The enterance to the Mexican land-crossing building can be intimidating with its brutalist archiecture, high walls and razor wire but the staff are friendly and the process is quick. If you are staying 7 days or less there is no paperwork, if you are staying longer you have to fill out a form and pay the equivalent of approx $35 USD. After leaving the border agent’s desk you hang a right and all bags are x-rayed. Once you get retrieve your bag you leave the border-crossing building and you first view of Tijana.

You turn left and walk along the path until you get to one way turnstile that puts you on Av. Frontera. You turn right and walk approximately 10 minutes to the ABC Autobus Linea terminal.

Google Maps produces an absolutely bonkers walking map from the boarder crossing to the bus terminal but it shows the correct route if you choose to travel by bike.

You can see the cars lining up the border as you cross the bridge.

This is ABC from across the street, if you walk straight along Av. Frontera you will be on the same side of the street. If you have pre-booked your bus you just have to wait in the small bus terminal for to the driver to call “Ensenada”. You must have a physcial ticket to get on the bus, showing the bus driver a pdf on your phone will not work. Print out the ticket before you arrive, you can ask the staff to print a ticket for you but that’s extra hassle. You can also buy a ticket when you arrive, the staff do not have great English but they are friendly and helpful. If you book on the ABC Website you should specify your starting location as “Tijuana Linea” and the destination as “Ensenada Central”. The website can viewed in English by clicking on the American Flag (ENG) on the top right hand side of the website.

From outside ABC bus terminal, looking back from where you came. You will have walked past the taxis, across the road and up the hill and over the bridge. If you are heading back to the States you just follow this same route, taking a ramp at the other side of the bridge, this will drop you down to what is somedays the back of a very long line (1.5-2 hour wait). Best to have Global Entry if you are making land crossings.

The bus terminal has a waiting room if you get there early. There is a rest room in the terminal but it is coin operated and you will need 5 pesos in coins. You can see the turnstyle for the restroom just off the centerline of this photo.

The buses have ample legroom and if you have your own wired earbuds you can watch movies. You can also charge your phone, albeit slowly, from the seat via a usb cable.

On our last bus ride we took a different route through Tijuana I caught this photo of los policía hanging out on a street corner. I also missed a few good photos because of chimping on my phone.

You get to see the border fence as you exit Tijuana.

Seeing armed soliders in pickups is not an uncommon sight in Mexico, at least in Tijuana and Ensenada. It’s hard not to think of Sicario when you see them.

Just like north of the border Tijuana has spillways that are typically empty most of the year, it had been raining before we arrived and this spillway was a full on river.

There are lots of opportunities to capture shots of Tijuana as the bus winds through the outskirts of the city. Depending on the route the bus takes on the day but you can sometimes catch views back to Point Loma.

Unlike Calfornia not all the sea side propoerty is taken up with multi-million dollar homes.

The coast line looks very familiar to California residents, and if Mexico had not lost California to the United States 1848 most of the west coast would still be Mexican. Culture tip: It’s somwhat of a faux paux to tell a Mexican you are from America, the contentent is North America, Mexico is also American, if you are from the USA remember you are from los Estados Unidos (the United States).

Ensenda is surrounded by hills and maybe half the houses or more are on the hillside.

You arrive in Ensenada at Central de Autobuses ABC Ensenada (ABC Ensenada Bus Station). There is a stop at Calle Sexta (6th Street) before the terminal, it’s very close to the terminal on Av. Riveroll but it’s best to wait until you get to the terminal unless you intend walking from the terminal to where you are staying. From the central terminal you can call an Uber which will cost you less than 50% of an Uber in the US. Welcome to Ensenada.