Many people decide to go to Tijuana, Mexico for medical or dental treatment, and therefore need to get from the San Diego airport to the border. This step-by-step guide is designed to help these patients take advantage of low-cost public transportation.
- In the airport. So you’re on your way to Tijuana? Follow the steps below and you’ll be there in an hour! When you get off your plane, just follow everyone to the baggage claim area. At the San Diego airport there are 3 terminals, and in each terminal, just outside the baggage claim area, there is a curb where taxis, buses, and buses pick up people. You must go out and find where the urban bus stop is. There will be a sign that says MTS (which is short for Metro Transit System). If you have trouble seeing it, ask at the information desk in the lobby. There is only one MTS bus passing by, it is 992. You will recognize the bus because it is white with red trim and has the number 992 on the windshield. Just wait at the stop and you will see a bus passing by every 15 minutes.
- Get on the 992 bus. Prepare a $5 bill, and when the bus passes, put the money in the machine next to the driver, and he will give you an all-day pass, valid for the entire MTS system. With that ticket, everything is paid for up to the border. Tell the driver that you want to get off at “Plaza Americana” so that he can ride the Trolley. The American Plaza is the train station for the light rail system called the San Diego Trolley. The bus will get there in just 15 minutes and drop you off across the street from the train platform.
- American Plaza train station. When you get off the bus, simply walk across the street to American Plaza. You will see two platforms, one on each side of the tracks. Make sure to stay on the side that is to your right as you walk towards him. The train you will be taking will be headed in the same direction you are walking across the street.
- Take the “Blue Line”. There are two train lines. The “Blue Line” and the “Orange Line”. Make no mistake, but the trains are all the same orange color! The names “Orange Line” or “Blue Line” refer to the different routes they take. The two lines go to very different places. The Blue Line runs between Old Town and San Ysidro/Tijuana. So, get on the train that says “Blue Line”, “San Ysidro/Tijuana” on the sign on the windshield. You will take this train to the end of the line, which is the border with Mexico. The trip will take about 45 minutes.
- 5. Cross the border. When you get off the tram, looking in the direction the train was coming from, to the South, you will see a large building a little further on, on your right. That’s the US Customs building. There is a pedestrian bridge that goes up over part of the Custom House roof, and you will take that bridge to cross to the other side of the highway that goes into Mexico. The entrance to the bridge is an opening through which you will see people enter. It is located to the left of the glass doors where people exit Customs. Go up the bridge, and when you come down the other side, turn right and head towards Mexico.
- Their job is to get Mexican citizens to declare purchases made in the US so they can collect the tax. After passing the officials, continue forward through another turnstile. Ahead you will see hundreds of yellow cabs, all eager to take you to your destination. The charge to take you to the center is only $5 or $6 US dollars.
* Many people who go to a dental clinic in Tijuana will have arranged for someone from the clinic to pick them up. The common landmark that everyone uses is a McDonald’s hamburger stand. You can see the big yellow “M” sticking out over the wall to your right, just after you pass the customs officers and before you exit through the turnstile.
* If you have plans to go to a certain dental clinic, be careful that the yellow taxi takes you to the right place. Some of them get paid to take you to the wrong clinic. A clinic that would pay to steal a patient will have no qualms about taking advantage of that same patient. It is best to have made arrangements with the clinic in advance to be picked up.