San Ysidro’s car lines hit three and a half hours on Saturday afternoon; Otay Mesa ran close to two

Saturday was a slow day to drive north. At 4 p.m. on Nov. 7, San Ysidro’s general vehicle lanes showed a 210-minute wait and Ready Lane 150 minutes, according to Tijuana en Línea’s wait-time roundup; SENTRI was at 30. At 6 p.m., in a report it attributed to CBP’s figures, the general lanes were still at 185 minutes and Ready Lane at 120. Neither report gave a cause.

Otay Mesa was no shortcut: 115 minutes in both the general lanes and Ready Lane at both checks, with SENTRI at 30. Walking was faster. San Ysidro’s pedestrian line showed 45 minutes at 4 p.m. and 60 at 6 p.m., and PedWest showed 60 minutes in its general line at both checks, with its Ready Lane at 10 minutes in the later report. Otay Mesa’s pedestrian line showed 20 and then 15 minutes.

By early Sunday the lines had eased. At 6 a.m. on Nov. 8, San Ysidro’s general lanes showed 30 minutes and Otay Mesa’s 75, with SENTRI at 10 and 5 minutes, Tijuana en Línea reported.

Saturday’s waits were longer than Wednesday’s, when San Ysidro’s general lanes showed 130 minutes at both of Tijuana en Línea’s checks, and Tijuana’s tourism chamber has said it expects more visitors from Southern California this month (our story).

What it means if you’re crossing back

• Busy days are coming: El Buen Fin runs Friday, Nov. 13, to Tuesday, Nov. 17, around Monday’s Revolution Day holiday in Mexico (our story), and Thanksgiving weekend follows on Nov. 26–29 (our planner).
• Check CBP’s Border Wait Times site (bwt.cbp.gov) before you leave; the figures above are snapshots, and lines change by the hour.
• On Saturday, walking beat driving at both ports, so if you’re staying downtown, compare the pedestrian lines with the car lanes before you pick a crossing.
• Lanes, documents and timing tips are in our border-crossing guide.