Question to California People. Is Tijuana Safe?
 

Hey guys-
I know a ton of you on here are from California. I'm going to be going to Tijuana, Baja California for a trip with a friend who wants to meet up at the Hotel Pueblo Amigo for some casino gambling and fun before going over to San Diego a couple of days later. I have never been to Tijuana and I have heard some stories about safety. How is it in Tijuana now? Are things better? I am probably not going to be going out of the hotel after dark but I do worry. Any things to look out for? Any good places to go during the day time? Thanks

happy kidnapping, torture, etc ... enjoy your trip.

Depends on what you look like?

https://gfy.com/image.php?u=91383&dateline=1231941694


You should feel right at home.

Been there only once and I'm for sure going back again. :thumbsup

I use to go to TJ almost every weekend when I was in the Marines like 10 years ago, nowadays I don't think it is as safe although some people tell me places like cabo are still "safe" to go.

Just be careful and don't attract too much attention to yourself.

Its been 3 years since I was in TJ but it was safe then. We partied on Revolution BLVD until 4am and never had an issue. Pay to park and dont get drunk and you should have a good time.

"In 2011, the crime wave appears to be subsiding, with levels returning to those prior to 2007. While other parts of Mexico are hit by an increase in drugs violence, the beheadings and massacres familiar a few years ago are now rare in Tijuana, a key battleground on one of the most lucrative drug smuggling corridors to the United States. As of 2011, "organized crime continues, not only drug trafficking but extortion, kidnapping, human smuggling and gun running." These crimes are consolidated under the Sinaloa Cartel."

Just went there 2 weeks ago, its safe, just don't raise a red flag and you'll be fine.

That entire area has become a drug corridor. I don't go to baja any more. Bummer.

:2 cents::2 cents::2 cents:

I stayed at Pueblo Amigo last year. SUPER nice hotel. And it has a very nice casino and restaurant as well.
I also walked the streets a bit in the daytime. It was fun. But I didn't have the guts to walk out at night alone.

But yeah, you'll have a good time. I felt as safe there as in any American city. Plenty of bad "gang areas" in cities right here in the U.S. that I would feel far more threatened by.

So go and have fun! Take pics if you go to the "donkey show"

like be too white and spend too much money. :1orglaugh

I was staying in San Diego and made a trip into TJ by myself back in 2006. I can't speak for how safe it is now.

I went to Madonna's. Imagine going to a strip club, then seeing the hottest girl in the club dancing. This girl might look like Sofia Vergara. Then you tell the manager you want to fuck her. Then you go to a private room and get busy.

Such a great concept.

drive accross and get insurance for it

I would offer to escort and hangout with a GFY'er but I DON't wanna be responsible when you do something stupid, and get attention from the Federales..
Unless we've already hung out before and I know how you get when drunk, etc..

Yeap...and if you have a Mexican friend (that speaks Spanish) take him along.. :2 cents:

Tijuana isn't as bad as the news portrays it around that part of town. However, it is just as bad as the news portrays it if you walk just a few blocks in either direction at night!

Use your head. You are in a different country where the people that are supposed to be protecting you want your money and will do anything including false arrest to get it!

So behave. Don't even J-walk!

Inside the hotel you will have a manager there that would prefer you had a good time. 1 block away from the casino there will be a motorcycle officer just waiting for you to spit on the sidewalk!

If your party is doing the driving I highly suggest you get car insurance! Tons of "photo huts" sized businesses sell it all over the place just before you cross.

Don't flash money!!! Don't use strange ATM's. If your card isn't working, the ATM just skimmed your number. It isn't an ATM! Call the card company immediately! There are plenty of bank ATMs all around. Use them.

Don't buy drugs if you use them. In Mexico the consequences are HUGE and the quality is complete crap!

Don't walk down dark alleys that smell like piss.... And walk with purpose, don't look lost.


You'll be fine.


.

Wear this shirt:

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7...20walk20ki.jpg

and you are safe...

