Baja bound from San Diego - US Ports of Entry x 3

When most of us think of crossing the border of Mexico by land from California, we think of San Ysidro which is more specifically, the El Chaparral port of entry. Did you know that this San Ysidro is just one of THREE ports of entry that will take you from SoCal into Baja California, the northern part of the state?

Did you know?

San Ysidro, officially El Chaparral, is one of three ports of entry from San Diego county to Baja, California. It is the world's busiest land border with over 106-million individual crossings per year into Tijuana, Mexico. Commercial traffic is prohibited from using this port of entry. Access via Rt 5 or 805 from San Diego on the US side.

Otay Mesa (pronounced OH-tie) also crosses into Tijuana; specifically, the Otay Centenario borough of the city and is close in proximity (just over 4 miles) to the San Ysidro port. It is easy to accidentally stumble upon this port of entry if you get lost or diverted while trying to make your way to the San Ysidro crossing (guess how many times I've done this). The crossing opened in 1983 to accommodate commercial traffic from the busy San Ysidro port. It is the third busiest commercial port servicing Mexico and the US.  Access from the US is via Rt 905. 

Tecate is the port of entry furthest east connecting Tecate, California with its sister city Tecate, Mexico. It's only two lanes and, unlike San Ysidro and Otay Mesa with 24 x 7 access, Tecate (as of this post) is open 6 AM - 10 PM.  Check in with "Border Wait Times" for up-to-date information about this crossing. 

Do you have a preferred crossing?

Leave a comment below and be sure to share your experiences.

Go online

​San Ysidro
Open 24 x 7
https://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/san-ysidro-class​

Otay Mesa
Open 24 x 7
​http://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/otay-mesa-california-2506

Tecate
Open 6 AM - 10 PM
http://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/tecate-class-california-2505

Other resources

Border Wait Times at https://bwt.cbp.gov

Apply for one of the Trusted Traveler programs, Global Entry or Sentri (US-Mexico land crossing only), for faster MX-US crossings. There will be another blog to compare features and cost of these two options. Be sure to use the .gov websites and avoid extra fees.

​https://www.cbp.gov/travel/trusted-traveler-programs/global-entry?language_content_entity=en

SmartBorderCoalition.com is another good resource for border information.