We’ve moved!
For the lastest on Juarez Walking Tours, visit our website, JuarezWalkingTour.com.
The Mexican comic actor Tin Tan popularized the Pachuco. A long time resident of the city, Tin Tan is lionized in Juarez.
Juarez Walking Tour
The Mexican comic actor Tin Tan popularized the Pachuco. A long time resident of the city, Tin Tan is lionized in Juarez.
I loved the walking tour. I learned so much about a very interesting city. The tour was very safe and fun. I would recommend this to anyone interested in exploring Cd. Juarez!!
I believe the restaurant is named “Martino” and not “Martino’s”. A pet peeve of mine. Correct me if I’m wrong. xoxoxox
Hi Rich!! I just wanted to let you know that we had a great visit to Juarez with you. We also had breakfast at the place in El Paso you recommended and it was very good. Cheers!
Great writing and info!
Great info!
You can’t go wrong taking Rich’s Juarez Walking Tour:
Just returned from 4.5 hour walking tour of Juarez and it was totally safe and enjoyable. Like most, I was aware on Juarez’s recent history of drug violence and reputation as the “murder capital” of the world. Even though Juarez has moved pasted this period, the fear of going there still lingers. This is unfortunate since my experience today was totally the opposite. The current exchange rate is $1.00 = $16.7 pesos. Following is my experience in researching Juarez and selecting Rich’s Walking Tour.
1. It is a very easy to walk across the bridge from El Paso to Juarez in less than 5 minutes, paying 50 cents going and 35 cents coming back to Mexican authorities. Going over there was no stopping for Mexican customs or immigration. Parking on the US side was $4 per day. If you want to visit independently, you can pick up a Juarez “Historical Walking Tour” brochure at the El Paso visit information at 400 W. San Antonio Ave. There is also a Juarez Information Office In the lobby of the Camino Real hotel, but it was closed when we went there and phone calls were not answered. Their number is 915-343-4744. There is also a “Juarez is Open” campaign run by the Juarez government, but couldn’t find any useful info from this program.
2. If you goggle “Juarez tours” you will find a lot of dated info on shuttle buses, trolleys, and open air buses between El Paso and Juarez or operating in Juarez. But, all of these are no longer running due to lack of demand. The one bus that is running between El Paso and Juarez is a local bus that is not advertised except by word of mouth. I found out about it after exhausting all other alternatives above. It is a yellow “Transborde” bus running from downtown El Pado to Juarez every 30 minutes from 7 am until 7 pm. A good place to catch this bus is directly behind the El Paso Visitor Center, listed above. It costs $2.00 each way. Once you arrive in Juarez, you are on your own and you should be aware of significant bus delays when returning to the US. This was my original plan until I found Rich’s tour.
3. Since this was our first visit to Juarez, I wanted a guided tour that gave us an overview of the city and made the best use of our limited time in Juarez. This is when I came across “Juarez Walking Tour (El Chuqueno/elchuqueno.com). It is also listed on Facebook under Juarez Walking Tour. After talking to “Rich”, I decided to take his two hour tour for $20.00/per. This is one of the best decisions I could have made. He is an El Paso native with an extensive knowledge of Juarez, travels to Juarez often even when not conducting tours, and tailors each tour to match your interests. You can contact him at 915-820-1628.
4. We arranged to meet at the Paso Del Norte border crossing at the very end of Sante Fe St. where parking is $4.00/day. It took us about 10 minutes to cross into Mexico only because Rich used this walk to explain some of the history between El Paso and Juarez. Although we had schedules a two hour tour, we ended up spending about 4.5 hours from parking lot back to parking lot. We covered the usual historical and commercial sites including Juarez history, Martinio Restaurant, Kentucky Club, Baptist Temple, Casa Sauer Building, History Museum, Site of Benito Juarez Office, Old City Hall, Mission de Guadalupe, Catholic Cathedral, Mercado, and open air market. The highlight of our visit was coffee and dessert at Cafeteria La Nueva Central and lunch and Margaritas at the Club Kentucky. Before we knew it, our two hour tour had turned into a leisurely walk through Juarez with a very knowledgable and patient companion/tour guide.
We have walked in more urban areas around the world than I can count and very few rival the time we spent with Rich touring Juarez. Not one second did we feel at risk. On the contrary, everyone we encountered was very friendly and helpful.
From my perspective and personal experience, the central downtown of Juarez safe and again, “OPEN FOR BUSSINESS”.
