If you live in Southern California and are not using Tijuana International Airport as your gateway to Mexico, you are missing out! I recently realized that Tijuana has a massive amount of cheap flight options all over Mexico. I’m talking under a $100 round trip for major cities across the country! I highly recommend using the Tijuana Airport to fly to Mexico from California because you can save a ton of money doing so. If you have the time, also check out these awesome things to do in Tijuana.
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TripAdvisor is a great place to start your hotel search. Search for the best Mexico City hotels here!
Table of Contents
Search for Flights
My favorite way to search for flights is to use Skyscanner and search for flights to “everywhere.” I set my departure airport to Tijuana to see where the best deals are. In this example, I found airfare for a $86 round-trip ticket to Mexico City. You can see there are various other cities across Mexico for around $100 round trip as well.
If you opt to head to Mexico City using the Tijuana Airport to fly to Mexico, there is usually a TON of flexibility in the times of flights for the same price. Make sure to check out this Mexico City itinerary if you opt to head there.
How to Get There
While there are multiple ways to get to the Tijuana airport from California, the easiest and safest way is to use the Cross Border Xpress (CBX). This is a hassle-free way to get over the border and how this works will be explained later on.
To get to CBX, head south on the I-5 or the I-15 to the 905 East. From there, look for the Britannia Boulevard exit. It will be clearly marked with signs for CBX. Depending on traffic, this will be about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles or a 30-minute drive from Downtown San Diego.
Another option is to cross the border into Tijuana at one of the other border crossings and catch a taxi or Uber to the airport from there. However, this may take longer and leaves you with finding another place to park your car.
Where to Park
CBX has plenty of parking to leave your car. You can opt to pay a premium and pre-book your spot, or can get a spot on arrival. The cheapest street parking spots cost $15/day, but street parking is hard to find. Plan on spending $19/day for the cheapest lot or $27/day if you pre-book your parking.
Use this map to get a sense of the parking. It is also important to note that the parking is basically in dirt lots, but each lot is fenced off and has security. Once you park your car, it is a short walk to the CBX building.
Using the Cross Border Xpress
Crossing the border using the Cross Border Xpress was SO easy (think like coming back and using Global Entry easy).
When you first get into the building, you will notice that there are desks for many of the major Mexican airlines. This is a good place to weigh your baggage and check the size. That way if there are any problems, you can take care of them before crossing the border.
For some of the airlines, you can also check in things at these counters or get your boarding passes. Our airline counter was not open, so we just checked our baggage size before proceeding to the next spot.
Next up, you will need to fill out a customs form to enter Mexico if you are an American. This is done on a set of computers and there is someone there to help you if you require assistance.
After that, you will then enter the Cross Border Xpress gates. You can opt to buy your tickets ahead of time online or you can buy them right there. I bought mine online, so it was very easy to just scan the barcode and proceed to the bridge.
Once through the gates, it will take maybe 5 minutes to walk over the bridge into Mexico. This is all indoors and clearly marked! Make sure to watch for the plaque that marks the US/Mexico border.
At the end of the bridge, you will then go through immigration for Mexico. Here they will check your passport and give you a card to hold onto. Then, you can proceed to the regular airline check-in gates and to airport security.
Upon return, you will do the opposite from the Tijuana side.
Note that if you plan on staying more than 7 days in Mexico, you must pay a tourist tax at border control going into Mexico. There are two lines that are clearly marked: One is for staying under that time and one is for staying more than 7 days.
Cost of Using the Tijuana Airport versus LAX
Overall, I felt it was super easy using the Tijuana Airport to fly to Mexico from California. The drive for us was a little bit longer than driving to LAX, but for tickets over half the price, it was worth it! However, it is important to factor in all costs before making sure it is worth the extra drive.
Here is a comparison of what it would have cost to fly from LAX versus using the Tijuana Airport to fly to Mexico. These prices are per person. Parking is split between two people for a three day trip. Make sure to use your travel credit card to get points!
| LAX | TIJ | |
| Cross Border Xpress | $0 | $38-$50 |
| Parking Fees | $35/day (at airport): $105 total | $15/day (at CBX): $45 total |
| Airline Ticket | $350 | $86 |
| Total | $403/person | $147/person |
**Note you could use off-site parking at LAX starting at $13/day, bringing the total down to $370/person.
In this instance, it is about half the cost to fly out of Tijuana as opposed to LAX. Think of it as a buy-one-get-one-free deal! If you have a larger group, the costs of parking can come down further. There are also family packs for the Cross Border Xpress which lowers the price of those as well.
Final Thoughts on Using the Tijuana Airport to Fly to Mexico from Califonia
Like all travel deals, there are pros and cons to using the Tijuana airport to fly to Mexico from California. While the flights may be cheaper, you do need to factor in extra costs into your total. The drive may be slightly longer than getting to LAX depending on where you live. Nevertheless, a weekend trip to Mexico is a fun getaway any time of the year.
