Border Crossings
waiting at SY border to cross into US
Entering the US….
There are several border points in Baja. There is San Ysidro, which is just south of San Diego, and the busiest port of entry/ exit into and out of Mexico. There is Tecate. Much less congested. There is Otay Mesa. A bit less congested than SY, but a wait nevertheless. By congested I am referring of course to entering the US from Mexico.
SENTRI PASSES. This is the way to go. Don’t leave this page without clicking this link. Seriously.
http://www.bajabound.com/before/permits/sentri.asp
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TIPS!!
1. Go to the bathroom as much as possible in Baja before entering the US – the wait can get long, by long i mean 2-3 hours during peak travel times.
2. Have your pets vet records with you with current up to date vaccination records. Don’t have your puppy loose in the car. Crate him up! Once my puppy had the ***** in the backseat and it was July. She had been in my car for about 4 hours without a break, by time we got to the border guard. Talk about stench. I couldn’t get out to clean it till i was in the US.
3. It gets hot in summer so keep the AC on. Once my car overheated waiting in line. Then i got detained in secondary for not having current plates (on the same trip) I havent been back to the US since.
4. Try not to take a stick shift automobile up to the border when going in to the states. Its awful for your transmission, not to mention your poor foot on the clutch will be very tired and sore. You are constantly stopping and inching forward again and again till you reach the crossing guard.
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Here is the link to Border Wait Times. Scroll all the way down to the bottom to see the 3 Baja borders. This table refers to trafiic returning to the United States from Mexico. Coming into Mexico either through the San Ysidro entry point or the Tecate entry is much easier than returning. There is seldom much of a wait time. And not every vehicle is stopped and questioned by the Mexican border officials like the U.S. Border patrol does when you return home.
Crossing into the US — DO not ever attempt to go into the US without current plates. If they are expired for only a few weeks you might get away with it. However don’t do what I did and go with 3 year expired plates, no US insurance, no current registration and no proof the vehicle was mine. ( i had just bought the car and was on my way to my daughters wedding) Secondary here you go….I got extremely lucky and got through but not without a lengthy hassle, by not one, but several very stern male border patrol guards. Even the females are built like linebackers.
I have seen guys get cuffed and hauled off in secondary. Once we had to go to secondary for attempting to cross into US with an exterior gasoline tank not built into the truck. It was full. Big mistake. This was when gas prices in the US were $4 a gallon and they were not tolerating people going from the US to Mexico to buy their gas.
Entering BAJA….
This is a piece of cake compared to entering U.S.!! Make no mistake. However….
At the border entering into Mexico, there are certain things you need to “declare”. There are many sites online that explain all the customs rules. For the most part, travelers with the usual things are fine to cross the border without declaring anything. (This means you will not get pulled over and you are free to cross.) If you look suspiciously full or you look as if you have a lot of things in the car, you might get pulled over and searched. An open pickup full of household goods, for example, is sure to get searched. Let common sense prevail. Be aware of Mexican laws, some are more stringent than ours. DO NOT bring firearms, ammunition, knives with blades larger than 3 inches, narcotics, illegal drugs, very large sums of money, or too much of anything that looks like you may be selling, or going into business. If you take prescription medicines, have the prescription with you. See more detailed information about this under Visitor Requirements.
Honestly i have done this dozens of times and it is NO big deal, however you always should be prepared in case the unexpected were to happen.
