MexicoMed.org

Are you interested in answering the question: how can I cross the USA Mexico border by foot? This is a great option for those staying in El Paso and looking to receive medical tourism in Juarez. It is quick, easy and usually much quicker than crossing over by car. Plus, taking an uber in Mexico is cheaper than using uber in the United States and gives you easy access to the whole city of Juarez. There are two main walking bridges into Juarez from El Paso. The main bridge is the Paso Del Norte Bridge, located at 1000 S El Paso St on the US side and Juarez Avenue on the Mexican side. To enter this bridge, you will need to pay 10 pesos or 50 cents to cross over to the Mexican side and a passport/ID is not needed. There will be guards on each side, and a cashier taking the fee before you enter the bridge, but usually no lines or waiting to enter Mexico. You will exit the bridge and come out on the main street, continuing to go South will lead you to the main cathedral in centro and other hot spots like Kentucky Bar, where the Margarita was invented!!(potentially***, there are other places with this claim)

Paseo del Norte Bridge

This bridge is the main option to go & return back to the United States from Juarez on foot. Returning back to the US is much different than entering Mexico and will usually have long lines and wait times depending on the time of day. There will be another fee that is required to be in exact change(save your coins!) 6 pesos or 40 cents. Once on the bridge there will be a checkpoint at the midway point, in which the guards will might ask to glance at your passport. After you reach the end of the bridge, you’ll enter the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port of Entry Border Crossing Station. There are free bathrooms available once you exit the bridge on the right before entering this building. If you have SENTRI, you can skip to the front of the main line. Customs agents may ask some questions about your reason for being in Mexico and ask if you have anything to declare. It may be possible to re-enter the US without a passport if you are a US Citizen.

Entrance to the Bridge from the US side.

Monument to the right(when facing south) before the entrance on the US side

The walkway on the bridge, there will be a slight incline on the first half of the walk. The walk should take around 8 minutes.

Your view of Juarez when exiting the bridge, if you continue down this street there will be many vendors, Kentucky Bar and another 10 minute walk to Calle 16 de Septiembre where you can see the Cathedral on the right.

Stanton-Lerdo Bridge

This is a bridge that also costs 50 cents or 10 pesos and is only available to cross from the El Paso side over to Juarez. It closes around 10 pm and opens around 9am. You cannot walk over back to the US using this bridge.  

Recap

There are two main bridges used for walking over to Juarez from downtown El Paso. Entering Mexico is quick and easy as there is no lines or passport check. Coming back to the US can sometimes be long and painful with a full customs and passport check. The border crossing customs station can be understaffed as well, leading to long wait times even during off hours. Check out these pages for what do you do once you’re in Juarez and how to set up a Simcard in Mexico.