best place, time to return by auto

[Stella S]

Many years ago there was a special line for bicyclists. It's a thing of the past; these days bicyclists are just another pedestrian.

 

[invitemeforcoffee.co.uk]

Just as any other pedestrian.

 

[PuppyMama]

how are bicyclists "processed" through san ysidro?

 

[Emily]

Yes, Otay is faster.

But figure it takes about 20 minutes to go the Otay gate from downtown TJ and 10 minutes to go from the Otay gate to I-805. So you have to save more than 30 minutes to justify crossing at Otay. (Which is usually the case on Sundays.)

The best time to cross at either gate is between 1:30 am and 2:30 am. You should be able to see why without an explanation. "Workers hours" start soon after 2:30 am.

The worst time to cross is about 6-9 am, when many, many people cross to work in the US. Weekends also are bad, with Sunday being worse than Saturday.

Among the times most tourists cross Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings and nights are the best at both gates.

You can get crossing time estimates (usually about 25% overly optimistic) by calling:
664-700-7000 - Otay and San Ysidro
619-671-8999 - Otay Gate
619-690-8999 - San Ysidro Gate

 

[IM at easports1515]

If you are ever in a hurry during the busy times of day, it is often much faster to catch the MexiCoach at 8th and Revolution and go through the bus lane. That rarely takes more than a half-hour and only costs about $3 each way.

If I am only going to TJ, I don't drive my car 'cause I don't want to have to pay for Mexican auto insurance.....and it is a really bad idea to drive in Mexico without having Mexican auto insurance. If you're in an accident, even if it is obviously the other person's fault, American insurance won't cover your bond.

 

[confusion]

http://apps.cbp.gov/bwt/ .

Morning rush hours can have the times way up. I was in Tijuana Memorial Day weekend 2008 and had a hotel room at Pueblo Amigo. My room had a view of the road to the border and from about 7pm onward that Sunday night and was longer than I'd seen before. When I left for Adelita again that night at 10pm it was still terrible. And I when I got back at 3am it was still really bad.

I had a plane to catch at LAX at 10 am. I walked from the hotel at 6am and found the line longer than I've seen it before. Way down the sidewalk of shops and then wrapped around that little park. I took one of the van driver guys up on a seat on a van for $5 to use the bus lane and so my time was only about 30 or so minutes.

From the traffic reports I hear on NPR in the mornings it sounds like Otay is always shorter. That morning I had to get to LAX they were saying it was over 4 hours for the car lanes at San Ysidro.

 

[jak.]

If you mean the pedestrian line, you are correct. It happens but it is very rare that the wait to cross by foot is more than 15 minutes. The motor vehicle wait is often over 2 hours or more.

 

[Keyring]

Unless I am mistaken, you are referring to the past practice of using bicycles to jump to the head of the pedestrian line. That is over. A bicyclist must get in line with all the other pedestrians. Fortunately, the pedestrian line is usually no more than 10 to 15 minutes these days.

However, it is reported that if you have a motorized bicycle, moped, or motorcycle, you can slide into the motor vehicle lanes from the sentri lane and reduce your potential 1 to 2+ hour wait to 10 minutes. One guy has been trying to sell his moped to mongers and using this technique as a selling point.

 

[no1home2day]

>>returning by auto, is otay faster? anyone know a particular day/time that is good?