Crossing Borders: Tijuana Day Trip from San Diego

Put your reservations aside. This experience is safe, educational, and fun. Our tour guide Humberto was an absolute pleasure and was able to show us the “real” Tijuana. We also got to try some of the best beer, tequila, and tacos. We enjoyed everything and really appreciate Humberto’s knowledge and hospitality.

We loved every part of this tour. Our tour guide humberto spoke excellent english and took us to all the best spots making this an experience to remember

Highly recommend taking this trip. My guide was super knowledgeable about the history and culture. He was very friendly and flexible taking me wherever I asked. I felt safe the entire time and he was able to translate and even help me bargain in the shops!

Tequila tasting was big for me since trying it in the States didnt appeal to me. I didnt know there were flavored ones, so I tried four and liked the peach and pina colada the best. I was the only one on the tour, so I got a personal look at how Tijuana was without much distraction. It was very walkable and Humberto, my guide, provided great insight and answered all my questions while offering great tips, too. It was fun to watch people and how they never missed a chance for an opportunity. Entering Mexico was a breeze. However, coming back was an hour-long wait. Tip: Use your Global Entry card and get in the "ready line" so you don't have to wait like me. Remember to bring it so you can bypass the line. Other than that, everything was great, including the tacos. They were delicious. Try the spicy ones. They don't burn too much afterwards. I didn't have to take a drink. Do not bring your car or you will have to wait about 4 hours to cross back into the U.S. You can also call an Uber if you come on your own which will save you a lot of time. Even with the COVID, Tijuana was still crowded, but don't let that deter you. It was safe during the tour.

Tadeo did an amazing job taking us around Tijuana. The food and entertainment was great. This was a very safe and enjoyable experience.

Fernando was great as a tour guide. We had fun and he was soooo accommodating. It turned into bar crawl which is what we needed and asked him for!! 👍👍

We are very enjoyed Tijuana tour.
Our guide Fernando,he was very nice .
We had fun day with him.
Thank you.

Tadeo was very pleasant. Knew history and was helpful in Navigating Tijuana. I recommend him highly.

At the last minute our meeting location was changed! It wasn’t explained properly by email that we would need to cross the border yourself! Sergio explained it a lot better to put me in at ease! Our tour guide Tadeo was amazing he was very knowledgeable in the history of Tijuana and overall just amazing! Then to the end of the trip they don’t tell you how long you have to wait to cross the border! We waited in line for 2 hrs to get back into the USA! (Not included in description of tour)! The only reason why I’m even given this 3 stars is because of the tour guide! Other than that I say don’t waste your money ! Too many hidden things your not made aware of!

Javier was an excellent guide! He explain what we were going do on the tour, but most importantly also ask us what we wanted to see!
I enjoyed the tour, the beers, tequila and tacos were amazing! I would recommend this tour, I never felt unsafe (so don’t believe what you hear). Next year I’m going to Mexico and will probably visit Tijuana again! Thanks Javier!!!

Fantastic tour. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and truly loved his county...Mexico. Recommend as a day trip

This was the first time my wife and I traveled to Tijuana. Our guide, Tadeo Calles, was very knowledgeable and understandable. He showed us around areas we would have never found on our own. We went to the museum and he explain the history. He took us to a small street shop for lunch and the owner was very friendly. He also took us to a local establishment for tequila sampling and craft beers. I highly recommend this trip if you have never been to Tijuana. We had a small group of 3 couples.

Javier, our tour guide, was a class act. Wonderful experience and I would recommend this day trip to Tijuana to everyone. We chose to do a “true” TJ experience and we opted to stay away from the “touristy” areas. Thanks for a memorable experience !

Javier met us in front of McDonald's . We ended up the only couple and he offered his personal car to take us around . Javier is a very knowledgeable and a pleasant young man. He knows the area and he gave us tips about coming back to visit. Javier is very professional and smart. Javier is very outgoing and he was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with. He stayed with us and walked us back to the boarder and waited until we were out of sight , we felt very safe.

Wow. Had a great day with Javier. He was excellent and we had the the best time, his knowledge and passion for his city/country was apparent throughout. Highly recommended trip. Nice easy-paced day with frequent stops where Javier explained the local history.

Javier was awesome and very good as a guide. He was friendly and knowledgeable about what we did and where we went.