Tijuana was barely safe before the major cartel action and Katrina... now, I can't imagine it having any safe zones or fun places unless you're an adrenaline junkie...

:D

be careful... that's all i'm going to say

What does Katrina have to do with TJ?

LOL...I just stated in a post up above that I was there last year. Pueblo Amigo is as nice a 4 star hotel as you could possibly stay in, with excellent food, and a very nice casino to gamble in and a nightclub.

I walked all around the town during the day and everyone was friendly.

You must spend a lot of time indoors and scared if you think there are no "safe zones' (whatever that is) in TJ.

Now if we were talking Afghanistan or another war torn area...maybe.
But trust me...the U.S. govt. and the media overblow a lot of what's going on in Mexico. You'd be a lot less safe in certain areas of L.A. or Detroit than you would be in TJ

And neither L.A. or Detroit have gambling, over the counter sales of prescription drugs at 1/10th the jacked up price in the U.S., about a thousand plastic surgeons offices with prices 1/10th of the jacked up price in the U.S., GREAT street drugs, and of course the infamous and fabled "donkey show" :1orglaugh

a couple friends of mine were kidnapped and beheaded back in 2004. go but make a will first.

I wouldn't go these days. I used to go all the time. I miss it. It was so much fun to do. So many times just be partying downtown and before the trolley would stop would just jump on and head there. Party until the morning and then ride the trolley home. Or just be down there and end up in Rosorito by morning and would crash there. Wake up to some more beers and partying on the beach. Fuck I miss it.

You must make it a habit to talk out of your ass.

Yes is safe if you want play at some casino, just dont use jewerly or luxury cars, have fun!

There is nothing in TJ that's worth the risk of what bad thing can happen:2 cents:

So just like some LA neighborhoods..:2 cents::thumbsup

Well I'm definitely not going anywhere after dark! I don't want to live my life in fear and I'm going to go and enjoy myself. I am definitely going to be cautious. It sounds like Pueblo Amigo is a great place to stay and I'm excited. Thank you guys for your advice. I think I will invest in the Chuck Norris shirt :-)

I hope you're kidding about wearing a Chuck Norris shirt..:Oh crap

I thought Chuck Norris was the man?

Yes Chuck Norris is the man..but where? :helpme

Sooooo...would Pancho Villa be better?

Just a normal Wallmart shirt will do man..need advise on brushing your teeth also? :1orglaugh

Oh the joy of TJ!
My experiences have been both good and bad. I will state the bad only, since it was the most memorable.

Bad Time #1: Pulled over by police, told I was driving the wrong way on a one way street. When cars started passing us, I pointed them out and also pointed at signs facing our direction. Cop gets pissed and says to follow him to the jail and I need to pay ~$350 for impound fee + more to post bail. I told him I had no money and he searched my car, found $20 and let us go.

Bad Time #2: The federalies followed me and my buddy around then stopped us at a street corner. They told us to put our hands up against the tree and that they were searching for drugs. They didn't find any, took my friends cash in his wallet and let us go. On the way back to the US, we get stopped in the car and get the whole run around about following them to jail, blah blah blah. $20 and we're on our way.

Bad Time #3: My friends truck broke down in the middle of nowhere while on our way to TJ. Hitch hiked the rest of the way and rented some filthy motel room that had EXTREMELY hot water which helped wash away the filth of sleeping sitting up in a nasty fkn bed. Started drinking @ about 10:30am and eventually hitting up every strip club we could find; there are some very interesting ones, I must say. All I remember was getting cash out from the ATM machine at a grocery store and trying to catch a cab back to the border. This club promotor (the guys who flick the cards like Vegas) jumped in the cab and was telling the driver where to go. Drunk as shit, we didn't even think about it - all we knew is that we told the driver where WE wanted to go. The cab stops in front of a whore house and we get kicked out. The club promotor guy tries to pimp off some whores to us and we tell him that it isn't what we wanted. He kept asking for a tip, so like a dumb ass, I reach my hand in my pocket and as I'm pulling out a few bucks, he upper cuts me w/ a fist full of rings. Doesn't knock me out but sure did piss me off. My buddy wanted to chase after him but I didn't - I just wanted to go home. Anyway, the next day I had to go to the hospital because my ears were bleeding; jammed jaw bone into ear canal. Also, it's true about the ATM skimmers. I ended up getting back to LA and my bank had said I spent almost $2,000. I know for damn sure that I didn't do that...I swear...

