Border Intelligence Center
Official CBP Wait Times • Updated Automatically Throughout the Day
- San Ysidro 80 min SENTRI 10 min Heavy delay
- Otay Mesa 70 min Current wait Heavy delay
- Tecate Unavailable Current wait Not reported
- Pedestrian 10 min at San Ysidro Moving well
- USD / MXN 17.0260 +0.04%
- Best crossing Otay Mesa 70 min
- Updated 9:19 am Official CBP feed
Detailed Border Wait Times (CBP)
| Port of Entry | General | Sentri | Pedestrian |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Ysidro | 80 min | 10 min | 10 min |
| Otay Mesa | 70 min | — | No delay |
| Tecate | — | — | — |
Estimated Total Travel Time
- From
- Colonia Alemán, Tijuana
- Drive
- 7 minutes
- Border wait
- 80 min
- Total estimate
- 87 min
Drive time is an estimate; the border wait is live and changes through the day. Check again before you travel.
Mexico Customs Official government resource
Returning to Mexico with purchases? Check Mexico's current traveller allowance (franquicia), declaration requirements and customs guidance before you cross.
U.S. Border Wait Times Official government resource
Check live northbound passenger vehicle and pedestrian wait times at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa before you leave Tijuana.
Trusted Traveler Programs Official government resource
SENTRI and Global Entry members use dedicated lanes at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa. Apply or renew through the official DHS portal.
Electronic I-94 Official government resource
Travellers entering the United States can obtain or review their electronic I-94 arrival record before crossing.
Vehicle Permits Official government resource
Driving beyond the Baja California free zone requires a temporary vehicle import permit, issued by Banjercito.
Medical FastLane Official government resource
Patients attending medical appointments across the border may use the Cruce Agil / Medical FastLane northbound lane.
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Colonia Alemán Quick Facts
- Drive to San Ysidro 7 minutes
- Major Shopping Calimax
- Hospitals Hospital Guadalajara
- Parks & Recreation Parque Teniente Guerrero
Welcome to Colonia Alemán, Tijuana
- Distance
- 4.7 miles
- Typical drive
- 7 minutes
- Closest crossing
- San Ysidro
San Ysidro P.O. Box N Ship gives Colonia Alemán a real U.S. street address for the parcels American retailers will not send across the border — with notification on arrival and holding until you collect.
Map
About Colonia Alemán, Tijuana
Colonia Alemán occupies the hills west of the centre, where Calle Benito Juárez meets the Autopista Tijuana–Ensenada. It is a teaching colonia in a literal sense: the Universidad Estatal de Estudios Pedagógicos, the Preparatoria Municipal Manuel Gómez Morín, a COBACH extension and the Instituto Panamericano all operate within it.
Sixty-three hectares of self-built and developer housing stepped along the contours, bounded by Colonia Zona Norte below and the Panteón Jardín cemeteries above. The Avenida Internacional and the Viaducto Tijuana run past its northern edge, which gives the colonia much faster road access than its hillside street pattern suggests.
Teaching households and students dominate the ordering here — books, laptops, tablets and course materials, most of it from U.S. sellers whose Mexican shipping is either refused or priced as international freight.
Colonia Alemán covers 63 hectares in the Centro delegación, bordered by Castillo, Linda Vista, Lomas Misión and Panteon Jardín. Calle Benito Juárez and Autopista Tijuana-Ensenada carry the colonia, and the routed drive to the store is 4.7 miles — about 7 minutes of driving, with the border wait separate and reported live on this site.
- Universidad Estatal de Estudios Pedagógicos
- Preparatoria Municipal Manuel Gómez Morín
- Direct access to the Tijuana–Ensenada highway
- Above Colonia Zona Norte
- Casa de la Cultura within 1.4 km
- 4.7 routed miles to the store
Neighbourhood insights
What makes Colonia Alemán, Tijuana distinctive?
Alemán concentrates teacher training and municipal preparatoria education in one hillside colonia, which gives it a steady academic ordering pattern rather than a seasonal retail one.
Why do people here use a U.S. mailbox?
Textbooks, software and equipment ordered to a San Ysidro address arrive at domestic prices and domestic delivery times, and the store holds them until the next crossing.
Who uses the service most from this area?
