The great TJ !

have reviewed many of the clubs down in Tijuana numerous times, The Hong Kong Club and Adelita's bar being the 2 places I frequent the most. I don't often go to clubs in my home town as I live in Las Vegas and the clubs here are well known to fleece a man of all his cash and leave him with nothing but unfulfilled fantasies. I have written several reviews of my experiences and have received messages from other members asking questions about my experiences and of the clubs in general, I have also read the discussion boards filled with trolls and people spouting unfounded stereotypical fears about the area and people. So I have decided to write this article to inform as well as put some fears to rest. I have broken the article into sections for an easier read.

LODGINGS

Unless you live in the San Diego area, you are most likely going to need a place to stay before and/or after your visit to the clubs. I usually make a weekend of it (my days off are Wed-Thurs) I don't know what the extended stay rooms (i.e. overnight) cost or even look like down in Zone Norte and unless you are fluent in Spanish and know the area well I don't recommend staying there over night. Tijuana has a few upscale hotels but I have never stayed in them. There are numerous motels on the US side near the border but the closer you get the dirtier they seem to become. My recommendation is the Best Western Americana Inn; it's fairly inexpensive, clean, and in a slightly better area being only 3 miles from the border. There are several food joints nearby if like me you are not too big on the local cuisine down in Mexico. They also have excellent WiFi in the rooms.

PARKING

Driving into Tijuana is not advised, the streets are not very well maintained, are extremely confusing, filled with aggressive cab drivers, and there is almost always a ridiculously long line to get back into the US. So it would be best if you parked on the US side and walked across. The lot I recommend is on San Ysidro Blvd right behind the Jack in the Box. The cost is $7 for 8 hours; the lot is fairly well lit and monitored by security. There is another lot across the highway behind the Duty Free store but it is $10 over there and you have to walk a lot further.

From the lot you head down to the stores and just follow the rest of the people as they walk towards the 2 revolving steel gates leading into Mexico. BE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR PASSPORT, you can get back without it if you have a valid US. ID but it is a hassle you don't want to go through. You will have to pass through a guard station but you only need to stop if you are carrying a lot of goods into the country. Just continue down the stairs to the walkway, from here you can gauge how long the wait will be to cross the border. There may be 2 lines; the one on the right is for people needing permits and the one on the left is for general passes (Passports, Green cards, etc.) Just take a left and head for the walk way, there will be signs for taxis, just go up the ramp and over the highway, on the other side the will be a sea of cabs. The cab ride should only cost between 5-7 dollars and will take about five min to get to the clubs.

NOTE: You do not have to exchange your money as the cab drivers, clubs, and most businesses will readily accept US currency.

AREA AROUND THE CLUBS

The Cab will drop you off on the main street in front of the clubs. From there you can choose between Adelita's, Las Chavelas, Hong Kong, or Bar Tropico across the street. The street directly behind these clubs is much like down town Las Vegas minus the overhead light show, it is a brightly lit street with bars and shops on both sides. Later at night there will be a lot of prostitutes out and you might be able to get a better deal than with a girl in one of the clubs. There is also a Police station right in the middle of the block and for all the talk of how corrupt the police may or may not be, their job is to keep the peace and people safe, especially the tourists because if the tourists don't feel safe they will stop coming and spending money. Unless you are trying to start something, score illegal drugs, or making a total ass of yourself the police will not hassle you. For safety reasons I would stick to the immediate area unless you speak Spanish or have a local guide.

THE LANGUAGE BARRIER

One question I get asked a lot is how well can you get by down there if you don't know Spanish. I was apprehensive of this at first myself as I know very little Spanish, two years of high school Spanish taught me exactly squat. I found that the cabbies, wait staff, and most of the dancers do understand some English, so even if you can't speak a word of Spanish, you can still have a great time down there.

THE GIRLS

Like any good strip club there a lot of girls to choose from, however you are in Mexico so if you don't care for Latino girls you are SOL. You can find other types of girls on the weekends but they are few and far between. Most of the girls' rate between 5-7 with no implants and that have that girl next door look, some of them have a lot more junk in the truck than I care for. There are few stunners but not to the extent of some of the high end clubs in the US.