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San Diego to Mexico for a short day

Will be in San Diego for 5 days in August. Kids and husband want to say they have been to Mexico. I have been told there is some sort of shuttle from downtown San Diego to border and then you walk across border. Is this correct? As pedestrians, is it long and annoying to cross border? After you get into Mexico, then what? Is it safe to drink water and eat food at most restaurants? I know we will face street vendors, crowds, not much to see (but we have been to Cairo, so we can handle it). They want to add it to their list of places they have been. Any suggestions welcome - thanks in advance.

Hubby and I think TJ is fun - just for people watching and the culture! You can take the trolly - couple bucks a person (it's been about 4 years since we've done this can't remember exact price) drops you right off at the border and walk across. Lines can be long depending on the day. The absolute EASIEST is to drive down and park right at the border. There are plenty of lots that are safe to park in for the day right there. Last I knew they were $5- 10/day. Then you pay $2 per person for a shuttle bus STRAIGHT downtown! No lines, no hassel and super easy! The street vendors won't be that bad. It's mostly kid vendors selling trinkets. You just shake your head, mouth no or say "No" softly. We never had a problem. The restaurant people will lure you in with 2 for 1 drinks every where! They are usually watered down, but cheap. Food is decent and cheap. Find a restaurant where you can sit outside and watch the world and people go by. Speaking of water - what's that? We always drank the cerveza, but the few mixers we've enjoyed with ice never made us ill. Shopping is fabulous! And the haggling is even more fun! You'll have a field day and it's inexpensive. I don't know if you have bad habits like we do (smoking and drinking) but if you do and want to buy stuff cheap, get out of the immediate tourist downtown area. There is a grocery store (do you know Spanish? No one speaks English in there!) it's called the Gigante Mercado and you can buy cigarettes for about $8 - $10/ carton. Then there are plenty of local little liquor stores where you can buy Tequila for nothing. Don't forget about the perscriptions we can't always get in the US (antibiotics, acid reflux pilss, etc) that you can feely purchase at the pharmacy. Have fun - we think it's a blast going down there, other people thinks it's disgusitng. It's what you make of it.

Just please keep in mind that saying you've been in Tijuana does not necessarily mean that you have been in Mexico. Technically, TJ IS in Mexico. However, even by the laxest Mexican standards, TJ is a dump. Sure, it has fun places and cheap shopping (mainly liquor, cigarettes and medicines), but it is dirty, ugly and nothing at all like the rest of Mexico. Regarding your questions, yes, you can take the trolley to San Ysidro and then walk accross the border to TJ. The main tourist area (Av. Revolucion) is within walking distance. This street is full of bars, restaurants and tacky souvenir shops. The "paseo del rio / paseo de los heroes" area is a bit more upscale, and a whole lot nicer IMHO.

Thanks for both responses - and I promise not to brag that I have toured Mexico after spending 4 hours in TJ. Our daughter gets extra credit if she brings back something written in Spanish. Hope the tequila has the real worm in the bottom of the bottle since our son says he has never heard of anything so gross in his life. Good idea about prescription medication shopping - have done that in Canada and saved a ton of money. This kind of shopping is the only kind that appeals to my husband (he spent more time haggling for trinkets we didn't want in Egypt than he did negotiating on our last car purchase - we knew he had gone too far when he was exchanging instant coffee and peanut butter for plastic statues!)

another option if you have a car is driving inland to tecate. it is a much, much, much nicer town then tj but if you like the haggling idea, then go to tj. people get busted for bringing back some prescription drugs. pretty embarrasing to get arrested in front of your kids. be prepared for a 1 hour or more wait to get back across the border.

Tequila doesn't have a worm at the bottom of the bottle, but Mescal does. Last I knew, it was illegal to bring Mescal back into the US. Unless you know the water at the restaurant has come straight out of a bottle, don't drink it. I stick to soft drinks and adult beverages when I'm south of the border. The food will be fine, however.

The previous posts all have good info, especially the caution about bringing illegal drugs (including prescriptions not available in US) back. My favorite way to get from SD to TJ is to take the Little Red Trolley (San diego's light rail system) to San Ysidro, walk directly across the street and take the bus across the border. It will drop you into the heart of the tourist/shopping area. While that area is technically within walking distance of the border, it is a very long walk.

Take the trolley into Old Town and pretend that you are in Mexico. Just don't tell your kids. TJ sucks.