My family will be in L.A. in January. I have previously enjoyed the bargains in Tijuana, but have been advised against going there now. What does everyone think.

Stay away. There have been a multitude of murders / kidnappings there lately.

You couldn't pay me to go there. You may want to post your question here:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=6

Not a good time. I live in San Diego and recently posted about this and there's just too much crime and Americans are too much of a target. I'd pass it by for the moment but if you want some Latin culture, you can find that in LA as well as in San Diego.

Even without the crime, by the time you spend time going down there and coming back you could buy whatever you want in San Diego. But then again, I've never enjoyed TJ.

What bargins are you looking for?

http://projects.latimes.com/siege/#/its-a-war

The above is from the LA Times today.

I have lived in San Diego my entire life...and can tell you NOW more than ever MEXICO (Tijuana) is a very scary place. If you were to ask me this question a few years back I would have given you a different answer. Already, this weekend 30+ murders. No good, at all! STAY AWAY

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,452807,00.html

Hill
www.edufire.com

If the above replies don't convince to give T. a miss, consider how bad the border crossing at San Ysidro has become. Together, they add up to a very bad idea. Treasure your memories form the past and hope for a better future, but in the present - no way José.

We made the mistake of going on a bus tour. Even with our bus parked right on the street and our burly knowledgable driver available, it was an unpleasant experience. From the constant begging from children, to the constant badgering from adults, to the pickup trucks driving through the main street with automatic weapons toting police riding in the back nothing about the trip was enjoyable. We counted down the time til we went back.

I had a friend who had his virginity stolen there.

Agree with all of the above. Thought TJ was a fun side trip...12 years ago. You couldn't pay me to go there today. Hopefully the situation there will improve soon, for the sake of everyone who lives there.

I would give it a miss.....years ago, it was fun to spend a day there, but these are different times, and visitors are increasingly becoming targets. I would advise anyone to stay away from any of the "border" cities in Mexico.

I can't imagine what sorts of "bargains" could possibly be worth going back to TJ for.

I can't imagine what sorts of "bargains" could possibly be worth going back to TJ for.

Boy, me either!

I am totally convinced NOT to go. Guess the memories will remain as good ones, dont want to create scarey ones. Thanks to all.
Someone suggested Olivera Street in L.A., is that a bit similar?

sf..."kidneys"...."livers"....
Vicodin????
:-?

You might enjoy Olivera Street, but it is very dissimilar (in a positive way). It is small, but clean and safe. Also, don't look for any bargains there. It is very touristy, but it's O.K. for tourists to do touristy things. Go and have fun there!

What were the bargains? Your questions can best be answered if you can please be a little more specific.

Olvera, not Olivera. Sure, if you are in the vicinity, go take a look, it's quite interesting. More here:

www.olvera-street.com

If you're hungry, Chinatown is nearby: www.chinatownla.com/

And while you're there, check out the train station Union Station, it has that attractive old architecture look: http://tinyurl.com/hfp4b

Then go across the freeway, up on the hill, to the Music Center (Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, www.musiccenter.org) with the dancing fountains, then past the amazing new Disney concert hall (http://musiccenter.org/visit/toursched.html) to the Central Library of the Public Library of Los Angeles - an amazing building, especially on the inside, with those stairs that you may have seen in some movies: www.lapl.org/central

If modern art is your thing, just around the corner is the museum of contemporary art (one branch): www.moca.org/

Then walk down to the Bonaventure hotel and go up to the BonaVista cocktail bar (revolving) with splendid views (there are more restaurants and lots of shops): http://tinyurl.com/y8pmtj

By the time you've done all that, you will be
A) convinced that LA is not such a bad place (having seen only a tiny fraction thereof)
and
B) forgotten all about dreadful Tijuana

Enjoy!

DalaiLlama-
I hang my head in shame. I am an L.A. Native and copied and pasted without catching the misspelling. Of course, you are correct.