Crossing mid day on Friday before Memorial Day

I have not crossed on Friday before Memorial Day in forever. How do you think traffic will be around noon at the border? I cannot come Thursday so I just wanted to be prepared if I was going to have a long wait......

Yeah, good luck with that. The US side will hold you up bad. Go EARLY.

Like 8 o'clock early?

At least.

I asked the other day why they are asking for ID leaving the country. They said they've been catching a lot of sexual predators lately. The ID scanning takes a lot of time when there is a line of people waiting to cross.

2 years ago at 3pm Fri. of Memorial weekend there was over a mile back-up on the US side.
Not fun for those crossing, luckily I was heading back to the US.
But I have crossed when it took 1.5 hrs to get into Mexico, prior to the ID check at 6pm Fri. of Memorial weekend.

The last four ( except one time) times we came through there has been no one on the US side checking you going in. I guess a major holiday could change that. Once a person was honking their horn waiting for someone to ask do you have over $10k or guns.

Love the honking! Classic

Arizona2010 said:

Love the honking! Classic

It is tough to get quick service nowadays. (I hope, upon arrival of attendants, they didn't order a quarter pounder with fries.)

Ladyjeeper said:

Like 8 o'clock early?

Be careful crossing real early if you are bring stuff down. Every time I do it they stop me, even on a green light. I'm guessing you will be bringing medical equipment for Mark & Barb.

And a freezer. LOL!

Ladyjeeper said:

And a freezer. LOL!

Smuggler!!:):)

It's kind of difficult to smuggle a freezer.....LOL!

mis2810 said:

I asked the other day why they are asking for ID leaving the country. They said they've been catching a lot of sexual predators lately. The ID scanning takes a lot of time when there is a line of people waiting to cross.

FOR REAL????
So all the guys that Chris Hansen caught, now they are going to Mexico?

tequilatodd said:

FOR REAL????
So all the guys that Chris Hansen caught, now they are going to Mexico?

That's the answer they gave me - who knows if it's true, although I don't have any reason to doubt them. If that is the case, then fine - I have no problem giving my ID to them if they are catching sexual predators trying to leave the country to they don't hurt any more children in the US - OR - Mexico.

Asking about carrying more than $10,000 and guns IS a waste of time, IMHO.

Terry C said:

The last four ( except one time) times we came through there has been no one on the US side checking you going in. I guess a major holiday could change that. Once a person was honking their horn waiting for someone to ask do you have over $10k or guns.

No one was there last Friday at about 2:45PM when we came in. No traffic in the lane either. On Friday of Easter weekend, my son hit a 3 mile backup at around 1PM.

mondone said:

No one was there last Friday at about 2:45PM when we came in. No traffic in the lane either. On Friday of Easter weekend, my son hit a 3 mile backup at around 1PM.

was that going in or coming home?
The worst back up have ever been in was coming back. It started at the circle K just over the bridge in Sonoyta.
3 hrs at least. And to top it off, it had rained really hard in Az that weekend and the road we take that comes in the back side of Gila Bend was flooded. So we had to turn round and back to I8.

tequilatodd said:

was that going in or coming home?
The worst back up have ever been in was coming back. It started at the circle K just over the bridge in Sonoyta.
3 hrs at least. And to top it off, it had rained really hard in Az that weekend and the road we take that comes in the back side of Gila Bend was flooded. So we had to turn round and back to I8.

He's talking about going into Mexico. It's been getting REALLY backed up lately. It's only one lane. I'm sure people have been backed up all the way to Tillotson Visitors Center before.

mis2810 said:

He's talking about going into Mexico. It's been getting REALLY backed up lately. It's only one lane. I'm sure people have been backed up all the way to Tillotson Visitors Center before.

Ugh... :eek:
We will be driving down morning of June 5th. Hope to be at the boarder no later than 10am.
Are you going that weekend Melissa?

tequilatodd said:

Ugh... :eek:
We will be driving down morning of June 5th. Hope to be at the boarder no later than 10am.
Are you going that weekend Melissa?

I've got renters from this weekend until the 19th of June, so no, I won't be there. Good for $, bad for me spending time there.

Good to have it rented out.

The worst time I've seen coming back to the states was Memorial Day 2002- it was backed up about 4 miles before entering Sonoyta Hopefully we'll not see anything like that this year.

That must of been the time is was backed up out by the dump road outside of Sonoyta? They left the border open for an extra hour or so.

Terry C said:

That must of been the time is was backed up out by the dump road outside of Sonoyta? They left the border open for an extra hour or so.

I wonder how many people just turned around and went back to Penasco? I would have!

I remember when the shrimpers went on strike, we stayed an extra day and still had a 3 hour wait!

Ladyjeeper said:

I have not crossed on Friday before Memorial Day in forever. How do you think traffic will be around noon at the border? I cannot come Thursday so I just wanted to be prepared if I was going to have a long wait......

I'm in the same proverbial boat. Going to try to leave Tucson around 7am.

We're leaving Tucson on Thursday about 4:00- and yes, we're being brave and having delicious tacos at El Serape in Sonoyta.

Where is that place?

Across from the Circle K (just west), so instead of turning left at the T intersection, you turn right, and then directly left. Great Carne Asada tacos!

