El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico
Labor Day road trips are starting to become my thing, and I love it! Prior to the pandemic, it was more cost-effective and enticing for me to travel abroad than it was for me to visit any of the 50 states. Once we were locked down and couldn’t travel internationally, that gave me a reason to explore more of what the U.S. had to offer, and during Labor Day 2020 my friend and I went on a west coast road trip traveling from Seattle to San Diego over 2 weeks. You can catch up on that journey here.
This year’s Labor Day trip is through the Southwest. We’d been planning to take this trip since 2021, but of course life kept getting in the way. The trip started in El Paso, TX. Neither of us had been before so it seemed like a good neutral starting point.
We flew in to ELP airport, picked up a rental car, and started our journey. We went to La Fete Cafe for brunch to start the day. I had the catfish and grits, and Jessica had the French toast. Both meals were pretty good, I just found the portions to be a little small for the price as we were served on saucers, or side plates instead of entree plates. The staff was really hospitable. The restaurant is black-owned, and you can tell as soon as you enter because the walls are decorated with portraits of recently passed rappers, and Martin Lawrence portraits.
We checked in to our hotel, Aloft Downtown El Paso for the night. The staff was really nice, and the hotel was very nice. They do offer valet parking for $18.50 per night, but our valet let us know that downtown has free street parking from 6pm - 8am. So, we parked near a meter that evening for free. We walked around the downtown area to see the sites, and we got out of breath so fast! It was about 97° and it was so dry. It felt similar to Las Vegas, because we were both experiencing watery eyes and dry noses and throats. Because Aloft is near the arts district, we ventured out slightly and saw the arts district. There was a city map notating that the arts district is about a 5 minute walk around and on the exterior is the office district, which is a 10 minute walk around. We ventured to a few pawn shops and vintage stores. There weren’t any souvenirs for us to buy, and not many people out, so we called it a day. The staff, and pretty much everyone in the city said people come to El Paso on business, they’re in the Armed Forces, or to cross the border to Mexico. Later that night, we ended up going to Tap, a nearby dive bar for nachos and margaritas then played games in the hotel lobby before calling it a night.
The next day, we headed south of the border to Juarez, Mexico! We used the S. Stanton Street port of entry and paid $3.50 to cross in to Mexico. We crossed the border around 8am, and there was no delay or line. There are multiple points of entry for cars as well as pedestrians along the El Paso border. We didn’t have to show our passports to enter Mexico, but we did have to present our passports upon entry to the U.S.
Once we got in to Juarez Saturday morning, we found most things to be closed, or opening later in the afternoon including most vendors and restaurants.
Along the interstate in El Paso, I kept seeing what I thought was a red X monument or maybe part of an airplane that was on display. It turned out to be the Monument to the Mexican People in Juarez. It is located inside a fair that was closed Saturday morning.
We didn’t have much on our itinerary to see in Juarez. Once we got in to the city, it looked like an extension of Texas. There was basically every American chain you can think of from, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, IHOP, and chain hotels like Hilton, Choice, and Microtels.
It was early afternoon and we ended up getting 2 orders of pastor tacos and a Mexican coke for a whopping $13 USD from a taco stand, so clearly we didn’t go deep enough in the city. Once we ate, we ventured to the mall, but most shops were still closed at noon including the movie theatre.
Initially, our plan was to stay until 7pm to explore all that Juarez had to offer, but we called it around 1pm to make our way to New Mexico.
All in all, I would say El Paso and Juarez can both be seen in one day. I feel like we missed some things in both cities. If you live in or frequently visit El Paso or Juarez, what are some things you would recommend to visitors? Let me know in the comments below.
