General Reports

[Captain Solo]

Yep, my TMobile account gets me unlimited 4 G data, voice, text reliably, free of roaming charges in US, Mexico and Canada.

I have an old plan cheap, so I get free 2 G data in any country in the world, fast enough for most apps.

TMobile bought Sprint and is now the strongest 5 G provider in the US. Call their number and talk to the CS sweethearts in the Phil. They can get you good deals.

[Artisttyp]

I tried that a # of trips ago with a wifi puck, I hope its better. It was the same thing. If it had any hint of US native service, it would quietly and endlessly fail to actually work on native service, or roaming (which it does not prefer to do).

Must be your phone. My T-Moblie service is solid in Tijuana much better than when I had ATT.

[StRobert]

I'm looking for a new cell phone carrier. I hope to find an American provider that has a Mexico option that actually works well.

(And, yes, I am aware of the option to get a Mexican phone or SIM card. That doesn't work for me, for reasons that I'll not boor you with.).

I have AT&T and it works fine in Tijuana.

[StRobert]

That's good to know Urfikhan. I always liked the UTC area.

I like to hotel in San Diego when visiting from USA And find these days rooms in San Diego City are pretty expensive. I may stay in a hotel near UTC for my next trip.

Why pay San Diego prices. Stay overnight at a motel in Chula Vista. Eg "Motel 6" at 745 E Street 5 minutes walk from the "Bayfront / E Street" trolley station. Travel time to border with trolley 20 min. There are more motels nearby - "Days Inn" and others. Around a lot of restaurants like: Denny's, McDonald's, Angus steak, Aunt Emmy's (good breakfast) and also a supermarket and a liquor store. Now they have changed the trolley timetable. The last trolley from San Ysidro to downtown San Diego is now 1249 AM (not 1258 AM). Next trolley after 430 AM. If you're too late for the last trolley then a taxi from San Ysidro to Motel 6 in Chula Vista is around $ 25, and to downtown San Diego is a minimum of $ 50.

[SpeedToys]

T Mobile works great in Mexico and is included in the data / call plans.

I tried that a # of trips ago with a wifi puck, I hope its better. It was the same thing. If it had any hint of US native service, it would quietly and endlessly fail to actually work on native service, or roaming (which it does not prefer to do).

[Artisttyp]

I'm looking for a new cell phone carrier. I hope to find an American provider that has a Mexico option that actually works well.

(And, yes, I am aware of the option to get a Mexican phone or SIM card. That doesn't work for me, for reasons that I'll not boor you with.).

T Mobile works great in Mexico and is included in the data / call plans.

[SpeedToys]

I'm looking for a new cell phone carrier. I hope to find an American provider that has a Mexico option that actually works well.

(And, yes, I am aware of the option to get a Mexican phone or SIM card. That doesn't work for me, for reasons that I'll not boor you with.).

My verizon phone swaps to a local Intl carrier on its own.

The -challenge- is, if the phone even _sniffs_ it's home carrier, it will NOT seek out a roaming carrier. So a carrier that will roam, is not necesarily the answer.

For the pitifully few dollars it costs, load up a local SIM with a few GB of data, and carry on. And once a day or so in your hotel room (or more) swap in the home SIM when you're in good wifi area, or close to the border to catch up on txt's for that #.

But your apps won't care (WhatsApp, etc) what SIM in in the phone, they'll just work. Just native TXTs and Phone Calls to your home SIM won't work.

If you're an android user, get a dual SIM phone.

[WombatEd2]

I'm looking for a new cell phone carrier. I hope to find an American provider that has a Mexico option that actually works well.

(And, yes, I am aware of the option to get a Mexican phone or SIM card. That doesn't work for me, for reasons that I'll not boor you with.).

[Urfikhan]

That's good to know Urfikhan. I always liked the UTC area.

I like to hotel in San Diego when visiting from USA And find these days rooms in San Diego City are pretty expensive. I may stay in a hotel near UTC for my next trip.

Hotels in UTC area can be expensive also. Try for hotels near the Balboa Ave or Clairemont Dr area (the 2 stops after the Nobel Drive) these stations have parking also. You will still be North of Downtown San Diego. Other good areas to look for hotels is near the 8th St (National City). Hotels near H St, Palm Ave and Palomar St stations should be reasonable also. All these stations have a good number of parking spots, and are south of Downtown San Diego.

https://www.sdmts.com/schedules-real...iego_blue_line is the link for the Blue Line trolley.

[Cocr Brotheler]

That's good to know Urfikhan. I always liked the UTC area.

I like to hotel in San Diego when visiting from USA And find these days rooms in San Diego City are pretty expensive. I may stay in a hotel near UTC for my next trip.

[Cocr Brotheler]

Was wondering if anyone has been in Tijuana on New Yeas eve. Seems like fun. I am a bit concerned things could be crazy and lines will be very long heading back.

I was wondering the same thing. I mean how much more packed could HK get even if is NYE!

[Jackie888]

Was wondering if anyone has been in Tijuana on New Yeas eve. Seems like fun. I am a bit concerned things could be crazy and lines will be very long heading back.

I think I posted my experience a couple of years ago. It sucks. I think it's because single guys within flying distance are coming in, and most of the better girls are home. As I recalled, there were more guys than girls. By 10 pm, you better have a girl and a table or you will be alone and standing by midnight. Yeah, it's going to cost you a bundle to keep her for 2 hours. As a local, I'm going in the daytime to get my fix. Then get the fuck back across the border before night hits. And leave New Year's Eve for the newbies and tourists to play in.

[SpeedToys]

I know Ticuan has a private lot 'on prem', but I wanted to ask how secure that and Caesars Valet lot seem to be?

[Hargow20]

Was wondering if anyone has been in Tijuana on New Yeas eve. Seems like fun. I am a bit concerned things could be crazy and lines will be very long heading back.

[Urfikhan]

The Blue Line Trolley, previously terminating at downtown, was recently extended all the way up to UTC / La Jolla area. Now you can park for free at the Nobel Drive station in a brand new parking structure next to a great shopping center, avoid the horrible south-bound traffic in the evenings (2 PM on wards). The ride is 1 hour, but I had my laptop and a Inseego WiFi hot-spot so I got myself a comfortable seat and setup a mobile office, and got a lot of work done. The hot-spot gets you 50 Mbps - 80 Mbps data rates. I probably could have driven ad saved 20 minutes, but this was a far better deal. Folks using the trolley stations for parking (https://sdmts.com/rider-info/transit-station-parking) should look into this option of parking up further north and saving yourself driving through rush hour traffic. These trolleys run every 15 minutes.

A major advantage of using a dedicated Hot-spot: I carry 2 cell phones and a laptop, so I just have a unlimited data plan on a Verizon SIM and that has helped me in Tijuana with all 3 devices and also when I have bad coverage in Cascadas and definitely outside the hotel. The Cell pones need to have WiFi calling mode enabled.

Queue was not bad on Tuesday evening, and was okay on Wednesday until 11 AM (showing 30 min wait) but then it suddenly swelled to 2-3 hours wait. Street action was not that great but I went with known quantities. I wonder how long these long waits will continue. IMO if you don't have SENTRI, right now it is not worth the wait if you are not going to see anyone specific.