Crossing Borders: Tijuana Day Trip from San Diego
Recommended by 92% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
San Diego, USA
- 6 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Explore Tijuana, Mexico, without getting lost on this day trip from San Diego, a great choice for first-time visitors. Visit cultural attractions, sample authentic Mexican street food at a sidewalk taco stand, and do some shopping and sightseeing. Opt to walk or take public transportation and experience the city like a local. Your guide can suggest stops and adapt the itinerary to fit the needs of the group.
- Explore San Diego’s sister city, Tijuana, without getting lost with a guide
- See more of Tijuana in less time—ideal for first-time visitors
- A small group tour for a personalized experience
- Lunch and bottled water included on this San Diego tour
What's Included
- Food tasting
- Lunch
- Local guide
- Food and drinks
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 727 E San Ysidro Blvd, San Diego, CA 92173, USA
Front Doors of McDonald's *Border Regulations it may change the meeting point (customer will be advice)*
End point
- Retorno SentriRtno Sentri, Cuauhtemoc, 22010 Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
Just near to the Border in the Side of Mexico so you can just cross the Border to US.
Itinerary
Start this Tijuana full-day tour by meeting up with your guide and small group in San Diego. Your tour group is limited to just 12 people to provide an intimate journey through the city, which is ideal for first-time visitors who want to travel through Mexico safely with a guide.
Once you meet up, your guide helps your group with border crossing into Mexico before you set off exploring Tijuana by foot. During your full-day tour, do some sightseeing with your guide to see cultural attractions and learn about them, too. A traditional Mexican lunch, as well as food samples are included, so you can get a peek into the culinary side of the city.
This Tijuana experience ends once your guide gets you safely back across the border back into the US.
Once you meet up, your guide helps your group with border crossing into Mexico before you set off exploring Tijuana by foot. During your full-day tour, do some sightseeing with your guide to see cultural attractions and learn about them, too. A traditional Mexican lunch, as well as food samples are included, so you can get a peek into the culinary side of the city.
This Tijuana experience ends once your guide gets you safely back across the border back into the US.
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- Passport is required
- Border Regulations it may change the meeting point (Customer will be advice)
- If you are US citizen and don't have a passport, Birth Certificate (Not Copy) and ID are required
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 539 reviews
Desiree_G, Apr 2026
This was the perfect introduction to Tijuana. Our guide Marisol was wonderful. We were escorted through border and then took a bus/van into the city where we did a walking tour, lunch at a great taco place, walked through open air markets, and to a tequila tasting and candy store to tastes candied orange peel and pineapple. Marisol was very knowledgeable and easy to hangout with. We felt safe and were taken to mom and pop stores that were very helpful in finding god souvenirs. I would recommend this tour for anyone checking out Tijuana for the first time.
jb_d, Apr 2026
Our guide Carlos was amazing! Highly recommend this tour! Tour was very safe and Carlos was very knowledgeable with the area.
Balachandran_R, Apr 2026
Do NOT take this tour.
Viator MUST be ashamed.
It never mentioned walking tour.
No one came on US side to pick up in a bus or any mode forcing us to do 1 hour of rude Mexican immigration.
No communication at all with tour guys via phone till last minute.
We traveled in public bus in Tijuana where we were shown a few junk streets.
Save yourself Americans from this huge fraud of $279 for 3 persons.
To see a few streets why so much money?
These tour guys thinks we are dumb & stupid. That’s why.
Dryden_D, Apr 2026
Overall great tour! I would say that people should know its mostly a walking tour once you are downtown Tijuana. We first met up with Andres to get us through the boarder to Mexico. He gave us a lot of great info and was very helpful. He introduced us to our guide Tadeo once we got through the boarder. Tadeo gave us a rundown of the plan for the day and the we took a bus downtown. Once downtown we were shown all of the culturally important spots and the cool niche spots. We were taken to a great spot for tacos and tamales! The shopping was good but not as cheap as expected. I myself would have been fine going over and exploring by myself but my fiance and friends were worried. So I booked a guide. Tadeo made the day great for all of them! Their whole opinion of going to a boarder town changed after this trip to a positive opinion.
Julie_B, Mar 2026
Well finding parking and where to meet our guide was a nightmare!!! I almost went home and said forget it!!! At the border you might wanna tell ppl where to park and to meet the guide in front of Mc Donalds!!!!!
Lili_B, Mar 2026
Carlos and Andres were great and helpful. I learned a lot and had tasty food. Definitely recommend. Crossing the border was easy and not stressful. The lines were also not that long!!
Jakob_T, Mar 2026
A great tequila and taco tasting wine tour around Downtown Tijuana! Our guide Tadeo was super knowledgeable and helpful, especially at the border. It’s a lot of walking but there’s ample time for breaks and pit stops.
Crystal_K, Mar 2026
It made the day enjoyable with less stress. We could have not done it without the tour guide. We got to see everything and even enjoyed a taco.
Kenya_L, Mar 2026
We had an amazing time on the Crossing Borders: Tijuana Day Trip from San Diego! Everything felt authentic, and fun. It was such a great experience getting to explore Tijuana and see things for ourselves instead of just hearing about it.
Our tour guide, Tabitha, was absolutely wonderful. She was incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and made everyone feel comfortable right away. You can tell she genuinely enjoys what she does, and that energy made the whole trip even better.
This was actually my first time crossing the border, and I even brought my 16-year-old son along. It turned out to be one of the best days and such a great memory for us to share together.
If you’re thinking about taking this tour, I highly recommend it. Great experience, great guide, and a really fun way to explore Tijuana!
Jessica_M, Mar 2026
Tadeo was our tour guide and he was the best we've ever had! Extremely knowledgeable about the city and the area. He kept a great pace and we enjoyed every minute of it. It was like Tadeo breathed with the city and knew every spot to take us! This was my first time and Mexico and I felt very safe even with the recent unrest. I would highly recommend this tour and Tadeo in particular!
