Need assistance planning 1st TJ Tripl

Hotel suggestions? Hotel Cascadas, preferably the 4th or 5th floor but nothing below the 4th. Should probably buy a $50 VIP card from the club first before checking in. Don't drink the water. Check out Caesar's and buy a salad; the biscuit is actually a crouton. I've arrived on Monday nights and left Wednesday morning and spent $1,000 for the whole trip. Check my reviews on the specifics of what I spend money on and you can plan from there.

@Pjizzle02

I will play along and comment on your discussion.

To answer your question:

Q: how many days and a good budget range to plan for?

A: About 3days like Liwet said, and I also agree with his budget and hotel recommendations.

You and your friend should consider this first trip a recon mission to gain information and see how things are, if you don’t speak Spanish be prepared for misunderstandings and somethings lost in translation, just ask for someone that speak English to help you, most people would be happy to help, tip accordingly if they are working.

This is a must read article from tuscl’s EastCoaster

“Hong Kong Club, Tijuana for Beginners”

tuscl.net

As long as you and your friend behave like respectable, friendly, gentlemen, you will be treated like a friendly, respectable gentlemen.

Don’t overthink things, nothing is going to be exactly like you imagined or were told, just be prepared for the worst and hope for the best that way you won’t be surprised.

Just relax stay open to the positive experiences so you can have a good enjoyable time at The Happiest Place on Earth (according to Krusty)

tuscl.net

Just remember to be careful out there, and Pics and Vids or it didn’t happen.

:D

There are so many articles and reviews where you didn't need to make a post. I will be brief but I recommend just looking through articles, posts, and tj monger discussions

i fly to SD.

hop on 922 bus $3

take that to blue line trolley.

take blue line to san ysidro $3

follow everyone to the border crossing building.

stay in right line when in building.

show passport and hopefully get through no hassle. might make you buy $30 FMM (6 month entry)

follow the line til you get to taxi.

taxi to Hong Kong $5-10 (negotiate)

goto front "desk" (need a mask) and ask for VIP card $60 (3 months vip access)

go next door to Hotel Cascadas (make reservation before hand online). show vip card. rooms as low as $23 pending what night you're there. check in is at 3pm. check out 11am. if you arrive before check in, you can tip the guy where you buy VIP card at HK and check it in there. I've left over $1000 in my bag checked with him so I wouldn't worry much.

Once checked in, you have a few options. I like to goto pharmacy and get "supplies" like water, gatorade, condoms, whatever before I go have fun. Otherwise, just goto HK and open the infamous red curtain to heaven.

Other "musts" for first time : Clubs : -Adelitas you'll get a diff type of female here... diff shapes and sizes, more "curvy" than HK. Dominican, cuban, latin america type women as well.

-Chicago Club this is where I go to chill out a bit. Less busy, a step or two down as far as average looks go. i think $1 less for drinks. These girls I find work the most for the money though. Fichas are usually good. they don't drink their drinks as fast in my experience. They play a good amount of american music.

-Tropical bar - no my fave bc usually smokey, but this is owned by HK. A step down from HK . Think of it as HK's dive bar. girls from HK/Trop can go to Cascadas if you decide you want to arriba and you have a room at Cascadas (or same with Trops hotel rizo.

you can venture into other clubs but i'd say those are the 4 you should try out your first time.

Other endeavors : on one of the corners of the rectangle block (think the alley street, the side street of hotels, the front access of hotels, then the other side street) there are many food vendors but in the corner of one you'll see a large cart with pork,beef, etc ...thts a good taco and birria spot. about $1.50 per. carne asada, al pastor, birria (small cup is good for me, with tortillas).

Revolucion street (where the Arch is) is a popular and touristy spot where you'll be safe. Wall to the arches and take a right (coming from hotel). many fun shops, food spots, and a nice cigar place as well if thats your thing. also, these are the cheaper pharmacies vs near the hotels in case you want viagra or whatever.

There are a lot more things that you could read about so I suggest doing that, but this was a pretty basic guide to start ya out. Good luck. what days will you be indulging?

My recommendation is monday and tuesday is plenty of time and will save you the most money. 70% off hotel on those nights. look into buying a bottle vs individual drinks too. 20% bottles those nights. you can check your bottle too if you leave the club. just check with front desk guy. I am prob toward the lower budge person in the group of regulars here but I usually stay two nights, buy a bottle which last both nights, usually 2-4 girls arriba in total, plus food and usually about 400-600.

Have fun!

