Last weekend, I embarked on a mileage run to sunny San Diego for some weekend-fun with friends. Luckily, my friend and I both cleared complimentary upgrades on both segments to SAN (EWR-IAH and IAH -SAN) as only United Premier Gold members. Our first segment included seats on United’s 767-400, equipped with new lie-flat seats, which is always a fun treat.
When we arrived in San Diego later that evening, we checked into our hotel, the Courtyard Marriott Downtown (great location in a historically-preserved building), and walked over to the Andaz San Diego for some roof-top drinks with some of our other friends. After a fun night at the Andaz, we called it a night to catch up on sleep.
The next morning, we returned back to the Andaz for a lovely roof-top breakfast. The good thing was: since we’re all Hyatt Diamond members from the SMD4 (including my friend who stayed the night at the Andaz), we basically were able to order and eat whatever we wanted from the menu for free, thanks to the generous breakfast credit for Diamond members. I enjoyed a delicious breakfast burrito, ricotta blueberry pancakes, and a berry smoothie.
After breakfast, we checked out of the Courtyard Marriott and checked into our new hotel for the night, The Bristol, which I booked using HotelTonight credits (related post). The Bristol is a short, five-block walk from the Courtyard Marriott and is a lovely, eco-friendly boutique hotel. After getting settled in the new room, we started off with the idea of going to the beach, but after a few half-joking comments about going to Mexico, that quickly became the plan instead.
Two out of the 3 of us had passports on hand (my passport’s permanent residence is in my purse – you never know!), and another had a Global Entry card but was unsure at the time if that would be sufficient-enough for him to exit. He elected to stay behind and wait for a few minutes for us to go in-and-out. We parked the car in one of the many lots designed for curious tourists like us (since the rental car did not have insurance coverage in Mexico), followed the pedestrian walkway to Mexico, and soon enough we came face to face with the metal revolving doors at the border.
As an east-coaster, this was exciting to me; I thought it would be a fun and novel experience to say I quickly walked-on over to Mexico, stayed for a few minutes, and then went right back through the revolving door leading to the U.S. Lots of my west-coast friends have done this several of times in the past, so it’s gotta be quick and easy, right? Silly for me to think it would be such a painless procedure. Apparently it doesn’t work that way… anymore at least.
When made it to the other side, we snapped our picture, and headed for the exit only to be surprised by a tremendous line to re-enter the U.S. I’m talking hours long. It was endless. And it was certainly not moving. Crap. Now what?
We decided maybe if we took a cab across the border, that’ll be faster since the car lane was definitely moving at a normal pace. A few minutes later, my friend and I piled in a van with 16 other people for $5 a head. I thought this was brilliant. “$5 for at least two hours of my time back is totally worth it”, I thought to myself.
Surprise surprise – after driving about 20 feet, and at the same time being just 50 feet shy of the exit booths, the van is now parked in a line behind 7 other vans. The driver gets out and starts talking with the other parked vans. Some other people in the van take out books to read. This, to me, meant that this was a normal occurrence and a lengthy process. He we go again.
After two hours, we finally made it to the exit booth and to passport control where we were questioned before being allowed back into the U.S. While waiting in that short line, I witnessed an arrest of someone trying to cross the border illegally, and listened to a disheveled American who was allegedly robbed of all of his belongings, including his passport. I wonder what eventually happened to him.
After re-uiniting with our friend who stayed behind, we decided that we still had time to catch the sunset from the “Top of the Hyatt” bar at the Hyatt Manchester on the harbor, which claims to have the best sunset views in San Diego. We each enjoyed a cocktail and enjoyed the beautiful panoramic sunset overlooking the city before heading to dinner with other frequent flyers and readers in town.
I absolutely love meeting new people in every city I visit, connecting with those who I’ve met at previous events, and having the chance to put faces to readers (hence the reason why I’m having a NJ reader dinner this weekend, come join!). With that said, I sent out an open-invite to dinner in downtown San Diego via Twitter. A nice group of us enjoyed delicious skirt steaks and laughs at an Argentian restaurant called Puerto La Boca before calling it a night.
The following day was also sunny and beautiful, but also our last day in town before our red-eye flights home. We wanted to take in as much of the gorgeous weather as we could. We opted to start the day off right with breakfast on the beach at Sheerwater, located inside the historic Hotel del Coronado, and then headed to La Jolla for a beach-view lunch during restaurant week at George’s on the Cove before heading to SAN to head home. Overall, it was a great weekend and my only regret is not booking more of the $161 mileage runs back to San Diego!
