El Paso to Juarez: Walkable? Safe? Recommendations?

Hello,

I will be in El Paso within the coming weeks and am planning on crossing the border for at least part of the day to check out Juarez. I have read many conflicting things regarding safety in the city currently, but I am getting the general impression that most of the violence was occurring during the peak period around 2010 that has since abated significantly.

My main questions, with the above in mind, are the following:

-As a single white male traveler with extremely basic Spanish knowledge, is it safe for me to cross the border and spend several hours in Juarez strictly during day time hours? I would plan on sticking "on path" to main streets and "tourist" areas. (Please note that I am an experienced traveler and, at the age of 25, have been to 30+ countries, a quarter of which I've done solo.)

-Assuming everything is fine from a safety perspective, how walk-able is Juarez? Is it realistic to cross the border from El Paso on foot and expect to get into the center of town and back in a relatively normal period of time? And would that path be safe? If not realistic/safe, what is the taxi situation like - would it be okay for me to ride around in them?

-In terms of sticking to safe areas but also check out the top highlights, can anyone recommend the top things to see in the area that wouldn't be risky in any way to check out?

-(Random extra question): Has anyone been to Juarez over Christmas? Would this be a good or bad time to go?

Any help would be much appreciated. The goal would be to cross the border earlier in the day and, at latest, cross back over before sunset. I have global entry, which helps expedite the crossing. I am also hoping crossing by foot expedites the process as opposed to being in a car.

Thanks!

The Plaza de Armas is about one km south of the Santa Fe Bridge.

I´m surprised no other travelers have bothered to add their comments. I´ve just finished reading ¨To Die in Mexico¨ by John Gibler, which discusses the violence of the war on drugs in such places as Monterrey and Cd Juarez. I agree that the safety has probably improved since 2010, but it´s still worth taking the precautions you mention. I like the idea of walking over and returning in daylight. That way you can assess your surroundings as you go, and talk to locals, pedestrians and shopkeepers, and ask them about the local security situation. But I expect that a significant number of locals have also moved to El Paso, or at least visit on a daily basis, and they would be a good source of info too.

Have you been there before, mclarjh? Plaza de Armas is where I would probably go, if not the only place.

I'm just trying to get a general sense of the safety. I would ideally like to go with someone, but will most likely end up having to go on my own. I have been to a few places before that other people would consider "unsafe" (i.e. some places in the Middle East), but this seems a little different.

As a smaller "white boy" with VERY little Spanish knowledge, despite my travel experience, I want to get some level of comfort that simply walking over, even if just for lunch, will not be a dangerous or risky maneuver.

Also, it looks like I will either need to go on Christmas day or the day after. If anyone could recommend one day over the other, please let me know, as I am not sure what border traffic would be like or if it will be a ghost town on Christmas Day (for better or worse).

I would just go and see what happens. Maybe ask one of the border guards if they have any tips. If you cross over and there are people walking the streets and milling around, food stands with hungry customers standing around, normal looking stuff happening, continue on. If everyone is behind locked doors peering out their windows, maybe turn around... ;)

I used to walk across the border into Nuevo Laredo from time to time, I always enjoyed those visits.

I have never been to Cd Juarez, but have talked to a resident, and other visitors, and of course read Roberto Bolano´s ¨2666.¨ I find many businesses open late (midday) on 25 Dec, after a late dinner and drinking on the 24, so perhaps the 26 Dec is better.

I have also visited some places that others consider insecure, for example: Tepito, Doctores, and la Joya, in Mexico City. I preview the neighbourhoods first on Google Maps streetview, then walk block by block, checking my progress as I go with the locals, and am prepared to turn around whenever I get the sense that the risk is too high.

whenever I get the sense that the risk is too high.

Wait... huh? Just the other day I thought you were dead set against the idea that "feeling" safe had any bearing on actual safety?

All those places (Doctores, Tepito, etc.) are fine to visit during the day, but the idea that you can wander into an actual dangerous neighborhood and just "turn around" when a perilous situation arises is... endearingly optimistic.

