Tijuana

Is Tijuana safe?

Not by the standards of most places travellers go. Tijuana had about 1,230 homicides in 2025, according to preliminary official figures reported by the newspaper Zeta, which is roughly 60 per 100,000 people. That was a big fall from 1,809 in 2024, and city police say 2026 is running about 30% lower again. Even so, it is one of the most violent big cities in the Americas.

The UK government advises against all but essential travel to Tijuana, apart from the airport, the Cross Border Xpress bridge and the toll roads to the border. Most of the killing is between drug gangs, far from the streets day-trippers use, but bystanders do get hurt. We score Tijuana 42.

Who gets hurt, and where

Tijuana's violence is driven by groups fighting over drug sales and trafficking routes into California. Zeta's year-end report links many 2025 killings to a dispute between rival local cells. Most victims are young men in the outer neighbourhoods, such as Camino Verde and Sánchez Taboada, not tourists on Avenida Revolución.

That does not make the tourist areas risk-free. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says criminals could target you, or you could get caught up in clashes between rival groups, and that armed criminals in Tijuana, Mexicali, Ensenada and Rosarito have attacked shops and bystanders in response to government action. Many businesses close at dusk because of the threat.

Robbery, police and scams

For a visitor, the realistic risks are robbery and extortion rather than murder. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says violent robberies are a particular issue in Tijuana, and warns of "express kidnappings", where victims are forced to empty their accounts at cash machines. Use ATMs inside shops or malls, by day.

Police shakedowns are a classic Tijuana story, especially for drivers with US plates. If an officer stops you for an alleged offence, do not hand over cash or your passport; ask for the written fine, which is paid later. Use ride apps or taxis ordered by your hotel or clinic rather than cars hailed in the street.

Where visitors go, and where to skip

• Avenida Revolución and Zona Centro: the classic day trip, busy and patrolled by day. Leave by evening.
• Zona Río: the business district along Paseo de los Héroes, with hotels, malls and most medical and dental clinics. The calmest part of the city.
• Playas de Tijuana: the seafront by the border fence. Pleasant by day, but the water is often polluted by sewage from the Tijuana River.
• Zona Norte: the red-light district between Zona Centro and the border. Avoid it, above all at night.

Do not drive to the interior from Tijuana. US government staff may not drive between Mexican border cities and the interior, with limited exceptions, nor travel between cities after dark. If you are heading south to Rosarito or Ensenada, use the toll road 1D in daylight, as the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advises.

Roads, air and quakes

Traffic is chaotic. City police counted 31 road deaths and more than 10,500 crashes in the first five months of 2025, and police counts usually leave out people who die later in hospital. Pedestrians are most at risk on the wide, fast boulevards, where crossings are few.

The air is poor near the border crossings. EPA monitors just north of the line averaged 14.1 µg/m³ of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary at San Ysidro and 13.6 at Otay Mesa over 2023 to 2025, nearly three times the WHO guideline, from traffic queuing to cross. Drink only bottled water. Private hospitals in Zona Río are well equipped and used to US patients; public hospitals are crowded.

The city sits in an active earthquake zone near the boundary of the Pacific and North American plates. Winter storms flood the canyons where many people live in informal housing, and Santa Ana winds bring fire risk in autumn.

How to stay safe in Tijuana

• Go by day and cross back before dark.
• Stay in Zona Río or on Avenida Revolución, and skip Zona Norte.
• Use ride apps or a clinic's own transport, not street taxis.
• If police stop you, ask for a written fine; never hand over your passport.
• Check your travel insurance: UK policies may not cover a trip against FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary advice.

For the rest of the country, read our Mexico page. Across the border, San Diego scores 77.

How we scored it

Violent crime (20) is the weakest factor by far: even after the 2025 fall, about 60 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary is well over the 25 per 100,000 line for our lowest band. Walking at night (38) reflects the UK's advice against all but essential travel and the city's dusk curfew habits. The strongest factors, natural hazards and health and environment (58 each), are only middling, held down by earthquake risk, poor air at the border and stretched public care.