Cross the Border to Tijuana, Mexico: What You Need to Know
Tijuana, Mexico is less than an hour away from San Diego, While crossing the border into Mexico is as simple as walking through a revolving door, to re-enter the States, travelers must have certain documents [and spare time] on hand.
Getting to the border: there are a few options to get to the border. 1. you can take San Diego’s bright-red trolley to the San Ysidro stop, which stops adjacent to the pedestrian bridge leading to the Tijuana border. 2. You can drive down I-5 South and park at of the many designated parking lots on the U.S. side of the border for a small fee and walk along the pedestrian bridge to the border. or 3. you can simply drive through via the border inspection gates (just allow yourself plenty of time and a full tank of gas when returning, incase there is a 1-to-2 hour wait on the return).
Acceptable Identification to Re-Enter the United States: A passport or passport card, Trusted Traveler Program Cards such as SENTRI and NEXUS, or two proofs of citizenship (the most common being a drivers license and birth certificate, but military or federal ID also works). Children under 18 without a passport must present an original birth certificate.
Other Notes: be sure to give yourself plenty of time to cross back into the U.S. Long lines back in are extremely common and expected, especially on the weekends. Be aware of your surroundings, and cross during daylight hours – Mexico is not one of the safest places to go, especially at or near the borders, since there have been numerous reports of drug Cartel crimes.
What are some of your stories/experiences with a land-crossing to Mexico? Please share!
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- Lots of leg room!
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- Happy about being upgraded from EWR-DEN
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- Lovely rooftop breakfast at the Andaz San Diego
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- Andaz rooftop
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- We parked on the US side of the border.
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- Pedestrian path to Mexico
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- About to cross the border
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- Piled in a van to exit Mexico
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- The exit gates are so close… yet so far.
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- Gorgeous view from “Top of the Hyatt”
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- Dinner with frequent flyers
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- View from breakfast at Sheer Water at Hotel del Coronado
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- Hotel del Coronado
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- Strolling the beach after breakfast
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- Seals in La Jolla
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- We spotted the Weinermobile at the San Diego Airport!
How did you use your Hyatt Diamond status to get a free breakfast at the Andaz if you were not staying at the hotel? Can you just waive the card and eat breakfast for free at any Hyatt even if you are not staying there?
Santastico took the question right out of my mouth.
Great post. Did you notice if the Nexus/Global line is separate and expedited?
yeah I concur with #1, you don’t have to stay there to eat breakfast there???
The border crossing line seems long, but it actually goes pretty fast.
Also, I crossed back to the US with just my driver’s license a few months ago. The customs guy told me to bring my passport the next time, but still let me back in.
@Santastico, @Heather, and @Ryan from MA:
To follow up, as the friend who was traveling with Angelina, let me clarify the Hyatt Diamond breakfast situation. While we were not staying at the Andaz, one of our friends was, and he is Hyatt Diamond. As a Diamond guest, he received a room credit for four breakfasts per stay. These breakfasts were what we took advantage of that morning.
You can use your Global Entry card or even just your passport registered to the program to use the expedited lanes, called Sentri. This brings you to the front of the line to the special lanes and there is a machine where you scan your card or passport and then just a quick couple of questions with the officer and done! In my experience even when there is a 2 or 3 hour line, with Sentri you are through in less than 10 min.
Looks like you had a good time, except for the part about sleeping – there is lots to do in San Diego til the early morning.
There is a Sentri line for trusted travelers returning to the US, which can be used by Sentry, Global Entry, and Nexus card holders and will allow you to avoid the long line.
Too bad you just crossed into Mexico and returned, since Tijuana is fun place to explore.
Cheers
You went through all that rigimarole just for a picture?, good to see your dedication to your readers.
As a native Californian and resident for most of my life, I’ve never walked or driven across the border to Mexico. I did walk across the border to Canada once! (That was far more of a novelty for us)
Funny that the person with Gloval Entry stayed behind. They are the only ones who could have actually crossed over and back quickly. With Global Entry, you get to skip that entire multi-hour line!
Looks like a lovely trip/MR! I’m curious – how did you get to use your Hyatt Diamond benefits when you weren’t staying there?
I’m thinking of a MR to NYC. Any recommendations on what to do for the day or a good place to stay on a budget?
I am a US / Canadian citizen. One advice at the border is to stay cool and answer to question from the Officer.