MIRAMAR said:

Across from the Circle K (just west), so instead of turning left at the T intersection, you turn right, and then directly left. Great Carne Asada tacos!

Thanks! I never pay any attention to what's in that direction. Sometimes we want lunch on the way home, sounds like a good place to stop for one last taste of Mexico before returning to the "other side".

mis2810 said:

Where is that place?

They're only open late aftern

mis2810 said:

Thanks! I never pay any attention to what's in that direction. Sometimes we want lunch on the way home, sounds like a good place to stop for one last taste of Mexico before returning to the "other side".

I don't know if things have changed since the last time we ate there but they don't serve lunch.

If you take the detour over the river, on the north side of the road you'll see Tacos Buenos. We have grabbed lunch there on the way home a few times and it's really excellent .

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Will those who go down on Friday throughout the day please post their wait times going into Mexico? It will be good information and will let people know if they need to take a snack if there is a long wait-especially if travelling with children.

1 hour wait with a 2 mile long line to enter Mexico Friday at 7 pm

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32 minute wait at 9 p m Friday night. Not sure why cuz didn't seem like much traffic before that or after. Not sure what the holdup was either. US border agents only asked how long we had waited., not the usual questions about guns or $. Mexico was letting most pass

Hit the end of the line Friday at 5. Close to 3 mile back up. Took 1.5 hrs to get into Mexico. US Border Patrol was not stopping anyone. Hold up seemed to be the gates entering Mexico. No traffic issues after that. Given the southbound volume looks like PP is back in the game!

That conflicts with other reports around the same time saying there was one lane open on the US side and they were stopping people as usual. You must have caught them on a break. They leave it unmanned at times while they walk over to the gas station for breaks. Saw it with my own eyes.

Friends said there was a long line at 7pm not only at the border but to get thru sonoyta. Took them almost 6 hrs from town of maricopa

We crossed at noon Sunday into Mexico, nobody checking on the USA side and about 15 cars in the lanes going north.
My wife got the red light, didn't say a word about the meat in her cooler. they were more interested in the puzzle she had.
Decent traffic going north to avoid the rush tomorrow.
I am here for a week.;)

We arrived at the border Saturday, 6:20AM and had 4 to 5 vehicles ahead of us which took about 20 minutes wait time. They were taking their time asking everyone for ID which she handed over to another guy in the booth. They were in no hurry to say the least. Based on traffic heading down at that time, I figured it was the making of a very busy weekend. In town, yes. In Encanto, no so much.

Glad I'm still here, hopefully for the week:

Lukeville -

Hours: 6 am-Midnight
Date: 5/26/2014
Commercial Vehicles
Maximum Lanes: 1
Standard Lanes: Lanes Closed
Fast Lanes: N/A
Passenger Vehicles
Maximum Lanes: 5
Standard Lanes: At 3:00 pm MST, 1 hrs 30 min, 5 lane(s) open
Readylane: N/A
Sentri Lanes: N/A
Pedestrian
Maximum Lanes: N/A
Standard Lanes: N/A
Readylane: N/A

1 hour 30 minutes. I think we're oficially back. Glad I don't travel on holiday weekends much and if I do I always stay an extra day.

They have a new website and I wonder if their reporting got any better....
At 6:00 pm MST
2 hrs delay
5 lanes open

2 hours, yikes. Those are all the people who thought they'd stay late to avoid the backup.

It just updated at 7:00 PM. 1.15 hours.
It will be interest to see if it is correct by comments on here.

Terry C said:

It just updated at 7:00 PM. 1.15 hours.
It will be interest to see if it is correct by comments on here.

So true. We question/don't trust our federal government unless we get confirmation from our friends. Then we believe. Sad.

Landshark said:

So true. We question/don't trust our federal government unless we get confirmation from our friends. Then we believe. Sad.

The moment we stop questioning the government we are all in serious trouble!!!!! We all forgot a long time ago that they work FOR us.

mis2810 said:

The moment we stop questioning the government we are all in serious trouble!!!!! We all forgot a long time ago that they work FOR us.

So have they Melissa.

Had to come back today, wife's Mom in last stage of life. Border at 8AM was 10 minutes, 2 lanes open.

Sorry to here that Mondone, we had to come back today also. Hit the border at 11:15 and was almost a hour wait. Our lane was about the slowest on planet earth. I kid you not, the guy was in the booth 5 minutes before he even stepped back out to send someone on their way. 4 lanes open. It was backed up to the big metal dinosaur on the right side of the road.

Terry C said:

Sorry to here that Mondone, we had to come back today also. Hit the border at 11:15 and was almost a hour wait. Our lane was about the slowest on planet earth. I kid you not, the guy was in the booth 5 minutes before he even stepped back out to send someone on their way. 4 lanes open. It was backed up to the big metal dinosaur on the right side of the road.

WTH????

hit the border at 4 and had an hour and fifty minute wait on Monday

US travelers shrug off fears, hit Mexican beaches --> http://azstarnet.com/news/local/column/tim-steller-us-travelers-shrug-off-fears-hit-mexican-beaches/article_7f001bd7-e799-5023-baa2-c60d4cd95dee.html

For future reference, there was about a half-hour wait to get into Mexico shortly before 1pm on the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend.