General Reports

[Artisttyp]

A friend been waiting forever on passport renewal.

I renewed my passport last month. I paid for expedited service. It took maybe 3 weeks.

[SomeDude321]

I think with Sentri we are allowed to drive over with a registered car so those of us that visit by car or live in Tijuana would prefer paying a little more for this. When they started these at airports they also allow Sentri holders to use them..

Global Entry also permits to drive over with a registered car. If someone knows the difference between the two, let us know. In terms of current processing, there's a delay with SENTRI and GE is currently taking about 3 months from beginning to end.

[Captain Solo]

Sentri is for land border crossing from Mexico; Nexus is for land crossing from Canada. Global Entry is for expedited entry into the US by land, sea, air.

There are half a dozen GE machines at LAX, just walk to one, take mask and hat off for a photo, if the machine approves you are good to go within 30 secs, did not have to take the card out of your pocket. I assume the machines do facial feature recognition to match with travelers with HSI data base. Crossing back from CDMX, I was the only passenger in the GE line. Meanwhile there were 500,600 people were waiting in line for normal entry.

GE also allows cars driven across. Register all your cars in your application for free. If added after, they cost $42 each to add. Most time when driving back to San Diego at night in Sentri lane it takes me only 5-10 minutes to cross; last night only 5 minutes.

Driving over saves a lot of time an energy, sweating, walking, waiting for taxis who are usually very rude and greedy.

[SomeDude321]

Are there any dispensaries in Tijuana. Or if I wanted to visit where can I get some top notch Mexico cannabis?

Haven't seen any nor any advertisement for them. But since it's decriminalized, I wonder if they're no longer enforcing (I doubt since police will use any excuse for a shake down). I do know that half the time in Hotel Cascadas I smell weed in the hallways so I wonder if staff has simply been paid off.

[Hargow20]

Visa will actually pay for a global entry application fee once every four years. I was really amazed to hear this. One downside to the trolley is that the last trolley leaves San Ysidro at 12:45 am. Street parking is not a issue. I always park on Border village drive.

[Sol12]

SENTRI came first to the scene in the mid 1990's and has served it's purpose to ease travel between Mexico and the US, but IMO it's a relic of the past. For the general traveler, Global Entry is a better value as it serves all the functions of SENTRI and can be used at all pedestrian port of entries. Including Canada. If there's any advantages of SENTRI over Global Entry, I'm not aware of them. Not only that, but GE can be used at all major airports when returning from overseas and one can skip the sometimes ridiculous long lines to get through immigration. Oh, and for whatever reason, Global Entry is cheaper than SENTRI ($100 for GE vs $122.25 for SENTRI).

I think with Sentri we are allowed to drive over with a registered car so those of us that visit by car or live in Tijuana would prefer paying a little more for this. When they started these at airports they also allow Sentri holders to use them. Personally I have only used TSA pre check so others might have better first hand knowledge. I think this has been talked about many times before and I think one poster even said he has Nexus and it's even less expensive. To me the Sentri is great and I love it. I don't use it as much as before but for $25 a year having the ease of going to Mexico and have to concern about waiting a few hours in line to get back is worth it. Also with all the guys that still had to pay during COVID ato cross by foot I didn't have to deal with that since I just drive across. Just my opinion.

[SomeDude321]

SENTRI came first to the scene in the mid 1990's and has served it's purpose to ease travel between Mexico and the US, but IMO it's a relic of the past. For the general traveler, Global Entry is a better value as it serves all the functions of SENTRI and can be used at all pedestrian port of entries. Including Canada. If there's any advantages of SENTRI over Global Entry, I'm not aware of them. Not only that, but GE can be used at all major airports when returning from overseas and one can skip the sometimes ridiculous long lines to get through immigration. Oh, and for whatever reason, Global Entry is cheaper than SENTRI ($100 for GE vs $122.25 for SENTRI).

[Hadez]

Last I spoke with the customer sevice the delay was over 10 months. That was a few months ago. Another non-direct source told me the delay was over a year now.

I think a lot of border type crossing services got crap service since Covid. A friend been waiting forever on passport renewal.

How long does it take to get a decision on your Sentry application? I applied last summer and haven't heard a word.

[Dogers69]

Hi All:

Would welcome your thoughts / recommendations.

I have been reading the posts and the 2 options have pros and cons.

Walking, Pros: quick to get across both ways, don't have to worry about a car. Cons: The possible problems with FMM and cost, Cost of parking if driving to border, dealing with taxis, limited mobility.

Driving: Pros: seems to be easier to get through to Mexico, perceived more flexibility of getting around in Tijuana. Cons: Cost of mexican insurance, border wait coming back to US; and the actually driving in Mexico.

I may be missing something, but this is how I see it. Trying to decide which alternative makes most financial and time sense. Don't want to sit for 2 hrs coming back to the US but not sure if walking is that good of an option..

For majority of guys walking across is much better idea. Who wants to worry about their car while trying to drink, explore, bang chicks, evade robbery, evade kidnapping. You park the car at the trolley station if your cheap and don't have money for border parking, and make sure you have insurance for catalytic converter theft. For either parking lot free or paid. Keep one key in the car incase you lose your other one. Or take a door key with you hide in the car the driving key. I've parked at the trolley 200 nights in 3 years with no problems. The night I got choked out on side of Hong Kong, I walked back to border bleeding with nothing but most of my clothes, (they took my sweater off me while I was passed out), and I still had my car rental key because it was chained to my pants. So even though I had a bad night, I still had my car. Nobody talks about the line to get into Mexico which most nights is long from what I can see and I have read. Driving back without sentri can usually be 3 hours that's 3 hours of moving one foot a minute so you can't just look at your phone unshaven pay attention. Plus its a good idea to take the mexicanb75 cent bus from border to revolucion street. I believe it is a waste to go all the way to Mexico and not take in the culture. The crowded bus, buy a 1 dollar beer on calle revulcion, figure out your plan for the night. Watch the Mexican woman walking around.

[Ctytek]

Now that the Supreme Court has voted yes 8-3 to legalize cannabis in Mexico has there been any updates on 2022?

Are there any dispensaries in Tijuana. Or if I wanted to visit where can I get some top notch Mexico cannabis?

There are none. Legal status of marijuana in Baja is in a typical Mexico limbo state. I personally wouldn't f k around with weed in Tijuana. If you get caught, it's a perfect excuse for cops to shake you down or throw you into Tijuana city jail.

[Captain Solo]

SCBB,

Did they take your payment last summer? That was the peak of coVid. Federal employees were working at home. They likely lost your application.

Not sure about SENTRI, but I applied for Global entry, got conditional approval in 3 weeks, had an interview lined up in San Ysidro in 2 weeks and got the card. A wingman applied for SENTRI, changes to GLOBAL ENTRY, got approval and an interview at LAX all within 1 week, with the card mailed to him the next week.

Print out your proof of payment and write to them with a new application. But I can tell you the federal government agencies are so far behind with their normal business that lots of things got messed up.

Sentry.

[Scbb1]

How long does it take to get a decision on your Sentry application? I applied last summer and haven't heard a word.

[MadMax3423]

Now that the Supreme Court has voted yes 8-3 to legalize cannabis in Mexico has there been any updates on 2022?

Are there any dispensaries in Tijuana. Or if I wanted to visit where can I get some top notch Mexico cannabis?

Thanks again.

Be safe.

M.

[Aht169]

Hi All:

Would welcome your thoughts / recommendations.

Thank you all for the great info and recommendations. Given me lots to think about and definitely options to consider.

Appreciate the help!

Stay Safe.

AHT169.

[WombatEd2]

Walking, Pros: quick to get across both ways, don't have to worry about a car. Cons: The possible problems with FMM and cost, Cost of parking if driving to border, dealing with taxis, limited mobility.

Driving: Pros: seems to be easier to get through to Mexico, perceived more flexibility of getting around in Tijuana. Cons: Cost of mexican insurance, border wait coming back to US; and the actually driving in Mexico.

I may be missing something, but this is how I see it. Trying to decide which alternative makes most financial and time sense.

Crossing Southbound: If you drive, you should get insurance, for about $30/ day. Your US insurance is invalid in Mexico. But there's almost never any delay, assuming that you avoid Friday evening rush hour. If you walk, there can be long delays, and you MIGHT get hit with a $30 FMM fee.

Crossing Northbound: Assuming you don't have SENTRI, your wait can be anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, regardless of whether you walk or drive.

Getting Around: Driving in Mexico is no big deal, but stay VERY alert. Watch out for axel-breaking pot-holes, suspension-destroying speed bumps, and hidden stop signs. Having your own car avoids the muggers, and reduces the risk of having to bribe the local cops. GPS apps like Waze and Google Maps work almost as reliably in Tijuana as they do in San Diego. Walking in avoids the risk of having your car stolen. I almost always drive, but there are many here who prefer to walk.

Taxis: Both Uber and Lyft work well in Tijuana, but the cars are often unmarked, out of fear of violent taxi drivers. Normal taxis have bad reviews because they overcharge, and they seem to be cooperating with the cops who want to shake you down.

Parking: If you drive across, use lots with attendants. Pepe's and Libre are both popular facilities in the zona with good reputations. If you walk across, your options are to park on the street in a sketchy neighborhood, or to park in a VERY expensive lot, or to take public transportation to the border. By far the smartest option, for most of us, is to park in a trolley "Park & Ride" lot (either Palm or Palomar) and take a ten-minute trolley ride to the border. That'll cost you around $5 for the round trip, but the parking is free. Be aware that the last trolley leaves the border a bit before 1:00 AM, and that there's a rarely-enforced 24-hour limit in the trolley lots.