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Today we decided to take a day trip down to Tecate, Mexico. Though it is a border city, it is a much smaller and better representation of Mexico than Tijuana. It's also within an hour of San Diego. I had been once before, but today I went down with my girlfriend. We drove to the border, parked, walked across, and within 15 minutes we were sitting in the central plaza sipping beers and eating chips.

Prior to my first trip there, I had heard that it was a nice place to visit, but I wanted to check it out for myself. At the time I couldn't find much consistent information about it online, but if you're interested in visiting, it's a simple day trip. No border lines, no stress, and not even much walking.

As it turns out, you can park on the US side, there are side roads where it is fine to just pull over on the side and park for free. As you approach the border, turn left (east), and you will where there are other cars parked, just pull up and make sure you're off the road. The border is less than a 5 minute walk, and once you enter Mexico, just go straight for a few blocks and you will see the main plaza. It seems that this is where most things happen, as the park is filled with locals just relaxing. Today, a Sunday afternoon, there were very few tourists.

It's a great day trip, there is very little stress involved, and crossing the border is about as easy as it gets. It doesn't seem that there is much to do in Tecate other than hang out in the plaza, but isn't that ok?

Unfortunately this trip I forgot my camera, so these two pics are from my phone...

Photos

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Cheese, chorizo and Tecate beer for lunch, Tecate Mexico

Main Plaza in Tecate, BC, Mexico