Thank you guys for all of the info so far! Apologies for not navigating previous threads and recreating info that’s already been published. Hopefully the updated info helps some other first timers out as well. This is certainly more detail than I was originally expecting.

Besmitty: I’ll either be going the memorial day weekend or the week shortly after depending on my friends avaibility.

Ah, the memories! This Memorial Day weekend will mark my fifth anniversary of my first trip to HK. It was just as I had imagined from all the research I did on TUSCL. Never experienced anything like it in my life. Between mongering paradises like TJ, Thailand, Germany and Colombia, it pisses you off how awful the hobbying scene is in the U.S. by comparison.

@Pjizzle02, do as much reading of reviews and articles on TUSCL as you can to prepare. Focus on writings from the following TJ mongering superstars: @Putatester (the artist formerly known as @tahoecruz), @greanbeans, @jascoi, @mongo1964, @cristobal, @eastcoaster, and @besmitty, as you've seen.

@pjizzle02 - If you go Memorial weekend, be ready for a busy weekend. Adding in a Monday that people have off is going to increase the crowd size, but also could mean better quality women (not that it makes much difference there). Since you haven't been before, I'd suggest getting there before 7pm and finding a seat always having at least one friend at the table to hold the fort down lol I just was asking when you were going as I'll be there this upcoming Monday and Tuesday. Not sure If I'll have a new article up yet by the time you leave, but I might by then which would give you some insight on activity down in TJ. I will be going with AZfriole and redbaron12 , so hopefully one of us has a review/arcticle for your viewing pleasure.

@JAprufrock - Dont sell yourself short on the superstar list haha. I'm still technically a rookie, since it's been less than a year (July 5th is my anniversary I believe)... I hope to win the rookie of the year award lol.

I agree with besmitty. I hate weekends, but I was there last year during this holiday specifically because I had that Monday off. The holiday doesn’t apply to Mexicans, but they are there to support the weekend crowd. Make any reservations in advance.

@Pjizzle02

One more thing, just make sure you and your friend are a good Wingman for each other.

Urban Dictionary definition of a wingma:

“the wingman will prevent male and female cockblockers from the pointman who is macking.

A wingman may be the best thing to have in order to get what you want from women wingman steps into the bar and covers the grenade (unacceptable girl) and or cockblockers while waiting for the next moves in the game with the pointman so they both can score.”

Make sure you and your friend are “that person who will always have your back, no matter what.” for each other

So you both can have a good experience in the Happiest Place on earth. (according to Krusty)

tuscl.net

Just remember to be careful out there, and Pics and Vids or it didn’t happen.

:D

I consider myself a rookie. Just not experiences yet.

(Dang seri/ Alexa...)

Just not ENOUGH experience yet

TJ Tripl sounds like something you'd need a pill for.

You've already got some travel advice, so here is something else. If you're looking for fun in TJ it's going to be a lot easier to get the mileage you didn't find at SAMC (when it was probably all around you on a Friday night in 2017). Don't jump at the first thing you see, and don't chase something because you'll have a lot of options. Keep a low profile. Have fun.

The TJ mongers are not holding up their end of this board. There are 23 clubs listed for TJ but only 5 have review for this year. A lot have not had reviews for 3 or more years. I suspect a lot of them are not even in business any more.

I am especially interested in the status of the Deja Vu club?

@shadowcat ... yes there are many clubs/bars in TJ but only a few , IMO, are worth the time. I understand everyone has their own preferences, but HK,Adelitas, Trop, and Chicago is all I need in TJ. Actually, not even tropical for me. I don't write many reviews bc I like write articles instead. Allows me to tell full story in one writing vs writing 4 reviews for 4 places separately. I was surprised to see that my review for Adelitas was the first in a long while though...but then again, my review was pretty negative so maybe lots dont go there much anymore?

To piggy back on what besmitty said...I often check out the smaller clubs, like Play Boy, Gold Palace, and the like. I have even had some success in them, but it has been quite a while, simply because I have my favorites in HK and CC. I go to the smaller clubs on weekends when I want to sharpen my hunting skills. Weekdays the smaller clubs are dead; I walk in, scope it briefly, and walk out. Not enough for a quality review. Even if there are attractive girls there, often there is no stage entertainment and the girls (mostly fives and under if there are any) are heads-down in their phones and the volume of the music borders on cruel-and-unusual punishment. Not exactly the vibe I enjoy.

