General Reports

[Captain Solo]

Vivabus' cheap fare allows only 1 personal item like a back pack or hand bag that fit under the seat.

Most time they would let you take on board a wheel luggage if it does not exceed 22 x16 x10 inches and 22 lbs.

Check luggage can be very expensive. Viva charged me $145 for a wheel luggage 37 Kg.

[Jackie888]

How would you all rate the Mexican airlines from best to worst? It would be useful to know when booking which will have the best service or least likely to cancel. Also, if you are a gringo who doesn't speak hardly any Spanish, is it easy enough to navigate TIJ airport?

I asked around and the consensus is that Aeromexico is the best airlines by far. However, tickets are more expensive because they are in higher demand if I needed to travel around the holidays and fail to book more than 2 months in advance. I would say close to double the price as Volaris and Vivaerobus because I did not book my flight in time.

Most of the chicas in the bars I spoke to opt for Volaris. But they have a bad reputation for over booking their flights. That can really fuck things over if I were to use the CBX crossing. On the other hand, they seem to have the most number of flights per day, and they did allow me to book a specific seat on the way back to Tijuana.

In the end, I booked Vivaareobus. But I did not get to book my seat. And I am getting a ton of important emails from them in complete Spanish even though I booked things in Spanish. There is a bunch of youtube videos showing people how to navigate the Tijuana airport. I figure that because of the CBX crossing directly from US territory, there will be an abundant number of English speaking folks at the airport to help.

[BlackThought]

Having booked to Cabo from Tijuana and the USA the big difference is the $100 the Mexicans put on for a gringo to land there. Although it seems attractive to save that tariff if you do the math flying out of SD on Alaskan makes sense at least for me. There is a $15 fee for using the CBX route as well as parking issues. Time is money so I figured out the additional time to transit CBX / Tijuana and it doesn't work for me. Couple that with MX airlines can cancel a flight with, in my experience, no consequence and it's a hard no. Last time for me was when I crossed early one morning and saw my flight was cancelled at the last minute and was told to come back the next day. I said I just want my money back. They said they don't do refunds!! Also there is a trap. If you want to talk to a ticket agent you have to go out to the departure / luggage check to do so. Don't do that as once you cross into that side you can't transit back to the CBX tunnel where you obviously parked so you are fucked due to not having a. Ali's ticket to enter the airport since your flight was supposed to have left ten minutes ago. I ended up back on the USA CBX side and tried to handle it from that desk which was swamped with people checking luggage. Waited 30 minutes just to be told they don't do refunds so I told the ass of a lady "no problem". I will just dispute the charge and send a complaint thru trip advisor. It wasn't till I used her name which freaked her out (as soon as I called her by her name she flipped her badge over BTW) that I got movement to resolution.

Wow damn. That's not good. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Hedonish]

I had a chance to spend some time in the Zona yeaterday and had a great time. I started my day out at Tropical around 4 pm, about 20 chicas there but I didn't see any worth taking arriba at bar girl prices, so I left and headed to HK. While HK did have hotter girls than Tropical overall, I still didn't see anyone stunning so I moved along. On my first trip around the block the street girl talent was about on par with what I saw at Tropical. There were plenty of street girls available this day, the weather was great.

I eventually settled in at Adelitas where I found the talent to be pretty good, about 20-25 chicas and a few hotties. Honestly I was scouting the bars for a trophy fuck, but about 15 minutes in a thick girl stopped and bent over in front of me, she looked back and she just had the most adorable smile. Her name is Lily, she's a little taller than average, a little overweight I guess, but she has excellent English, nice natural boobs and she balances cuteness and fun perfectly. We spent about 30 minutes hanging out kissing and cuddling downstairs before we went arriba for $80. The session was unrushed and quite fun, she got very wet and smiled wide after she came which was so sexy.

After Adelitas I left to Chicago where I found another batch of 20 or so chicas of average talent. A couple girls approached and tried seducing me to no avail, and the couple of girls I was interested in didn't seem to like me, oh well. I headed back to HK again, it was much busier already but despite this the talent was still just ok. I have noticed that a lot of top tier chicas tend to arrive around 8 pm and this was around 7, so maybe I should have been more patient.