Joycelyn_B, Feb 2026
I'm so happy we booked this tour!!!! Our tour guides were informative and accommodating. We enjoyed the food, coffee, the museum, the conversations and the overall experience. It was a day well spent.
Jody_K, Feb 2026
Loved this tour of Tijuana. The food and tequila were great. Our guide was very knowledgeable! Definitely recommend especially for people that have never been. The lines to cross can be veryyyy long so be patient crossing!
Laura_R, Feb 2026
Tadeo was a wonderful, knowledgeable and easy-going guide. He did a great job catering to the many personalities in our group and kept everyone happy. It was a busy day at the crossing but he communicated well and everyone got where they needed to be in a timely fashion. The trip back into the states took us an hour from dropoff to our ride back to SD. Not bad!
Teresa_L, Feb 2026
There seemed to be a few hiccups in the details. We received a call about 30 minutes before from our tour guide who was supposed to arrive on the US side to escort us to Tijuana; she let us know she was in line for 2 hours and not near the US side so we had to cross the border ourselves. It wasn't difficult but because of that, it took people who were coming on the tour longer to get to the Mexico side and we ended up having to stand in the HOT sun for about 30 minutes which wasn't fun. It seems this is a common issue based on other reviews and I think the company should plan better for this and change how the tour is described. Once we got going it was then going smoothly. Our first stop was a tequila tasting. I'm not a fan of this but however I was fine to do the tasting, we seemed to take a long time doing that and a few other members agreed we were there too long. We kind of felt it lagged because they wanted us to buy more alcohol. I would have rather seen more shops where we were. After that we went to a candy shop which was nice and we tasted a chili mango which was really good. Then we went for lunch. we had 2 blue corn tacos. The beef tacos were very good, the chicken did not taste like much. After that we had free time and then the tour went back for another tequila tasting. I really wanted to see more of the local markets. When the tour was over we went back and had to stand in line for 2 hours to get to the US side. I think the company should make it clear that this is normal to stay in line that long when they advertise it. My husband and i have taken many tours with Viator and never was disappointed before.
Diane_H, Jan 2026
Andres and Carlos made sure we felt confident in crossing the border. Carlos was an informative and fun guide.
Helen_B, Jan 2026
It was a good introduction to Tijuana and there were some fun activities scheduled. The tour guide Marissa was very nice. We did it cause we were a bit scared of crossing over into Tijuana and it made us comfortable if we ever do it on our own.
DWanna_P, Jan 2026
I really enjoyed the tour. Our tour guide Tadeo, was knowledgeable and guided us through with no issues. Learning about the culture, historical sites, and seeing the various shops was such an amazing experience.
Elaine_B, Jan 2026
Lots of walking but this tour was definitely worth it. Food was amazing and tequila tasting was fun! Our tour guide Carlos was great!! He made the tour fun and interesting.
Divenia_j, Jan 2026
Very great tour with Tadeo. Andres walked me through with very clear instruction to meet Tadeo. I felt well taken care of. Once in Tijuana, man great experience with Tadeo. The shops, the murals, the history, food, tastings and most of all tour guide was amazing!
Brian_H, Jan 2026
Mariso was great and knows the area well. She answered all our questions and took us all over the place. The tequila tasting was so good and the owners there are so nice.
Tangela_S, Dec 2025
it's was a nice tour and the food was good and the 2 tequila tastings were very good. my family enjoyed it
April_M, Dec 2025
The tour was super fun and informative! Our tour guide, Tabitha, was super friendly and we had a fun time with her. The tequila tasting was great; we tried all different types of tequila. We also had some amazing street tacos! I would definitely recommend booking in. Just get ready to wait in line to get back in the USA.
Jamie_T, Dec 2025
Great trip! Andres was wonderful! He helped us cross the border easily and made us feel very comfortable from the start. We met up w Jose and he was a gem! Very informative and lots of fun. Definitely recommend!!
Courtney_F, Nov 2025
Carlos was informative, knowledgeable, and entertaining. He kept old and young entertained. Lots of candy!
Gertrud_R, Nov 2025
Andres is a great tour guide who made me feel very safe. He's very knowledgeable, accommodating, and courteous. I highly recommend this tour!
Eric_S, Nov 2025
WOW… where do I begin? Well, a huge THANK YOU to our guide Tadeo who was able to guide us through this downtown and shopping district of Tijuana with so much knowledge and stories about Tijuana and Baja California’s history and the people. This is a great cultural experience that I would recommend to everyone. Tadeo does speak English and we speak Spanish fluently so we had a great time. Tadeo also took us to this amazing little cantina where we had lunch and to close off the experience, we went to Victors Liquor Store to taste tequilas. Ask me if I would go again? YES and would I request Tadeo again? YES! GRACIAS Tadeo!
Sandy_G, Nov 2025
We had a great day with our local guide Carlos, who seemed to know everyone and took us to great places for tacos and tequila and many other interesting places as he shared fun facts about the area
Cassandra_M, Nov 2025
Tadeo was a great guide, super friendly and really knew a lot about Tijuana. My daughter and I had such a good time exploring the city and loved the lunch spot we went to. It was a fun day!
Nancy_M, Oct 2025
Great experience but on the booking moment, it was unclear that pick up from San Diego is not included! Not great having to go by tram for people who wants comfort and be quicker and practical. By car is 20min to border but tram can take 1h or more
I would personally would have liked to pay more with pick up
Robin_W, Oct 2025
Tour was great but requires lots of walks so be prepared. Carlos our guide was fabulous and very knowledgeable.
From $93.00
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Crossing Borders: Tijuana Day Trip from San Diego
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