Teaching staff and student households, plus families ordering the consumer goods that are scarce or heavily marked up on this side.
Nearby landmarks
Alemán's landmarks are educational: a state teacher-training university, a municipal preparatoria and two long-established private institutes, on a hillside above the highway.
Shopping
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Calimax
Everyday and bulk shopping for Colonia Alemán, about 1.7 km outside the colonia.
Bulk shopping happens here; range and price comparisons happen at a U.S. address.
Government Services
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Distrito Zona Centro
Public administration for the surrounding colonias, about 1.9 km outside the colonia.
Administrative errands and a border collection are commonly combined into one trip.
Healthcare
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Hospital Guadalajara
Medical provision serving Colonia Alemán, about 1.9 km outside the colonia.
Practices order instruments and consumables from U.S. distributors who ship domestically only.
Education
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Col. de Bachilleres de Baja Calif. Extension Mtro. Ruben Vizcaino V
Teaching provision for the colonia, inside the colonia.
School and course equipment is ordered to a U.S. address and collected at the border.
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Preparatoria Municipal Manuel Gomez MoriN
One of the colonia's school campuses, inside the colonia.
Course materials and devices are cheapest from U.S. sellers, and those sellers need a U.S. address.
Parks & Recreation
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Parque Teniente Guerrero
Green and sporting space for Colonia Alemán, about 2.0 km outside the colonia.
Equipment for the teams and families who use it arrives at a U.S. address.
Transportation
-
San Ysidro Port of Entry
The crossing most collections from Colonia Alemán use; the store is on the San Ysidro side.
Routed drive only — border wait is separate, and the Border Intelligence Center reports it live.
Border crossing
The nearest crossing for Colonia Alemán, Tijuana is San Ysidro. Wait times vary considerably by hour and by day, and both pedestrian and vehicle lanes are worth checking before you travel — the pedestrian lane is often much faster when you are collecting a parcel rather than moving goods by car.
Bring the documents the crossing requires of you. A mailbox adds no further requirement of its own: collecting mail is an ordinary errand on the U.S. side.
Driving directions
Toward the San Ysidro crossing, then a short distance to the store.
- Parking
- Free parking directly outside the store. Alemán is hillside and street parking follows the contours — easier at the top of the colonia than at the bottom.
- Public transport
- Calle Benito Juárez runs through the colonia, and the Autopista Tijuana–Ensenada and Avenida Internacional give it fast access west and north.
Travel times
- Distance
- about 4.7 miles
- Estimated driving time
- 7 minutes
- Plus border wait
- Varies at San Ysidro, often by hours. Check current wait times before travelling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I receive textbooks and course materials?
Yes, and it is one of the most common uses here. U.S. academic sellers ship to a U.S. address without the international surcharge.
How long will you hold a parcel?
Long enough to suit a teaching schedule — ask the store for the current holding period when you set the box up.
Can I receive Amazon packages?
Yes. A San Ysidro street address is treated as an ordinary U.S. delivery address, including by Amazon.
Will I be told when a parcel arrives?
Yes — you are notified, so the crossing happens when there is something to collect.
Can more than one person collect?
Yes, once each person is named on the mailbox agreement.
Why customers from Colonia Alemán, Tijuana choose us
-
A real U.S. mailing address
A street address rather than a PO Box number, so retailers and carriers that refuse PO Boxes will still deliver.
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Secure package receiving
Parcels are signed for, logged and held securely until you collect them.
-
Border convenience
Positioned for the San Ysidro crossing, so collecting a parcel is an errand rather than an expedition.
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Mail forwarding
Have mail and parcels sent onward when collecting in person is not practical.
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Digital mailbox
See what has arrived without making the trip, and decide what to do with it.
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Bilingual support
Staff who work in English and Spanish, every day, for customers on both sides of the border.
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Business services
Notary, printing and a registered address businesses can use for supplier deliveries.
Why customers trust us
- Secure & Reliable Locked mailboxes and monitored premises
- Bilingual Team English and Spanish, every day
- Every Major Carrier UPS, FedEx, USPS and DHL accepted
We Also Serve
Other places we serve in Baja California
Get a U.S. address for Colonia Alemán, Tijuana
San Ysidro P.O. Box N Ship gives you a real street address minutes from the border, with package receiving from every major carrier and bilingual support.