Planning a Day Trip to Tijuana

Many people may ask you why you’re interested in visiting Tijuana. It doesn’t have the best reputation and if you look it up, you see headlines calling it “the most dangerous city in Mexico” or “one of the world’s most violent cities,” but if you use common sense, stick to the tourist areas, and don’t wander around at night, you will most likely be safe. As with any city, anything can happen, but you shouldn’t let those headlines scare you away from visiting this awesome city.

First things first: you have to get there. If you don’t fly in, there are only two options for getting to the border. You can either walk or drive. If you don’t have a vehicle with you in San Diego, you can take the blue line trolley to the border. Just look up the trolley’s schedule and figure out which stop is closest to you. (You can look that up at sdmts.com). Then purchase a ticket and hop on. It takes you all the way to the border. Then you just walk across and grab a taxi to get to wherever you’re going. If you choose to drive, you can park at the border and then walk across or you can drive across the border. My recommendation is to park and walk across, and there are several reasons for this. First of all, Tijuana traffic is crazy! And you don’t want to get in a wreck here because you cannot move your vehicle until the insurance company can get to you and assess the damages. In addition, the line to drive back into the United States can take up to 3-5 hours. It is much easier to just walk. Before crossing, I’d recommend exchanging dollars for pesos. There’s an exchange booth set up right where the trolley stops. While dollars are accepted in Tijuana, you’ll likely get better deals if you stick with pesos. If you decide to drive across, be prepared for crazy traffic but also watch out for boulders. Some locals will push boulders into the street right near the border crossing so drivers not paying attention will crash into them. They then offer to help but expect you to pay for their help. Again, I recommend walking. Once across the border, you can trust the Uber drivers or the taxi buses, and if you decide to take a regular taxi, just make sure to agree to a price before getting in the vehicle so they don’t try to scam you.

Itinerary:
The three main areas of Tijuana you will want to visit are Avenida Revolución (or Centro), Zona Río (the business district), and Playas de Tijuana (the beach). If you are wanting to see Playas, go there first! It’s tempting to choose to tour Revolución first because it is the closest, but the traffic will be much better if you go to Playas first. I was originally planning to visit Revolución and then go to Playas, but my Uber driver recommended I do it the other way around, and it saved so much time! As we were heading back to Revolución, the line of traffic heading to Playas was insane.

Playas de Tijuana:
Here are my tips for visiting Playas. If you don’t want to visit Playas, you can skip down to my sections on Avenida Revolución and Zona Río. Playas de Tijuana was much better than I was expecting. It’s technically a separate town from Tijuana but is treated the same, and I was expecting it to be just a beach with not much else to offer, but I was wrong. It’s like any other beach town with nice hotels and restaurants lining the beach, and it has a very touristy vibe to it. Of course, the border wall is probably the most popular attraction in Playas. Here, you will see many locals painting the wall- the paintings vary from artistic to political with some anti-American and anti-Trump images. You will also see musicians standing on the beach playing music for tips. But one important thing to remember is to never get in the water at Playas! There is an issue with the sewer system in Tijuana, and it all dumps out here. You may see some locals swimming in it, but for the most part, even they stay out of it. While it may look nice, you will likely get sick if you decide to get in. Another thing that you may be interested in checking out is the Bullring by the Sea. If bull fighting is in season, the bullring would be a cool place to visit. Even when bullfights are not going on, the bullring hosts concerts and other events that you may be interested in. There are many great seafood restaurants in Playas, and if you get the chance, the shrimp tacos are really great! Don’t worry about ordering purified water at restaurants. The tap water isn’t that bad for you, but you won’t have to worry about trying it because everywhere you go will only serve you purified water anyway. The locals don’t drink tap water either. I have heard that the sunsets here are great, but I wouldn’t recommend staying after dark unless you plan to stay in one of the resorts along the beach or are with someone you trust. The resorts here are nice and have decent prices compared to American resorts if you’re interested.

Avenida Revolución:
This is the heart of Tijuana. If you plan to visit Tijuana at all, this is the area you want to check out. Avenida Revolución is a popular strip in downtown with many shops and restaurants, and there is a lot going on all the time. But don’t take pictures of anything unusual without realizing that someone is expecting you to pay for it. The most popular of these random attractions are the donkeys painted to look like zebras. I’m not sure why they’re so popular here, but they are. Take a picture of one if you want, but understand you’ll have to pay for it. Also feel free to barter with shop owners when trying to buy something. You can guarantee they’ll charge you more than necessary if you’re a tourist, so don’t feel bad for lowering their first price. Have some knowledge of the current exchange rates so you know if you’re getting a good deal. Places of interest in Revolución include the Cathedral and Mercado El Popo, but the main area you want to check out is Plaza Santa Cecilia. This is where you will find live music, some great restaurants, and a lot of souvenir stands. The atmosphere here is very tourist friendly and fun. If you’re looking to try unique foods, a couple popular options are cabeza and tripa, both are found in tacos here. Cabeza (literally translated as “head”) is the meat found in the cheek of a cow. It is very good and tender if you like to try stuff like that, and the locals love it. Tripa (or “gut”) is the meat from a cow’s intestines. It has been cleaned, so don’t worry about getting sick from it, and while it has an odd texture, the taste reminds me somewhat of liver. Both of those are popular options, but there are more familiar foods as well. Another thing to note is that many shop owners will offer free tequila to anyone that checks out their shop. If you don’t drink, don’t accept whatever they’re offering you. One last thing to note: after walking through Avenida Revolución and reaching Plaza Santa Cecilia when you reach the famous arch, if you keep going, you will find yourself in the red light district. It’s safe, but if you’re not interested in wandering around that area, then turn around once you reach the arch. Overall, Avenida Revolución is the most lively area of Tijuana and should not be missed when you visit.

Zona Río:
The last area to note is the business district of Tijuana, Zona Río. There’s not as much to do here for tourists, but there are still some areas you may want to see. And this is the least touristy of these three areas, so if you’re wanting to escape the crowds and see a little more of the real Tijuana, this is the place to go. The cultural center is really popular. I didn’t go because I’m not really into museums, but a lot of people like it. Another cool place to see is Mercado Hidalgo. It’s a real authentic Mexican farmer’s market and can be fun to explore. The best tacos can be found in Zona Río as well because they will be the most authentic. My suggestion for tacos would be a restaurant right next to Mercado Hidalgo called Tacos El Gordo. Get the taco al pastor, and you won’t regret it!

This guide was mostly designed for those interested in taking a day trip to Tijuana from San Diego, but if you’re planning to stay longer, hopefully there’s something here that helped you. I learned a lot while I was there and tried to include as much as possible to help you plan your trip. If you’re planning to stay longer or want to explore Tijuana a little deeper, you’ll have to check out some other travel guides in addition to mine. Crossing back into the US will take more time than crossing into Mexico. If you drive, be prepared to wait several hours, but if you walk, it should only take about 30 minutes. Be familiar with what you can and cannot take back into the US so you don’t make the process longer for yourself by getting checked. From here, just head back to San Diego either by trolley or car!

Thanks for reading, and I hope this travel guide helps!