For those of you who have been to Adelita Bar and Hong Kong in Mexico. . .

You need a passport.

Okay thanks

you don't need a passport to get into Mexico at the TJ boarder crossing but officially you need one to get back into the states. I have read on an other site (tjamigos) that some have crossed over with a drivers licenses.
I have never had an issue with crime but I do not stay late into the night or early morning. If you go take a cab ($5) from the crossing to Hong Kong and back.

If someone used a drivers license to cross the border I suspect it was an enhanced license -- one that doubles as proof of citizenship. They are only issued by some states. Only state I'm 100% sure of is NY, as I have many friends and relatives there and one told me she had such a license. However, I think Michigan issues and I assume California does too.

Standard DL won't work.

Better to have a passport. There is a form that you can get and have done that will serve.

I have heard of a US Passport Card which is supposed to be cheaper and quicker to obtain. Its use is limited to Mexico, Canada, Caribbean and travel by land or sea (ie., excludes international travel by air).. It fits in your wallet. Be sure to write and describe your visit so we can live vicariously through you.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passport…

As “wwpmi” mentioned; tjamigos.com is a site for TJ mongers; I imagine you can find some solid info there.

w.r.t. safety – IMO it looks like one is less safe in many a large U.S. city. It seems many Americans especially from SoCal go to TJ all the time especially teenagers since the drinking age there is lower and probably less enforced overall.

TJ like anything else is not zero risk – but plenty of TUSCLers go there as is obvious from all the reviews and I’m yet to hear anyone coming back with a story of woe. Of course one needs to take precautions; but so if you plan to SC in Detroit or other areas.

How desperate are you davejones? You don't need anything to get into Mexico in fact the less you have the better. Getting back to the US can be a problem without a passport. If you are really desperate for some TJ action you can go across the border in the evening, have some fun in TJ and then come back to the US border and explain to the border agent how you are an american citizen I would like back into the US.

Best option is to have a passport but people get passports and ID's stolen all the time and still have to cross back into the US.

If all you are looking for is extras why bother to go through all of that hassle and potential safety concerns? Drive 90 minutes north to OC or LA and you can find plenty of extras clubs. You could even take the train if you don't want to drive and then take a cab.

What clubs north of San Diego give good extras?

If you look gay don't go

The passport card is cheaper than the full blown passport, and advertised as good pretty only for Canada and Mexico on the land border crossings (i.e. San Ysidro).
Main advantage is really that, it's small durable, like a drivers license. A normal passport book doesn't really lend much confidence to being stuffed in your back pocket while you chase tail all night around bars in Mexico (although the passports are a bit more durable than most people assume). It's like carrying around a 3x5 book with about 20 pages in your pocket all night, the card is much more convinient.
They use the same application, and can get both at the same time.

Passports? We don't need no estinkin" passports. Vamonos amigos.

“… What clubs north of San Diego give good extras …”

Read the reviews for “Tropical Lei”

I'll disagree somewhat with occurious....

Yeah, you can make the trip from San Diego to the LA area to visit some clubs, but in practice that's a big fucking pain. Forget driving unless you want to worry about hitting Orange County traffic at rush hour, which is pretty much most of the day. And you'll have to do that both ways....uggghhh....

Yeah, you can take Metrolink or Amtrak, and it's a nice trip, but it can also be a pain getting around after you get off the train, and having to schedule your trips. Yeah, you can do taxi, but again that's a pain. This isn't NYC where there are taxis zipping by constantly. The best mileage place in the LA area are City of Industry, which is nucking futs to get to by train. You have to go to downtown LA first, then another train to Industry, but they don't run on weekends as I recall. A huge pain. Same with Upland (Tropical Lei) I believe.

Personally, I'd highly recommend going to TJ. Get a passport, and just do it. It's an incredible experience, especially Hong Kong. You won't find anything comparable in the LA area, especially considering the prices. Just hop a taxi direct after you hit the border, and don't go walking around by yourself. Don't worry dude, have fun.