Nevertheless, after a single beer I got bored at HK and decided to just go bang a street girl before heading home. I made a couple of rounds scouting the talent, there were a few good options but I eventually settled on a young spinner standing alone on the corner of Constitution and Coahuila. I didn't realize how pretty she was on my first couple of passes but after seeing her face I knew I had to have her. I didn't catch her name but we quickly agreed to $50 for everything and went upstairs. I tend not to spend much time negotiating and clarifying expectations so I was disappointed to find that she wouldn't even allow me to kiss her breasts. This, combined with her several chest hickies, made it clear to me her pimp boyfriend likes to make sure his girl is all his except for the most sterile of sexual activities. No matter. This putas young body was so sexy and supple I didn't need much more than to caress her body to get erect, at which point we quickly cycled through a couple positions before I blew in the bag. Funny enough, she turned out to be the trophy fuck I was scouting the bars for.

[WombatEd2]

My favorite Calimax has two ATMs, Santander and HSBC. When I tried to use my Schwab Bank debit card, the Santander ATM insisted that I accept their ridiculous exchange rate, while the HSBC ATM let me reject their ridiculous rate and accept a second one (from Schwab, maybe?

That was months ago, and I'm wondering if anyone can give me an update on this issue.

Thanks in advance.

[Hargow20]

When I was parking I noticed parking enforcement guy was giving out tickets on Border Village drive. I really surprised. This the first time I have seen people getting tickets on that street.

[KBToys]

I go to the HSBC bank machine as the Calimax market on ave Constitution. I also get 2 litre soda bottles, etc from there.

There are 4 different bank ATMs about 2 blocks south of of Calimax on ave Constitution including Citibank, banco Santander, etc.

There is also a big HSBC bank with ATM section one block east of Calimax.

I always decline the exchange offer they make during the withdrawal.

I use my Schwab credit card to get the ATM fees rebated.

For converting excess pesos back to $ I found the best rates are at or close the border in Mexico. I found the best rate when in line in Mexico at the old ped east entrance to USA.

I always do the same as you and decline the crappy 19 to 1 they always try to offer on the ATM conversion. Most times Schwab is 20 to 1 or 22 to 1. Best exchange rate, but the limiting factor is 9-10 k peso per day withdrawal limit.

[KBToys]

How would you all rate the Mexican airlines from best to worst? It would be useful to know when booking which will have the best service or least likely to cancel. Also, if you are a gringo who doesn't speak hardly any Spanish, is it easy enough to navigate TIJ airport?

I always use Vivaaerobus because they are cheap, but Volaris is also slightly more expensive. I know now why Aeromexico is always higher priced as they offer free drinks based on Luvin's comments. I always have to pay for drinks on the low cost carriers, but then again make up for the price difference in tickets. TIJ airport is easy to navigate. Just look at the boards and double check your gate. You do have to fill out a COVID form online from your phone, but fairly straightforward. Never had problems and flights are significantly cheaper than flying out of SoCal airports.

[Rambo1969]

IMHO, the moment my foot enters the Zona Norte, someone is watching me even if I don't know it. So I always pick the a money exchange with the best security. Big street, good lighting, cameras, a lot of customers. Never needed to, but if I need to exchange amounts greater than $500, I go to a bank. Security is more important to me than saving a couple of bucks. The rates are competitive because there are so many exchanges. So there is not a real savings trying to cherry pick them.

I go to the HSBC bank machine as the Calimax market on ave Constitution. I also get 2 litre soda bottles, etc from there.

There are 4 different bank ATMs about 2 blocks south of of Calimax on ave Constitution including Citibank, banco Santander, etc.

There is also a big HSBC bank with ATM section one block east of Calimax.

I always decline the exchange offer they make during the withdrawal.

I use my Schwab credit card to get the ATM fees rebated.

For converting excess pesos back to $ I found the best rates are at or close the border in Mexico. I found the best rate when in line in Mexico at the old ped east entrance to USA.