FOURTH and FINAL time: Meet up with an old friend and we hit up some clubs in TJ. Growing up a Marine child, born in San Diego, I always talk to Marines. I end up talking to some that were around our age and we start hanging out (3 Marines). At the end of the night, I offer to drive them back to San Diego. In the parking garage, we get blocked in by a group of guys with badges blocking the exits. Guns drawn and stuck to the back of our necks, we're told we're under arrest for "breaking the law". I shit you not, I have never seen a Marine cry over something like this. One of the guys was crying like a little baby about how we're going to jail and he's going to get in trouble. I told him that we're getting robbed, not put in jail. He didn't believe me... Anyway, they search us, take our money and find a big ass bag of pills that the crying Marine had. They don't take it from him and let us go. I drop the Marines at their vehicle and the only thing I can remember from that point on is NOTHING. I end up in a random hotel room with my friend, somewhere between San Diego and Los Angeles. A few weeks later, she calls me up and says that she thinks we were slipped roofies. She brought up a few things and then pointed out that the one guy had "those pills".


Will I ever go back to TJ? Hell no. Did I learn my lesson? Absofuckinglutely. Why did I keep going back? It was different than LA, cheaper, it was a BLAST. I was younger and really didn't give a crap about the consequences of that type of stuff. Being older, having a career, wife and kids... makes TJ be the last place I want to hang out.

Everything you've heard about it is probably true. Yes, they have donkey shoes. Yes, they have donkeys painted with stripes to look like a Zebra. Yes, you can get laid in Madonnas.


If you do go, have fun and be safe. Do not give money to the filthy children selling chiclets; those little thieves.

Aww my virtual heart aches. :-P I shaved my pits for this occasion! Maybe being too laissez faire will make me stand out

Holy crap you've had some adventures! That is pretty damn scary. I'm not staying more than a few days. Doubt I will venture out after dark. I am going to be taking a shuttle to Tijuana from San Diego airport so hopefully no federales will be following me. Thanks for the stories! That makes me both scared and a little excited for adventure. I doubt I will go to the donkey show. I mean, really, is it hot to see the chicks get fucked by a donkey? I mean, don't get me wrong, weird shit turns me on sometimes but not so sure about this one. Maybe if I were a dude :2 cents:

My final comment on this thread:
Have safe fun all!!

Spoken like a true beaner.

I have been away from the news outlets. Did we incorporate Baja or something? We should have done that 100 years ago.

Simple yet solid advice from Sperbonzo. I am down there once a month and drive in with an old Jeep I keep around just for driving in Baja.

if you like living on the edge sure its safe. don't go down there a prep boy shit. throw on some used jeans and a plain ball cap. Dont get drunk!

So basically you can buy the cops for 20,- and you got roofied by an american while being there and it's a bad place ? :1orglaugh

$20? Don't count on it. Closer to $50-100 range.

THIS

Besides getting tired of looking at PFC's with high and tights and 'Devil Dog' jackets, I just got tired of the bullshit cops and scammers.

The Mexican Army have checkpoints up along the highway and they do try to scam you, pretending to find a joint or whatever and demanding payment to let you pass. I wouldn't drive anymore. Best to take the cruise to Ensenada or fly down to a real resort city.

It was fun when I was the dumb 19 yr old kid going down every month but after the 7th time it gets played out.

there are much better places to go than TJ unless you are a broke fuck.

is unprotected sex with a camel safe ? ... probably not. Have you heard of "the news" ? Nice pits

Your money will be taken from you. Your life will be ok though.