And Deja Vu SUCKS. No experienced monger goes there. The club is far more than safe walking distance after dark from the other clubs. They are much more expensive across the board. They do not have an associated hotel; just cubical-size rooms in the club that the rent for high roller prices. Even the girls are so FOB they don't know how to please a client or so old or ugly or used up that I cannot get excited. I think the only reason they survive is that they are the closest club to the border, the USA Deja Vu clubs advertise the Mexico club, and name recognition. Even the porn stars they have perform there are D-listers.

I absolutely ditto puta tester in regards to déjà vu Tijuana. Maybe my next visit. I will force myself to experience déjà vu Tijuana again just to update my previous experience.

Change of plans for my friend. Looks like he will be unavailable for the trip. How advisable is it to go alone for the first time?

All I can say is that I went with a online friend 8 years ago to adelitas and Hong Kong. But I wouldn't be too afraid to do it by myself. Because if you focus on Hong Kong club, you will absolutely love it!!!

Desert scrub. Any input here?

I'm going to suggest for your first trip... Figure on one day. And then add another day and then maybe yet another day. It ain't the best. ain't the cheapest, but you know what... it's f****** awesome.

I was actually thinking of that as going on my own gives me flexibility. I was more concerned about the ease of navigating on my own and the safety factor.

I went alone on my first trip and had an absolute blast. Since then, I've crossed that border maybe 15 times. (If I didn't live on the East Coast, that number would be much higher.) I've met up with PutaTester there a few times, but mostly I've just gone by myself.

Jascoi and others have given you good advice above. For your first visit, stay close to Hong Kong, Adelita Bar, Chicago Club, which are all basically on the same block (Chicago Club is just around the corner, but it's like a three-minute walk from HK) and you'll be fine.

Have fun, and bring back some good stories for us!

If you post the dates that you will be in TJ, likely a vet will be happy to meet,share a drink, and give you some pointers. If not, alone you are still going to have an interesting experience.

Thanks guys. What an awesome community this is. I’ll be there this coming Sunday through Wednesday most likely (May 29th-June 1). I may do they day to day thing though as suggested by Jascoi. I’m guessing I’ll get the experience of the club being uncomfortably crowded and not so crowded between those dates.

Just go. Don't worry about the dead guy laying on the sidewalk with the flys going in and out of his mouth. Just step over him and move on. There are tits to look at

"I’m guessing I’ll get the experience of the club being uncomfortably crowded and not so crowded between those dates."

The short answer is, "yes," especially at HK. HK tends to block off parts of the club to force the people into a smaller space intentionally/artificially making the club crowded. It is more about marketing to those who like that vibe than the capacity to make the clients comfortable. Even on a Monday night, it can "appear" crowded and difficult to find seating. If you don't like that vibe, you can go to the other clubs.

That said, I have noticed a decline in overall patronage likely due to the faltering economy. (And yes, it is largely the president's fault...President Putin, not the other guy.)

Enjoy your time there. I went to my first time in December and plan to go back later this year. Listen to what the guys here say not sure what I could add what they've said. These are the same people I asked for advice from and had fun time. I went by myself but did meet up with a couple of tuscl guys down there first night. Hope to meet more in the future.

Thanks guys. I think I'm feeling more confident about having a good time going solo for my first time to TJs. One question that pops to mind though is wether you guys recommend bringing USD across the border or just withdrawing at TJs? I have perused different threads and looks like there is mixed advice. Personally, I try not to carry cash if I don't have to but if its advantageous to withdraw cash before crossing the border I can do so if you all recommend that.

Definitely bring as much cash as you're comfortable carrying from stateside to avoid the ATM and currency exchange surcharges. I would bring mostly larger bills (50 + 100) because you can easily get change at any of the bars, and by that I mean the bartenders, not the club -- do not trust a mesero to get the change for you unless he can do it on the spot.

In HK club using us dollars is fine. It's actually preferred.

With street girls mx pesos work best.

I was running out of dollars in HK, so I paid for my drinks with pesos. The mesero actually had to get out a calculator to figure out what the peso conversion was. He did not use favorable numbers. As jascoi said, dollars in the clubs and pesos for the street girls. Oddly, the street girls conversion from dollars to pesos often favors the Gringo. Basically most are not good at math.

Have to spend some time with those SG working on their math skills.

SJG

I try to use certain mesero's that I've had previous good experience with for drinks and I will have them get $1 bills for me up to a hundred at a time. Example: my free drink Pinapple with don Julio 70 on the side and one hundred singles... I tip him $3.