Crossing Tijuana by Foot - Which parking lot & which crossing?

i park a bit North at one of the trolley stops and ride the trolley to the end of the line in San ysidro. parking is free where I park. only problem is is that the trolley doesn't run shortly after midnight until like 430 in the morning. so regular one way trolley fair is $2.50.

The trolley stop is right by ped east. (the old crossing.) The ped West Crossing at Virginia Street (also called chaparral) is about a quarter mile to the west. i've done the walk many times. i usually walk in to Mexico ped east. after you come out of the Mexican customs building and down the walk look for a Hong Kong car or limo or a van or the Athleta van. I tip at the most if I am the only rider is two dollars. or get a taxi and tell them four dollars to Hong Kong/Adelitas. The most I'll pay a taxi is five dollars.

I haven't been in a taxi now for over a year as I usually take the little city buses (ruta) for 10 peso to Centro and walk the three blocks north on constitution to the clubs. Constitution is one block west of Revolution which is where the arch is. as always watch your step as Mexican sidewalks tend to be treacherous. i've been down there hundreds of times in the last four years.

(dictating into my phone and using Siri with AutoCorrect is a pain in the ass sometimes because of the editing I have to do. Siri sometimes can't spell worth shit). enjoy Mexico sir.

as to getting back to the us border check the pedestrian wait times on the us customs border patrol website to choose which Crossing has the shortest wait time. usually the worst time to cross is 5 AM to late morning. if you have a Hong Kong VIP card take a ride back to the border crossing of your choice and again tip no more than two dollars.

@ MisterWonderful

Thank your for your very informative and comprehensive response.

Are the Hong Kong VIP limos usually present near the border? I was thinking of reserving one by phone before I cross over, but I have never done it before. I also read that certain taxis can drop you off at Hong Kong, while others are only allowed to drop you off a couple of blocks away. Is there a way to ascertain which taxis will drop you off at Hong Kong and which will stop short?

if you get lucky you’ll see one of the Hong Kong cars limos van or the Adelita van. to call them to pick me up at the border has yet to work and it’s been years since I’ve tried.

TAXI.... as far as I know any taxi will take you to the club block of Hong Kong and Adelitas. Both Hong Kong and Adelitas are on the same block on the same side of the street within a half block of each other. before you get into a taxi ask/tell the taxi driver five dollars to Hong Kong. That includes the tip. it’s only at eight block ride at the most.

In regards to parking your car... I have not had a problem parking at one of the trolley parking lots and I have been parked there for like 50-60 hours. if you pay to park... your parking costs are going to be expensive. some of those parking lots charge you per eight hours. and there is a couple of them that are like 24 hours.

be aware that some of the parking lot charge a much higher fee on the weekends. The border station parking lot is convenient to pedwest. also be advised that pad west entry into Mexico is closed I think at 10 PM until five or maybe at 6 AM. The eastern entry into Mexico (near the end of the trolley line) is open 24/7. that east pedestrian entry is kind of behind and to the south of McDonald’s at the trolley stop. it is not very well marked... just follow all the people walking into Mexico .

AND Bring your passport. Mexico customs likes to see a passport.

AND US CBP expects to see passport (book or card) on return!!!

So the girls use WhatsApp? What does that do beyond regular text messaging and email? Does one have to pay?

SJG

Passport card is as good as a regular passport when crossing into Mexico, right?

Yes a passport card is as good as the regular passport. I park my car on the west side of the highway by the new crossing. I have parked there many nights now and it's safe. Walk across the crosswalk by the coffee Bean and tea leaf store and your at the crossing. Once across, taxi cabs are always waiting by the curb. I go to the first one, get in without saying a word. The driver gets in, I say Hong Kong and off we go for $5. I don't ask price, just give $5 when I arrive. Super easy and safe. I like the new crossing better and I like the parking by the outlet stores better than the back in the box. You have people constantly coming and going from that parking lot which makes it safe. Lots of eyes and they have cameras. It's also the parking lot that the US customs and border agents use. If they use it, I use it. No trolly to catch, just walk across the street. Get off on Camino Fe la Plaza Rd. Take a right, parking lot is immediately on the right. Virginia Ave, left side is where you walk down to get to the crossing.

Let's say you want to park somewhere at the border for a week. What prevents it from being towed if you're not in a pay-for-parking lot?

that could be a problem especially if san diego county has a 72 hour limit. i'm not sure what the law is.

There is a 24 hour limit at the trolley stations, how strictly they enforce it though I couldn’t tell you. Both crossings have thier good points and bad points: The old crossing is very convenient to the trolley and the last time I went the Mexican Customs Agents filled out my paperwork for me. That was nice. As far as parking goes, I think the closest lot is further away then the closest lot on the Ped west side. Coming back to the US, the old crossing always seems to have longer wait times. Ped west is very close to Border Station Parking, $8 per 12 hours midweek, not sure how much on weekends. Border Station is a secure lot with round the clock security. Like someone else mentioned, it’s where the CBP folks park, so you have armed law enforcement going in and out all the time.

When I was there a couple of weeks ago, the shuttle driver told me that HK is getting a garage near Ped West, and will have cars standing by there. The drive from the old crossing is longer, but the drive from Ped West always includes a U-Turn to get over the bridge that has had me cringing more than once.