Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - USA to Baja border crossing at Mexicali

Ok,

Just for information, this is our experience of the USA to Baja California border crossing at Mexicali.

My girlfriend and I are traveling through the Americas on Yamaha 250 Serows. We bought Mexico bike insurance online whilst in the USA. As far as we could see there was nowhere to buy it at the border. Buying in advance is advised.

As you pass through the gates to the border crossing, you immediately have to go through one of 3 or 4 lanes that have red and green lights to control your entry and exit and cameras at each end to record you from every angle. From there you go into another lane where your vehicle may be inspected. Ours were. Presumably because we looked unusual. We pulled up, showed our passport and a border guard half heartedly looked in one of our bags. We were waved through. No-one spoke English.

Now, to enter into Baja and Mexico you need a "tourist card". The guards don't tell you this so it would be really easy to just drive off. Once the vehicle guards have finished with you and waved you off, you need to park up as close to the border controls as possible (immediately on the left if you can) and walk back to the glass fronted building that is on your left as you are sitting in the vehicle inspection lanes. The border official behind the desk spoke a little English which was handy. We had to fill in some basic paperwork, our passports were scanned and some copies were made. All easy stuff. Ask for a 6 months stay.

There is a small fee to pay for the tourist card ($306 Mex) and for this you have to cross over the road to a branch of the HSBC bank. Walk out of the glass fronted building and turn immediately right. Walk along the path and cross over the road where you drove into the border area - don't go out of the gate! There are some single storey buildings there, the 2nd or 3rd from the road is the bank. Paying is easy, you'll need to take the paperwork from the glass fronted building with you to be stamped. You'll get a receipt for your payment which you have to take back to the glass fronted building. This must be in cash and in pesos. Once back in the other building you present your bank receipt and your tourist card can them be stamped.

All done and away you go!

However........

All you've done so far is get yourself into Baja/Mexico. You still need paperwork for your bike.

We asked a border official about where to get this, as we wanted everything to be sorted out properly, and were told simply to "Go up that way for about 5 minutes, you'll see a big office with guards in blue." That's as much info as we could get. They just wanted us out from under their feet I guess. Anyway, as soon as you leave the border controls the road splits in two directions. We debated, and chose the right hand road. We drove for about 10 minutes and couldn't see an office. We decided to carry on to Ensenada, find out what was happening and sort it out from there.

After some research and some phone calls we found out that whilst in Baja, you don't need import papers for the bikes. It's only when you need to cross onto the mainland via the La Paz to Mazatlan ferry for instance, that you need the paperwork. This paperwork, however, can easily be obtained at the port at La Paz so no problem after all.
We made friends with a Spanish fellow in Ensenada. He crossed the border at Tecate and said he was able to obtain his bike paperwork at the border there. We know nothing about that crossing so we can't comment.

I'll post something about the port at La Paz later on.

Tim.