Travel to Tijuana, Mexico

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

Is it still unsafe to travel to Tijuana, Mexico from San Diego, CA?

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

Riverdees, it is not unsafe to travel to Tijuana--nor has it ever been. I live 30 miles south of Tijuana (see picture). We've owned here for over 10 years, and we spend more than half of each year here. We have many, many friends who spend part of the year here or who live here full time. None of us feel threatened. If we did, we wouldn't be here. If I felt threatened, I'd stay in our home in the U.S.

The State Department issued the warning because of the drug violence, but that has never had anything to do with American tourists--unless they are making contact with the drug culture. The drug violence takes place on the far, far east side of Tijuana. Tijuana is officially 1.5 million people, and is in reality at least 2 million. As an American tourist, you would not be anywhere near the part of Tijuana that is dangerous. You will be on the far west side, close to the ocean. If you wanted to get to the dangerous part of Tijuana, you'd have difficulty doing it.

When you visit L.A., you don't say, "I'd like to take a scenic tour of Watts or Compton; I'd like to see what the dangerous parts of the city are like." It's the same in Tijuana. The difference is that in L.A. you might wander into dangerous areas simply by getting off the freeway at the wrong exit; in Tijuana, you'd have to work at getting to the dangerous areas.

Even at the height of the drug violence, the murder rate in Tijuana (which was drug gangs killing each other and police involved with the drug trade) was lower than the murder rate in New Orleans. Compton had a higher murder rate than Tijuana; Washington, D.C. had a murder rate that was very close to Tijuana's murder rate.

If you decide to visit, I'd be happy to email you restaurant lists, directions, etc.

The weather today is beautiful.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

My uncle lives in SD and goes into Tijuana often for lobsters

[philsfan Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close philsfan]

We did a bus tour from SD in 2005 and had a great time.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

It will be my wife, myself, grandson, age 16 and grand daughter age 13. Any recommendations on tours? We are staying at L. W. Resort.

[Pstreet1 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pstreet1]

I'm not a fan of tours because the places the buses stop are, obviously, far from the best the area has to offer. If you were driving, I could outline a route that would give you beauty, shopping, and great food, but I can't recommend any of the tours--I know where they stop.

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

Several years ago, we did the tour from LW. We enjoyed it and appreciated the fact we didn't have to drive, figure out where to go, etc. Check and see if they still do the tour.

Nancy

ps. We aren't really tour people and think this may be only one we've done at a timeshare.