One of Tijuana’s greatest advantages for visa holders is its direct access to the United States through the world’s busiest land border crossing. But that convenience often comes with a tradeoff: long, exhausting wait times, especially on high-traffic days.
What’s the Best Way to Cross the Border This Friday?
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website offers a useful tool for frequent travelers called Border Wait Times. It lets users choose the type of crossing—commercial vehicle, passenger vehicle, or pedestrian—as well as the port of entry.
For crossings from Tijuana to San Diego, travelers can choose between:
- San Ysidro Port of Entry (vehicle and pedestrian)
- Otay Mesa Port of Entry (vehicle, commercial, and pedestrian)
- PedWest (pedestrian only)
Once you select your options, the tool displays a graph comparing current wait times to average ones, so you can quickly see whether conditions are better or worse than usual.
Based on the latest data, here are today’s wait times:
San Ysidro Port of Entry
Vehicles
- General: 90 minutes (average: 65 minutes)
- Ready Lane: 70 minutes (average: 53 minutes)
- Sentri: 15 minutes (average: 13 minutes)
Pedestrians
- General: 80 minutes (average: 40 minutes)
- Ready Lane: 5 minutes (average: 5 minutes)
Otay Mesa Port of Entry
Vehicles
- General: 90 minutes (average: 70 minutes)
- Ready Lane: 60 minutes (average: 59 minutes)
- Sentri: 5 minutes (average: 13 minutes)
Pedestrians
- General: 10 minutes (average: 30 minutes)
PedWest
Pedestrians
- General: 15 minutes (average: 12 minutes)
- Ready Lane: 5 minutes (average: 5 minutes)
For vehicle crossings, the best time to cross appears to be around 10:00 p.m.
Telnor’s phone-based traffic report also provides the following numbers for today:
San Ysidro Port of Entry
- General: 150 vehicles
- Ready Lane: 370 vehicles
- Sentri: 120 vehicles
- Pedestrian crossing: 300 people
Otay Mesa Port of Entry
- General: 100 vehicles
- Ready Lane: 250 vehicles
- Sentri: 80 vehicles
- Pedestrian crossing: 100 people
So, What’s the Best Choice?
Considering both wait times and vehicle volume, Otay Mesa currently offers the smoothest crossing experience, whether you’re driving or walking.
However, if you’re crossing on foot and looking for convenience and quick access to shopping, PedWest is a great alternative. It connects directly to Las Americas Premium Outlets and other nearby retail centers. Just keep in mind: PedWest closes at 2:00 p.m. for entry into the U.S., and reentry to Tijuana is only available from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
