Any Interest in the Rosarito Beach area?

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

If anyone is contemplating an exchange to the Rosarito Beach area just south of San Diego, I'd be glad to help with restaurants, activities, etc.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

I know Mel Henley either recently went or will be going soon. I remember he was worried if he had to pack heat if he went. Have things calmed down in the area regarding the police, army, and drug gangs?

[farscape Member Find all posts View Profile Close farscape]

Rosarito

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our plans to drive down to Rosarito in February.

However, PStreet1 was very generous to us with in depth travel tips to the area.

farscape

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I haven't been there since my college Spring Break days. WorldMark has a resort down there. I'd love to go down some time. Maybe we should have a get together down there sometime. I can book the units.

It would be a bonus to schedule the trip around 2 USC back-to-back home games so I could go to both.

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Nothing like Mexican rice, refried beans and lobster! Awww, the memories.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

Those were the days...the lobster was best in Puerto Nuevo just norte of Rosarito if I remember...but I lost a lot of brain cells down there.

Nothing like Mexican rice, refried beans and lobster! Awww, the memories.

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

Military Presence: For years, we've had a military checkpoint just south of Fox Studios, which is just south of the town. Then in the fall, they went away. Now with the big new push against drugs, they are back--but with a difference. They may actually make some difference this time.
1) the military is working in combination with the Federales. For example the navy seems to be manning the checkpoint in the Fox Studios area and the check point on the free road into Tijuana.
2) the checkpoints are now random: sometimes there, sometimes not; sometimes north bound; souetimes south bound; sometimes they appear in spots where they have not been before.
3) The Mexican government just gave up 11 top drug leaders to the U.S. for prosecution.

At any rate, the military presence is nothing to be alarmed about; they just wave you on through. They do stop some vehicles and search carefully, but it appears they are profiling--and they are definitely not interested in us.

Puerto Neuvo: it's south of town. :-) It's still a great tourist place for lobster, but you won't find locals there much. They head other spots for lobster.

Anyway, my offer stands: if you want local information from my perspective, just ask.

[M. Henley Class President Find all posts View Profile Close M. Henley]

In Rosarito Last September

Rita and I went down, along with her sister & BIL who drove from Phoenix and picked us uip at the SAN airport.
The lines at the border coming back are horrendous, and get worse each year. I doubt that we will go down this year, as we have been each year for the past six. We always manage to get a trade into La Paloma, which is a great place to stay.
The Puerto Nuevo lobster is still great, but on weekdays when the weekend touristas are gone.
The tacos and tamales at the little hole-in-the-wall places in front of the grocery where the Pelican sign is remain great treats also.

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

We've essentially stopped using the toll road and are now using the free road; it's shorter and approaching the border is easier and quicker from in town than from the toll road. We're using the Otay Mesa crossing more too--definitely quicker and not the mob scene of San Ysidro. The new nighway that goes from Fox Studios essentially to Otay or Tecate is now open. No cars on it; no one seems to really know about it yet. California will have a nighway meeting that one sometime this year, and when that happens, that will be THE place to cross I think.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

I was just looking at the Rosarito Beach Hotel website...it brings back many memories. I do not remember the pier. When did they build it? Do they still allow horseback riding on the beach in front of the hotel?

Thanks for your update on the roads and the security information. Much appreciated.

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

In the past year, they have outlawed horses on the beach--of course, some still go there, but I suspect it won't be long until Rosarito Beach is significantly cleaner for those not interested in riding on the beach.

The pier is relatively new--7 years old maybe. It was built, with much fanfare, for cruise ships to dock. Unfortunately, no one checked to see if the water was deep enough: it isn't. So the pier sits there. It would seem logical to me to continue the pier to deeper water, but what do I know?

The Rosarito Beach Hotel has gotten to be, in my opinion, a pretty bad place to stay. The clubs are essentially right next door, and the noise from the clubs can be deafening until 4:00 a.m. or so. I have friends who left in the middle of the night to find someplace--anyplace--where they could sleep.

Rosarito is becoming more upscale by the day it seems. Property values have doubled. It is no longer uncommon to see homes listed for well over a million dollars, and there is no immediate end in sight. It's a different Rosarito Beach from the one you remember--in some ways good; in some ways bad. One thing that is good from the rising prices: here in Rosarito Beach, there is a definite Mexican middle class emerging. No more free lunch for Americans, but what a wonderful thing for Mexicans. That's not to say there isn't poverty, and lots of it, to the east once you leave the main tourist areas, but things are definitely getting better.