Sent from my IPad
Thank you, Harold. I had fun, too.
Our family recently visited El Paso and did Rich’s tour of Juarez. I would highly recommend this experience. It was fun, safe and very educational. We did a little shopping and stopped by the Kentucky club for a margarita on the way back. Even my 7 year old had fun. I hope to do this again one day. Thanks Rich
Why do we insist on calling it the Santa Fe Street bridge when in reality it connects Juarez Ave to S. El Paso Street?
Because prior to the opening of the new bridge in 1967 (remember?), the bridge used to be on Santa Fe Street. Take a look how Santa Fe lines up with the toll booths on the Juarez side.
I know it’s an anachronism, but I like it because it’s retro.
Best tour we have done. Rich’s enthusiam and knowledge made the tour fun as well as informative. WARNING must like Tequila????
I try to tailor the tours to the interests of the participants. So you don’t have to like tequila. But if you do, it doesn’t hurt.
If you’ve found Rich’s website, then you’ve done your research on planning an outing to Juarez. So don’t let misinformation from the State Department website or outdated TripAdvisor posts keep you from enjoying the sights and sounds of a vibrant border town.
The safest way to navigate any urban environment is with someone who knows the area. With Rich’s tour of Juarez you get a personable guide who is fluent in conversational Spanish, knowledgeable about the geography, history, and customs of the city, known to many shopkeepers (and bartenders), has a great sense of humor, and can quickly convert pesos to dollars.
Rich was easy to work with to schedule our tour. We had a mountain biking outing with Don from GeoBetty in the AM and Rich pushed back our starting time to give us plenty of time to return, shower up, and get ready to hit the town.
We met Rich at the Hotel Indigo downtown, and had the benefit of an architectural and cultural tour of El Paso while walking to the border. We then spent several hours enjoying the vibe in Juarez. At no time did we feel unsafe. We had a great time, and you will too!
Thanks, Rich, for a great start to our vacation. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip!
Duncan, that “highlight of the trip” was my objective.
I had a good time with y’all. When you come back, I’ll show you the places I didn’t show you the first time. I’ll line up that mariachi tailor for Zander, too.
All the best to you and your family.
Rich
We had a great tour with Rich. The tour was interesting. The city of Juarez is a diminished place, businesses are gone. The few that are flourishing are bureau d’exchanges. The bars thst we visited were the lasting few. My favourite was El Recreo,a mystery on the outside and a beautiful bar in the inside and we had the pleasure of meeting the owner. The two other bars we visited were the Olímpico and The Kentucky, these were more modern in decor. But they still had some character about them. We had a great day. Rich is amazing at recalling facts about the history of Juarez and we felt safe the whole time.
We took a mid day tour with Rich. Enjoyed the sights and sounds, smells and feels of Juárez. My senses were treated to a rare awakening.
Take the tour. Leave alive.
Rich knows and loves Juarez and it shows. Take the tour, eat, drink, learn about the history of Juarez/Mexico, and experience a city full of life and people who are warm and inviting. I don’t want to spoil any details but Rich definitely gives a special tour that would be an absolute mistake to skip if you’re in El Paso.
On May 28, 2022, Rich took us on a 2-person tour of Ciudad Juárez. He met us promptly at the end of S Santa Fe St., El Paso, and walked us over the Paso del Norte International Bridge, telling us about the shifting history of the Rio Grande river border. We then walked along Avenida Benito Juárez to the Sala de Arte Germán Valdés Tin Tan, a museum of the Mexican actor, singer and comedian, and over to the the Plaza de Toros Alberto Balderas or bullring. Rich picked up lunch at Burritos El Compa on Calle 16 de Septiembre, and then we mingled through an open-air market on Ramón Ortiz, in the Plaza de Armas, around the Cathedral of Ciudad Juarez, and went inside the Misión de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe de los Indios Mansos del Paso del Norte (Guadalupe Mission) where a Quinceanera mass was being held. We finished our tour with margaritas at the Kentucky Club. At a base fee of $25 per person plus gratuity (we tipped an additional $25 each for a total of $50/person) Rich’s easy-going walking tour is a supreme value for a private, personally guided tour of Ciudad Juárez with a local expert who knows the off-the-beaten-path spots in this vibrant city. If you’re looking to be chaperoned from the American side of the border to Ciudad Juárez, Rich is your hombre.
Safe and informative tour, highly recommended.