers, visa, international drivers license, BC drivers license, vaccine, travel insurance and at least 200 dollars in each currency. Now, the biggest piece of advice...NEVER.........put your credit cards, bank cards or anything into an ATM machine. Why ? Bangkok, ATM, ate my credit card......called my credit card company and they HAD to have a house address to send a new card. No house address.....call home, get my wife to send me another credit card via FEDEX. 135 dollars and 2 days later, it arrived at Fedex office in Bangkok. If you want cash, go to a bank, any bank, do an over the counter transaction, no ATM to eat your card and you'll get your cash and your credit card back.
Don't need a passport just to cross the border could use your real ID card or a birth certificate who is an ID and be very careful with taxi drivers a taxi driver will charge up to $60 dollars it's best to get an Uber driver which will probably come out to 15 dollars add needs to be less than four people group because the cars are very small
Cross at night. Ok, not the greatest for some people but you will fly. Just make sure there will be a Blue Line train waiting! Or bus. I used both for 1.5 years. 235 and a $5 day pass was my best friend. Ok, it is like $6.50 now.
@@desert1791 They ask how long you will be staying and any old street address. Less than 72 hours supposedly does not require the FMM. Years ago in 2017 at night after 11:30PM the place was almost empty and someone would say just go through. After rebuilding San Ysidro crossing I noted they doubled the agents, but I cannot remember crossing late at night at that point in time. I do not see how it would be detrimental to fill an FMM aside from the extra minutes added to the wait. Thursday mornings at 10AM sucked. There were almost always medium to large sized Chinese tour groups! The agents were so stressed and worked simultaneously in pairs to fill out the forms and stamp the dozen passports for them. The faces trying to understand them if a question was needed was priceless.
I got a better one THE DAY WE GOT KICKED OUT OF MEXICO 🙄 But we didn't give up and left the car in the U.S side and entered Mexico with out a passport. Still got back into the U.S. but we're scolded not to do this again by the Oriental immigration officer. But this happened 10 years ago. Looks like they are more lenient now a days.
You've got a lot to learn about Tijuana. Normally if you don't have a passport when going into Tijuana they will give you a 7 day permit to be In Tijuana only, for $20. If you have a passport its free and they stamp it.
I never had to wait more than 30 minutes at the San Ysidro border and I don’t even have a Sentri or Global Entry pass. I just pretend to be a Sentri member and walk by everyone and then get behind someone (usually women who don’t seem to care) near the front. Nobody has said anything to me.
@@leanonme1065 Pretty much. I use to do this because as a foreigner, you’re seen as an atm machine or they don’t treat tourists with respect. So why should I treat them with respect by waiting long hours in line? If there was an easier way to cross, why pass it up?
It's harder now for the gaviotas to cut in line, there are separate lanes as you get closer to where the prescreening officials are, and on the Mexican side police or the guardia nacional card you if you try to sneak in on the Sentri lane. It was to combat the people that would get in line and then sell their place.
6-8 hour wait stop it. you're lying. The most i have ever done is 4 hours. And that was on a friday. The only reason it was that bad was because the closed ped west.
I crossed yesterday at San Ysidro using Sentri/Global entry card. You walk past the entire line and straight to the immigration desk. Took 5 minutes to re-enter. I only had to show my Sentri card. Without Sentri it would have been a horribly long wait. I’d estimate 4-6 hours yesterday.
@PhotowalksTV more time, but yes, day does play a factor. I am the best at fast walking, so when people are slowly getting through the first gate, I'm already in line at the passport check area. 🤷♂️
Yep rookie mistake. For those that don't have Global/Sentri, get the passport card and keep it in your wallet. When you order a new passport, check the box and pay the extra fee for the card. It is so much more convenient than worrying about the passport book.
The passport card won't get you into a faster line or faster vehicle lane. It's just more convenient to carry because it fits in your wallet. For the faster lines, you will need the Sentri pass. See: ttp.dhs.gov/
15 Years ago was a nightmare to get out and that Bus ride is a joke, been there done that. Then the security gave this White American a hard time to return.
You are lucky because you are a white man with an american accent. If it was some Latino guy who forgot his passport he probably would not be allowed to get back in.
