odd question...

[littlegearl]

bit of an odd question, but thought here would be as good a place to ask it, so:

"can you take hire cars from the US into Mexico?"

the reason i ask is i'm looking to fly into San Diego in November with a mate and stay with his friends, we then aim to hot foot it south of the border for a few days to watch the Baja 1000, so want to know if we have to re-hire a car or how would we get across with no vehicle?

as secondary questions, if anyone here has been to the baja and can let me know what to expect over and above what i've seen on TV and read about then please post your advice here!

also, if anyone knows whether this year is a "route" or "loop", or any more info that the SCORE website is offering up as of today then again, any help would be appreciated!

cheers.

[Captain Cadillac]

Ask the resntal car company, most allow you to take it into Canada, most are restrictive with regards to Mexico, those that allow it generally require advance notice to arrange specific insurance cover.

[Roo]

All the hire cars I've had in California it's always stated that they can't taken to Mexico.

[TheMighty]

The other problem you might have is getting back into the US if you're travelling on a UK passport. Even with the new updated visa waiver program if you leave the US and try to get back in having used the visa waiver for your initial entry, the likelyhood is that you'll be refused re-entry from Mexico. Even if they then route you through the US to deport you home, you'll have to explain to the US embassy next time you want to get in. Best check it out and get a visitors visa (B2) if its required.

[K50 DEL]

TheMighty said:

The other problem you might have is getting back into the US if you're travelling on a UK passport. Even with the new updated visa waiver program if you leave the US and try to get back in having used the visa waiver for your initial entry, the likelyhood is that you'll be refused re-entry from Mexico. Even if they then route you through the US to deport you home, you'll have to explain to the US embassy next time you want to get in. Best check it out and get a visitors visa (B2) if its required.

Not my experience at all, I've done exactly this twice in the last year - once leaving the USA travelling into Canada and once leaving the USA travelling into Mexico.
Both times I had no issues at all re-crossing the border back into the US - the border patrol people simply asked where my next stop in the US was and that was it, no further waiver required and no additional stamp in the passport.

Regarding cars into Mexico, Budget will do it if you inform them in advance and pay extra for Mexican insurance.
Other than that, there's several daily bus services from San Diego to Tijuana including Greyhound and Mexicoach.
You can also catch the San Diego trolley to the border and walk across, there's a small bus station just inside Mexico where you can connect to wherever you want to go.
Plenty more info here

http://www.baja-web.com/schedule.htm

Be prepared for a lengthy wait getting back into the US - the queues can be bad, especially if you cross at San Ysidro.