[LobElsewhere]

Having booked to Cabo from Tijuana and the USA the big difference is the $100 the Mexicans put on for a gringo to land there. Although it seems attractive to save that tariff if you do the math flying out of SD on Alaskan makes sense at least for me. There is a $15 fee for using the CBX route as well as parking issues. Time is money so I figured out the additional time to transit CBX / Tijuana and it doesn't work for me. Couple that with MX airlines can cancel a flight with, in my experience, no consequence and it's a hard no. Last time for me was when I crossed early one morning and saw my flight was cancelled at the last minute and was told to come back the next day. I said I just want my money back. They said they don't do refunds!! Also there is a trap. If you want to talk to a ticket agent you have to go out to the departure / luggage check to do so. Don't do that as once you cross into that side you can't transit back to the CBX tunnel where you obviously parked so you are fucked due to not having a. Ali's ticket to enter the airport since your flight was supposed to have left ten minutes ago. I ended up back on the USA CBX side and tried to handle it from that desk which was swamped with people checking luggage. Waited 30 minutes just to be told they don't do refunds so I told the ass of a lady "no problem". I will just dispute the charge and send a complaint thru trip advisor. It wasn't till I used her name which freaked her out (as soon as I called her by her name she flipped her badge over BTW) that I got movement to resolution.

How would you all rate the Mexican airlines from best to worst? It would be useful to know when booking which will have the best service or least likely to cancel. Also, if you are a gringo who doesn't speak hardly any Spanish, is it easy enough to navigate TIJ airport?

[Bunter Hiden]

I was looking at this the other day, $60 RT from Tijuana to Cabos, $120 RT from Tijuana to Cancun. Can save a lot of $ to several destinations within Mexico.

Having booked to Cabo from Tijuana and the USA the big difference is the $100 the Mexicans put on for a gringo to land there. Although it seems attractive to save that tariff if you do the math flying out of SD on Alaskan makes sense at least for me. There is a $15 fee for using the CBX route as well as parking issues. Time is money so I figured out the additional time to transit CBX / Tijuana and it doesn't work for me. Couple that with MX airlines can cancel a flight with, in my experience, no consequence and it's a hard no. Last time for me was when I crossed early one morning and saw my flight was cancelled at the last minute and was told to come back the next day. I said I just want my money back. They said they don't do refunds!! Also there is a trap. If you want to talk to a ticket agent you have to go out to the departure / luggage check to do so. Don't do that as once you cross into that side you can't transit back to the CBX tunnel where you obviously parked so you are fucked due to not having a. Ali's ticket to enter the airport since your flight was supposed to have left ten minutes ago. I ended up back on the USA CBX side and tried to handle it from that desk which was swamped with people checking luggage. Waited 30 minutes just to be told they don't do refunds so I told the ass of a lady "no problem". I will just dispute the charge and send a complaint thru trip advisor. It wasn't till I used her name which freaked her out (as soon as I called her by her name she flipped her badge over BTW) that I got movement to resolution.

[Jackie888]

Where's the best place to change money at the moment? Anyone seen rates in SY or around ZN in the past few days?

Looks like we're broadly at 20 per dollar currently, but doesn't always mean that's what you get.

Generally find most $100 Chicas are happy to take mille pesos.

IMHO, the moment my foot enters the Zona Norte, someone is watching me even if I don't know it. So I always pick the a money exchange with the best security. Big street, good lighting, cameras, a lot of customers. Never needed to, but if I need to exchange amounts greater than $500, I go to a bank. Security is more important to me than saving a couple of bucks. The rates are competitive because there are so many exchanges. So there is not a real savings trying to cherry pick them.

[LuvMexicanas]

What airline offers free beer and tequila?

The beer and tequila fest was on Aeromexico.

[KBToys]

I flew from Tijuana to Mexico City RT for $90 and the cool thing is unlike the cheap ass airlines in the states, I drank free beer and tequila the entire flight.

What airline offers free beer and tequila?

[KBToys]

How is security at that lot? Yeah, I got a bad feeling about leaving my car in Tijuana for a couple of days.

Definitely recommend trying to use a lot outside of the airport. I've parked at the Tijuana airport and sometimes it is packed and expensive like $16 a day. Also parked at CBX and it was $18 a day. Some people park for free on the curb near CBX, but I feel more comfortable having it in a paid parking lot.