BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi all

well I plan to head into Mexico for 3 or 4 days at the end of my 90 day visa and come back in and with luck get re-admitted. My question is Do you think I will get less questions if I were to fly out of san diego to say Cancun and return a week later into an airport, than if I headed overland to TJ for a few nights and tried to get back in over the land boarder. I just get the impression that the land boarders are more strict with this kind of thing. has anyone experianced this senario or have an opinion of the pro's and con's of both options?

Thanks all
Kimo

Well, it's been about 2 years since I crossed by land from San Diego to Tijuana by land, but my first guess would be that this would be the easiest option if simply getting into Mexico is what you're looking for. (TJ and Cancun are REALLY different places!) I think that you are more likely to be scrutinized at an airport than at the foot crossing. I don't know about your visa, though. Last time I crossed, I didn't even need a passport to do so. Not sure if that is still the case. While you are AT the border, make sure to pick up a tourist card, which is more or less the visa for mexico. When entering by air, the airlines make sure you get a copy, but it is excessively easy to enter mexico on foot, but not so easy to get back into the states without the tourist card filled out, so make sure you take the initiative to get it and fill it out at the border. If you are only going to tj, it is possible you do not need a card at all though. The card is needed for a longer duration of stay (greater than 3 days, I think) as well as related to your proximity to the border (you don't need it if you stay within 20 km of the border or something). Make sure you check on the details of that before you go, too. It might work differently for non-US citizens. If you want just a quick border hop, I would suggest Nogales, instead of Tijuana. Hope that helps.

I would wholeheartedly agree that Cancun vs. Tijuana is like two ends of a really weird spectrum when it comes to being "Mexico". Not sure what the recommendation is there.

Regarding border crossing, again the two modes you mention are quite different. If your already in San Diego and just want a quick visit, then sure TJ and Baja California would count as going to "Mexico". If your willing to fly, then that opens up a whole set of possibilities, especially if you shoot for Mexico City and a short local hop. My suggestion - how about Oaxaca?

Unless you fit one of the 'profiles' and aren't acting strange, you shouldn't have any problems at the border. Holding a Brit digital passport doesn't hurt either.