Javier was our tour guide through Tijuana yesterday. He was so knowledgeable about the history and current culture of not only Tijuana but Mexico in general. The tour lasted just the right amount of time and our group was small (4 of us), which made our experience even better. We loved the tacos and horchata, which are included with the tour. Javier also treated us to popular sweets in Mexico. I have to give the biggest shout out to Javier. Not only is he super intelligent, he is also a very kind and caring person. I felt very safe the entire time we were in Tijuana and I hope to go again and bring more family members next time. Don’t hesitate to book this tour....you won’t regret it.

Excellent tour and guide. Small group and personal service. Would reccomend this tour. Great day out to Mexico.

Our tour guide made our trip memorable and exciting- we learned about the local community and its heritage. Our time spent there made us feel welcomed. Each place we stopped by gave us an education about this awesome city.

Tour consisted of walking around the same 6 square blocks multiple times. Was supposed to be a “cultural” tour but very little history or culture was discussed. It was mostly stories about the nightclubs of the city. Tacos were poor quality, pretty disgusting. Even the guide said they were only average. A complete waste of time and money. Do your research and pay more to book a better tour. We were brought to a few bad stores, obviously a kickback situation. Salespeople so aggressive II didn’t want to bother shopping. Came with money to spend but was so turned off didn’t spend a penny. Disappointed!

Joceline Valencia was our guide. She was fun to converse with, super nice and informative. Our excursion made us feel at ease. The included meal and drinks were delicious and it was affordable to buy more drinks. The people were nice and it was a great experience. Thanks Joceline!

This was a last minute decision for us
Our guide, josselyn was outstanding I’d recommend people to request her as she was so awesome
We had 2 children 13/16 and all enjoyed it. My daughter was bit sick (cold) and josselyn really accomodated her as well

Josselyn and Humberto were our guides and they took good care of the group we got to see parts of the city we would have not found of we were not on a tour. We fealt safe and had a great expeirence. I recommend this tour to anyone looking to explore Tijuana.

Everything about this tour was incredible. After reading reviews about day tours to Tijuana, we settled on the Crossing Borders by Border Tours for a few reasons...primarily the high ratings across multiple sites (TripAdvisor, Viator, and Yelp). Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, Border Tours is a company local to Tijuana, operated by local guides.

Per instructions emailed along with our confirmation, we arrived at the U.S. side of the border center and met our guide, Lucy. As soon as we arrived, Lucy made us feel at ease, welcome, and excited to get started. We were fortunate to be the only people on the tour, which allowed for a more personalized experience. Lucy explained the process of how we would cross the border and then outlined options for our day. We began our tour at the cultural center, where Lucy walked us through an abbreviated history of Mexico and Tijuana. Lucy asked questions to determine our interests and then catered the rest of the tour to us. We walked up and down the main street, stopping to see local attractions, food markets, shops, tequila tasting, and breweries.

As a native Tijuanan, Lucy was incredibly knowledgable about the area, history, and culture, and answered all of our questions. I wish we could’ve spent days or even weeks there with Lucy as a guide. The culture of Tijuana is so rich and vibrant, an afternoon was a great teaser...we need more! We can’t wait to come back.

The tour was nice and very informative about Tijuana Mexico. Our guide person Fernando was excellent.

Our guide Javier was extremely friendly and helpful in everway. He made us feel comfortable and made our experience one to remember. Will certainly plan on going back to Mexico in the future.

That was an amazing tour. Special thanks to our guide Sergio Ramirez for his hospitality and advices.

Great experience in Tijuana, got to spend time with the locals. Our Guide Michael was very friendly and shared lots of knowledge of this vibrant country. Everything was just great.

Really enjoyed spending a day in Tijuana. Our guide Carlos was awesome. He took us pretty much to everywhere we need to see in one day. Highly recommendable.

I was fortunate to have Umberto and Fernando as my guides for my tour of Tijuana. Umberto escorted me from the rendezvous on the US side through customs into Mexico. There, we met Fernando who took me on a wonderful tour of the city! Fernando's like a human Google; he seemed to know everything there is to know about Tijuana. We spent a long time in the Tijuana History Museum, then wandered through markets and shopping areas. We had a delicious agua fresca and some steamed tacos and I got to buy some touristy stuff. We ended the tour at a bar where we shared a beer and stories about our mutual interest, cars and driving.I couldn't have had a better time in the city. Thanks, Umberto and Fernando!!!