adehug

Hi there
Were over in Texas this summer and are wondering if you could recommend the best place to visit Mexico for the day crossing over from Texas...we just want to browse around and do a bit of shopping etc...were a family with 3 kids ranging from 14 to 11

any help appreciated

Thanks

Ade Wales UK

GoTravel

Ade, where in Texas is your family going to be? The Texas border is HUGE! I would guess Texas has over 1000 miles (1600 km) of border.

adehug

sorry should have made myself more clear...we have six weeks to travel around and were following I10 from LA so i suppose any of the towns/cities on the I10 corridor

thanks

Tandoori_Girl

I've been many times to El Paso/Juarez. But I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone. First, keep in mind that you will have to purchase special insurance to venture into Mexico. You will not be covered in a rental car without purchasing it. Theft of cars in MX is a huge problem. But you can buy it at any number of insurance stores that are near airports where people rent cars. There are some near the El Paso International Airport.

There is a terrific market in Juarez. you could go there without the insurance by cab. That might be an option. But you might spend a lot of time at the border entry points, getting in and out. Maybe others know how this situation has changed since 9-11. I haven't been since they made lots of changes at the borders.

adehug

thanks for that .... we would not be taking the car over the border...suppose were looking for something on the tijuana lines where you park the car and walk over the border......

Statia

My inlaws passed at Matamoros a couple of weeks ago and said they really enjoyed it. They attended a very fun street festival, but I don't know if there is shopping in that area.

ChristieP

I see that you are from the UK. Be SURE that your I-94/visa allows MULTIPLE entries into the US before you leave the US and enter Mexico!! Otherwise, you could literally end up stuck im Immigration for HOURS! DO NOT claim to be a US Citizen to avoid Immigration. If you are caught, you will face criminal charges and possibly deportation. People often forget that Mexico is indeed a foreign country, and that US Immigration is very serious about enforcing its rules.

Along I-10, El Paso/Juarez is really your only option. All of the other border towns (Del Rio/Acuna, Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras, and all of the ones in the Rio Grande Valley) will be several HOURS' drive south of I-10. Honestly, I'd just stop at the Mexican Market (El Mercado) in downtown San Antonio. You will be able to buy the same stuff there that you can get in Mexico, and there will be no hassles.

starrsville

I'm not sure the crossings are as safe as they were a few years ago. I crossed over in several times when I was working Texas and would be very hestitant to do so again - unless I was with my friend of Mexican descent.

I'd follow Christie's advice. I didn't see anything I'd want to buy in Mexico that I couldn't find in the markets in the US.

Patrick

We've done several, and for the most part they aren't impressive. Laredo and Eagle Pass were kind of nothings.
But oddly enough we really enjoyed Juarez. In fact, it was kind of amazing how "run down" ElPaso seemed, but how booming and almost upscale Juarez seemed. There were a couple or really nice enclosed mall type shopping centers including one with a big ice skating rink. We found some interesting areas for walking, and hard a hard time choosing where to have lunch -- there seemed a lot of good options and the one we chose, we loved. We left our car in Texas and rode a bus over and back.

mikemo

Please understand it's hotter than you may imagine on the TexMex border in Summer.
Take a flight from Tx to Leon/Guanajuato and visit the "Colonial" cities where summer weather is like LaJolla, CA.
M

P_M

First of all, you are very wise to park the car on the US side and walk across the border. ChristineP is right on target in saying that El Paso/Juarez is your best bet as the rest of the border towns are too far away from I-10. As ChristineP said, make sure your visas are in order. While in Juarez, use a great deal of caution and don't get away from the tourist areas. I have spent most of my life in Texas and have crossed the border at least 3 dozen times. I have never been a victim of crime in Mexico, but I am hearing on the news that crime in Mexico has gotten worse in the last few years. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, just please be careful. I hope you will stop in San Antonio and see the Riverwalk and the Alamo, and have a margarita.

Enjoy your time in Texas.

Seamus

You've gotten pretty good info above. With the exception of El Paso/Juarez, any other bordertowns are a couple hours drive away from IH10. Most of them are also pretty forgettable and not worth the effort unless you have a burning need for a bottle of duty free liquor or discounted prescription drugs (authenticity not guaranteed) with a good chance of the tourist trots thrown in for fun. The border towns are definitely NOT representative of Mexico, but only of the border culture. Juarez seems snazzier than El Paso because it is a much larger city than El Paso. The other towns are smaller than their US neighbor. Most have a market where you will see mostly tacky trashy trinkets in an environment with hygienic standards quite different than you are accustomed to in the US. In addition, you will have to deal with the post 9/11 immigration slowdowns in crossing the border.
So, your best options are to either visit Juarez while driving through El Paso or stop in San Antonio for a day or two. I'd vote for SA, but I'm biased becasue I live here.

adehug

thank you all for the advice......well definately be going to San Antonio.

We enjoyed going into Mexico from San Diego for a few hours but i agree with you all it was kind of scary seeing the difference between the US and the third world.....

The only other point is that when we travel into the US from the UK we sign a visa waiver form......weve been into Canada and Mexico last year so is it therefore ok for multiple entries or have the laws been changed

Thanks once again for the advice

Ade Wales UK

Tandoori_Girl

In case you decide to try for El Paso/Juarez and need a place to stay, check out this hotel. It is close to the border, very nice, and I've had some extremely reasonable rates for this caliber hotel:

http://www.caminoreal.com/elpaso_i/index.html

Aside from the Camino Real, there are very reasonable places in El Paso, which now has a huge air base full of american soldiers and you will see them wherever you go.

TexasBob

I would highly recommend Laredo, Texas.
Laredo is having a huge 250th anniversary of founding of their city in 1755. Laredo is the largest inland port in the United States for Mexico! Also, the Border Patrol and police make it very safe to visit Mexico. I go twice a week. There is a great Mercado downtown. It is 50 cents to walk across bridge and 30 cents to come back. Park car in parking garage at Greyhound Bus Station on Salinas and Farragut for only 75 cents a hour! Just walk down the first street across Bridge 1 and you will find everything you thought of Mexico. Laredo is having many events like the Miss Texas USA Pageant 2004.
Also, Laredo has the second oldest cathedral in the whole United States:
St. Augustin in downtown. La Posada is
a four star hotel downtown, right on the
Rio Grande. Laredo is located 2 hours south of San Antonio (I10) or you can take shortcut from Houston through Corpus Christi. Have fun in Texas!! I have been to all the border cities and this is the very best with over 200,000 people and all modern stores and a huge Mall del Norte on Highway 35.

Seamus

Bob - just a quick correction - the highway to Laredo is IH35, not I10!
Still wouldn't recommend it given the OP's routing, as I have never found anything there that was't also available in San Antonio, aside from duty free booze.

Pumpy

I've been to many and recommend the following:
Neuvo Laredo (TX)
Tijuana (CA)

TexasBob

I know I35 goes to Laredo. I stated I10 after San Antonio because the original question stated they were following the I10 corridor from New Orleans. Thanks!

MNP

Don't know if anyone has reccomened this, but there is a great little trolly tour from El Paso to Jaurez, with several stops including a very popular resturant, the market, and several other stops...
( www.borderjumper.com ) I can't get the website to pull up right now, but maybe later it will work. I would highly reccommend it, though you can also park and walk over.

mikemo

The experts recommend Columbia Bridge returning from MX 20 Mi west of Laredo.
M