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Getting Into Mexico at Tijuana

Tijuana boasts one of the largest middle-class populations in Mexico. Most of this is due to its proximity to affluent San Diego, California, whose throngs of tourists often opt for a trip to "the world’s most visited city," Tijuana.

Of Interest    Baja Ferry    Budget Airlines    Buses in Mexico    Copper Canyon Train    Driving in Baja    Green Angels    Mexican Road Signs    Traveling Safe

TJ’s main tourist area is within walking distance from the international border at San Ysidro, which happens to be the world's busiest land port of entry. The shops are filled with touristy wares, and there are ample restaurants and cantinas interspersed with the seemingly endless parade of blankets, silver (or fake silver) necklaces and sombreros all along Avenida Revolucion.

Make sure to have your picture taken on the "Mexican zebra," a donkey painted with stripes, parked on various street corners with a cart which doubles as a backdrop for your picture. Sport a huge sombrero and get your picture taken in black and white with an old-timey camera.

One street to the south of Avenida Revolucion, Avenida Constitucion is a mirror image of endless shops of things you really don't need...except that Constitucion is for locals. The sidewalks are narrower, and any gringo looks out of place, but it is safe and entertaining to walk amongst the locals, a mere block from and parallel to “gringolandia.”

Tijuana's industrial-strength economy is owed at least partially to NAFTA (the North American Fair Trade Agreement, signed in 1992). Many foreign companies were attracted to the area, and set up assembly plants and light industry, benefiting from NAFTA's preference for things made in Mexico. China, Japan, Korea and other powerhouse economies have manufacturing businesses in the area was well. Salaries for entry-level jobs are superior to those of traditional unskilled labor for Tijuana and, to an even greater degree, the rest of Mexico.

The dollar is widely accepted in this town that has perfected the fine art of trading trinkets, blankets and Bart Simpson piggybanks for your cash. There is a slight advantage to having pesos over dollars, but for the casual visitor planning to spend less than a few hundred dollars, the financial edge is nil. Heck, many locals pay their rent in dollars.

By U.S. standards, beaches are poor quality and polluted in the Tijuana region. Not until one gets further south, at least to Rosarito Beach (AKA Playas de Rosarito, a suburb of Tijuana about 30 minutes south) does one find cleaner water and more acceptable beaches for lounging or swimming. Less than an hour south of Rosarito but before Ensenada (look for the kilometer markers by the side of the road), surfers check out the many reef breaks and point breaks; K-38 is famous for its series of point breaks. The area has undergone a construction boom during the past decade, however, and access to pristine, primitive beaches is all but gone.

By Mike Harris

For more things to do as well as hotels and restaurants, check out our Tijuana Travel Guide.

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Restaurant Ritz   Restaurant Blvd L¡zaro Ca¡rdenas across from Hotel Buganvile, Tijuana, Baja California (664) 624-3608 More Info

Grand Hotel Tijuana   Hotel Blvd Agua Caliente 4500, Tijuana, Baja California 664-684-7000 More Info

Casa Mexicana Talavera Tile and Handcrafts   Blvd. Salinas 11,111, Tijuana, Baja California (664) 686-5491 More Info

Baja Trek   Ave Revolucion 350, Tijuana, Baja California 665-391-1682 More Info

Rosarito Beach Hotel   Hotel Rosarito, Baja California 1-800 343 8582 More Info

Real del Mar Golf Resort & Country Club   Hotel Ensenada Toll Rd Km 19.5; 800/803.60, Tijuana, Baja California 664/631-3670 More Info

La Costa Restaurant   Calle 7 8131 at Revolución and Constitucion, Tijuana, Baja California 664.685.3124 More Info

Restaurant Los Arcos   Restaurant Blvd Salinas 1000, at Calle Escuadrón, Tijuana, Baja California 664.686.4757 More Info

Hotel Festival Plaza   Hotel Calle Nogal 1207-1 at Blvd Benito Juárez, Rosarito Beach, Baja California 661/612-2950 More Info

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