Curator’s statement
Living in San Diego for nearly 9 years now, I've always heard about flying out of Tijuana. Prior to living in California, I had only been to Cabo once and throughout my first few years traveled to Tijuana for a quick trip but nothing where I became super familiar with the area. Until my bachelorette trip, how do I do Mexico with my girls but not break the bank? Flights out of Tijuana into Cabo are only $70 round trip? SOLD. Since then, I've traveled through CBX into Mexico three separate times and it truly is the hidden gem of the south. Let me share with you why and some best practices...
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Step by Step on How to Save on your Next Trip to Mexico
Get on your flight scanner and put in your home airport versus Tijuana airport, and the flights will speak for themselves. There's almost $500 worth of savings for some flights. Just for driving 20 miles south and paying a small fee to enter from the US border.
Purchase your flight, then purchase your Cross Border Express tickets (CBX). Parking can be paid for in advance or as you arrive, there are plenty of lots, but Lot A is their prime location. CBX is the entrance point from San Diego - Otay Mesa, where you will park your car and start heading towards the border
Upon arrival of CBX, you head to the computers to fill out your Immigration form; this is just to make note of where you'll be staying and for how long
Head towards the kind ladies in purple to scan your passport, CBX ticket and present your immigration form
Start your walk across the border! Once you walk through the 3-4-minute entrance, you'll arrive through customs to present your documents once more before heading into the Tijuana Airport
If you ask me, security at the TIJ airport is unmatched. It's super quick, super easy and I'd rather do that than the mess they have going on at SAN right now (hopefully those renovations change that though!)
Head to your gate! You've made it.
Day trips
The best airlines to fly out of TIJ are Volaris, Viva Aerobus and AeroMexico. Those are the airlines with the most options for non-stop flights each day. Puerto Vallarta, Cancun, Cabo, Mexico City, (hopefully Tulum soon!) are all destinations you can get to from Tijuana.
Customs as you get into Tijuana is really the only line that you will find yourself in during your CBX experience from San Diego into Tijuana Airport. I've left on a Friday around 12pm, no lines. But for Holiday Weekends it can be about 15-20 minute wait, but besides that I've never seen a longer line than that, which is *chefs kiss* considering how long customs at SAN takes!
Places to eat & drink in Mexico
VIPS is where you'll want to grab that mimosa or margarita upon arrival if you want to sit and relax. There's a Subway, Johnny Rockets, Dominos, you know, all the classics. There is also a VIP lounge for $40/person. Every time I check it out, it's packed, so I recommend just grabbing a drink and hanging out at your gate.
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Travel Advisor
Hannah Taylor
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For more travel tips, check out Fora Advisor Amanda Blakley guide, Family-Friendly Guide to Mexico City.
This guide is part of our ongoing series on travel to Mexico.