And if you find a stray mutt snapping at your heels, kick it.

What is it with you and all these dog attacks? Maybe they've seen your canine comments on TT...

Really, dogs are some of my best friends. As I was finishing dinner in San Miguel Amatlan last Sunday I saved the bone from my meal and threw it to a dog I remembered passing on my way to the comedor. The dog seemed pleased.

Which reminds me of another safety tip. Try to befriend all the dogs you pass, you can never have too many best friends.

Try to befriend all the dogs you pass, you can never have too many best friends.

This is pretty much my internet strategy in a nutshell.

To go from the sublime to the ridiculous, let me add another (couple) off topic dog anecdotes. I´ve never kicked a dog, in Mexico or elsewhere, but I have punched a few.

Last winter at the roadblock near SanMateo Rio Hondo, I passed some time playing with a local dog. But it got a little too boisterous, and I decided I´d make better use of my time walking to San Jose del Pacifico. BUt the dog just wouldn´t quit. A loud ¨NO¨ had no effect; a smart tap on the nose with my forefinger was just as ineffective; then a soft punch to the shoulder; then a stronger one. Finally it left me alone.

This winter I found another best friend in front of the Marques del Valle. Some tourists were even taking photos of us together. ¨That dog just loves you,¨ they said. (Why didn´t I think of asking for a donation for our show?) But when I had enough of the puppy love I faced the same problem. How to break up? Same routine, ending with a couple of punches to the shoulder. and one stray dog looking for another best friend.

one stray dog looking for another best friend
Which was which?

I knew it would just be a matter of time before another ¨Coco¨ lover mentioned that famous mutt in the Disney Pixar film.

To update anyone who is interested, I crossed over into Juarez and survived.

I went over the Santa Fe bridge by foot around noon and stayed in Juarez for about 4 hours. Crossing over was instantaneous and you only had to pay 50 cents - that's it, and no one checked you for anything (I actually couldn't believe this).

The area immediately after crossing is very safe and if you stay completely straight for some time you'll eventually hit Plaza Armas (the street leading to it from the bridge has a lot of foot traffic and seems like the main bustling street with many shops, street performers, and "tourist" attractions, such as the famous Kentucky Bar). I made a detour at one point and got my passport stamped at one of the immigration offices (this is optional and you have to seek it out yourself, as it is not standard procedure for them to stamp you upon entry due to the amount of people crossing 24/7).

I was solo for about the first 3 hours and did nothing but walk around and head into a few shops and the Kentucky Bar. For the last hour I actually met up with a native from Tinder (yes, Tinder) and she showed me a really good taco place. I used Uber (yes, thy also have Uber there) to get to the restaurant, and it was completely safe (I made sure the driver had a good rating). We took an uber together after to the big red X on the other side of the city, took some pictures, and then I took one last Uber to the Bridge of the Americas and crossed back into the US on that side (as a note, coming back in, at least on this bridge, took much longer than coming in and they were asking me a bunch of questions, even though I had Global Entry).

Hope this helps. Can't say I'd cross again because quite frankly I feel like I saw everything I had to see there, but if I had to for whatever reason I wouldn't really be too afraid to. The people I encountered and talked to were very friendly. Locals took pictures of me when I asked and we would strike conversation and sometimes even joke about the violence there - they said it still exists but to just not go looking for it in bad areas.

Thanks for that report. Glad everthing worked out and you enjoyed yourself.

A first-time visit of a few hours in just one area, or several in the city ... any city, isn't enough to assure anyone that those areas or the city itself is safe. But thanks for the summary. There were a (under) reported 772 homicides in Ciudad Juarez in 2017 ... a city the size of about 1.51 million persons. that was more than a 1/3 increase over 2016. By comparison, there were a reported 600 homicides in Chicago in 2017 ...a city the size of about 2.7 million persons. That was a decline from the previous year. As we know, there are a myriad of other crimes potentially impacting visitors and residents. And, yes, crime rates aren't the only consideration travelers mull-over when trip planning. Thanks, again, for the summary.

LW

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