Valle De Guadalupe is wine country of Mexico, with over 60 wineries and some great places to stay, it's a great weekend getaway for those in San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles. Fortunately living in Southern California, it's only a few hours drive. If you plan on taking a trip to Mexico, be sure to bring your PASSPORT!

Here is a map of all the wineries, hotels, and favorite restaurants:
https://goo.gl/maps/Au6YAtLsuSr3cXBBA

TRANSPORTATION: 
1. Own Vehicle
Driving your own vehicle you will need Mexican Insurance be sure to get full liability. Estimate daily cost is $40/per day. Get a quote from:
- https://www.bajabound.com/
- https://www.sanborns.com/
There are 3 toll stops on the way, so be sure to carry enough cash and coins with you. Its about 35 - 40 pesos per stop and be sure to keep your receipt as that is proof you paid and if you get in an accident on the road you will need to show your receipt. Also returning back to the U.S. without SENTRI access can be a long wait. Check for the border wait times here. 

2. Uber 
You can walk across the border into Mexico from Tijuana and from the app select valleX (4 passengers) or valleXL (6 passengers). Base fare for valleX is about 810 MXN Pesos and for every hour of wait time is 200 MXN Pesos. The base fare for valleXL is 1125 MXN Peso and for every hour of wait time is 300 MXN Pesos. You can split the fare between passengers which is a nice perk and a great option.

3. Rental Car 
Another way to get to Valle de Guadalupe is to rent a vehicle. You may have to check around for which rental car agencies will allow you to take the vehicle to Mexico and you will need to purchase additional Mexican auto insurance. Another way to rent a car is from a rental car agency at the Tijuana Airport. Here are some additional rental locations options:
- http://www.intlcarrentals.com
- http://www.sandiegocarrent.com
-http://www.sundiegocarrental.com

4. Take a Tour
I've used two san diego tour services in the past and this is another great option for a day trip without having to worry about renting a car or taking your own vehicle. Here are some options to check out for a tour. 
- https://www.bajawinerytours.com/
- https://www.winetoursbaja.com/
- https://www.sandiegowinerytours.com/mexicowinecountry-bajawinetours.html
- https://bajawineanddinetours.com/
-https://www.fivestartours.com/baja-three-day-wine-gourmet-food-tour--baja-wine-tour-overnight--vacation-wine-mexico.html
- https://ahabajawinetours.com/


VINEYARDS / WINERIES: 
While there are over 60 wineries to choose from, if you are taking a day trip you only have room to visit a handful and here are the ones I would recommend:
Lomita
Finca la Carrodilla
Las Nubes
Lechuza
Monte Xanic

RESTAURANTS:
La Cocina De Dona Esthela (Breakfast)
Finca Altozano
Deckmans en el Mogar 
Adobe Food Truck

HOTELS:
Campera (Glamping)
Encuentro Guadalupe
Contemplacion Boutique Hotel
El Cielo 

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3. This one is an easy one, but also very important. Don't forget your PASSPORT! You will not be able to cross without one. You will also need to go to the counter to request a Mexican Visa form also known as a tourist card. I highly suggest you bring your own pen, because the pens there are similar to the community DMV pens, they are cheap and most of them don't work.

4. Tourist Card/ Temporary Mexican Visa Form; a tourist card is required for all tourists from US and Canada. The form is easy to fill out and takes a few minutes. The following is needed to be filled out for the TOP and BOTTOM portion. You can download the PDF form here or go to the ticket counter to get one, they are free. www.inm.gob.mx/fmme/publico/en/solicitud.html

• Full name
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Passport number
• Purpose of trip
• How you are entering Mexico: air, sea, land

The Cross Border Xpress attendant will check for the following 4 items before allowing you to cross over:
- Cross Border Xpress Ticket 
- Airline Boarding Pass
- Passport
- Mexican Visa Tourist Form

What to expect when you get to Border Cross Xpress:Once you get to the location, there is a drop off/pick up area, much like the airport, they have security our front, and cars are not allowing to be waiting in that area, but there is usually tons of street parking just right outside the CBX location, if you have a friend going to pick you up. Also, the parking lot of $17 per day is literally right across the entrance way.

The lobby area is much like an airport check in counter, there are kiosks to print your boarding pass and several airline ticket counters if you needed to purchase an airline ticket there.

The CBX attendant will scan and check your ticket, boarding pass, tourism form, and passport then you will pass through US customs, you must put your bag through the X-ray scanning machine before going up the escalators to the enclosed pedestrian bridge. It's about a 5 minute walk.

Going down the escalators, you will approach Mexican Customs where you show your completed tourist card and passport. You must get in line to press a button that either turns the light red, which means you were selected for random bag search where you put your bag through the X-ray scanning machine again, or turns the light green which allows you to bypass this process and allows you into enter the Tijuana airport terminal.

Once entered in the terminal, you can check your bags at the ticket counter and proceed through security to your gate. I would suggest giving yourself plenty of time for this, I happened to wait in line over 30 minutes because there wasn't enough staff at the ticket counter to check everyone's bags, the line got very long.

One checked piece of luggage at Volaris used to be free, now starting March 1, 2017 there is an extra cost to and from Mexico and Puerto Rico. It's cheaper to add a checked bag under 55 lbs. during the time you book your flight vs buying it at the airport. ($15 vs $18).​