Los Cabos has for decades been a leading destination for medical tourism, but of course in 2020 the question
becomes 1) Is it safe to travel to there?… and then and only then 2) what are the options for affordable, high-quality medical and dental care?
Travel Safety Update for Los Cabos
So let’s start with the first question. Since reopening on June 15th, Los Cabos has been one of the strictest tourist destinations in Mexico in terms of safety protocols in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. What does this mean? Even now six months after reopening, Los Cabos is still mandating lower capacity levels for resorts, restaurants, and other businesses than other popular Mexican vacation destinations, as well as insisting on stringent safety measures elsewhere. Even the most luxurious resorts require mask wearing in all public areas, and temperature checks are obligatory before entering most places of business. Nightclubs have yet to reopen, since they’re regarded as a safety risk.
So yes, it is safe to travel to Los Cabos; and as vaccinations increase in the coming months, it will become even safer still. But for those who want to track the threat level, Mexico maintains its own version of a CDC (Center for Disease Control) website, where one can view a state-by-state, color-coded chart for new and ongoing coronavirus cases around the country.
That chart may be viewed here: https://datos.covid-19.conacyt.mx/
Prospective visitors can also get an overview of the destination’s safety first approach, and the impact it’s making in this new article from Travel Weekly: https://www.travelweekly.com/Mexico-Travel/Insights/Cautious-optimism-in-Los-Cabos
Medical Tourism in Los Cabos
The pandemic remains at the forefront of everyone’s consciousness, but it’s not the only medical issue, and of course the cost for basic care is often high in the U.S. That’s why Los Cabos has been long been a top destination for medical tourism, offering both convenient proximity to the U.S. and high-quality health care available at 40 to 65% less on average than its northern neighbor.
Not only is the cost affordable, Los Cabos has also seen an influx in recent years of new healthcare facilities with state-of-the-art equipment.
Hospiten and H+
The newest of these high-quality, low-cost medical centers is Hospiten, which premiered in October 2018 just outside Cabo San Lucas, near one of the municipality’s most oft-visited shopping centers (Plaza San Lucas, home to Walmart). If the name is recognizable, that’s because Hospiten is affiliated with the international hospital group of the same name, which has a network of locations that includes México, Spain, Jamaica, Panama and the Dominican Rebublic.
Hospiten Los Cabos offers patients a full-range of services, from emergency care and surgical suites to medical laboratories and departments specializing in anesthesiology, cardiology, general surgery, oral surgery, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics and psychology, among others.
Hospiten isn’t the only impressive new medical facility to open locally. There’s also Hospital H+, which opened in 2016 in the tourist corridor that connects the cape cities, near San Jose del Cabo. Like Hospiten, H+ offers cutting-edge equipment and an excellent roster of on-call physicians, as well as 24-hour triage and intensive care, surgical areas and specialty clinics, laboratories and blood banks, radiology and ultrasound imaging, and private rooms for extended patient stays.
Other Quality Medical Care Options
Interested in exploring all the options? The U.S. Consulate regularly updates a list of fully-accredited hospitals and medical care facilities in Los Cabos, a list that at present includes the two already touted, as well as the AMC and BlueNet Hospitals, the General Hospitals in both Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo, the Red Cross (Cruz Roja in Spanish) ambulance and rescue services, plus a few clinics and sanitariums.
The list may be viewed here: https://mx.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/Hospitals-External-Feb-2020.pdf
Dental Care
One area the U.S. Consulate list doesn’t address is dental care. But in this field, too, Los Cabos offers many excellent options for cost-conscious travelers, including the Dental Studio by Pedro Ortiz.
View the website here: https://www.facebook.com/dental-studio-by-pedro-ortiz/
For a virtual tour of the facilities and a look at what the dental care experience is like, check out the following video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNE5dULKWKA&fbclid=IwAR08dE7IYTrfUJWhlkD-zk0jrjRpKw6ZF1yTGIbQ4HP4VswwupdAOj6vbuQ
For more information about events, activities and villa rentals in Los Cabos, call us TOLL FREE at 1-888-655-4548, visit www.LosCabosVillas.com, www.TheCaboRealEstate.com or email us at Info@LosCabosVillas.com.
Photo credit: Hospiten
Upcoming Events Calendar
December
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Dec. 4, 11, 18, 25
Festival del Mole in Todos Santos – Dec. 5
Feast Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe – Dec. 12
Official Start of Whale Watching Season – Dec. 15
Las Posadas – Dec. 16 – 24
Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) – Dec. 24
Navidad (Christmas) – Dec. 25
Nochevieja (New Year’s Eve) – Dec. 31
NYE 2021 Disco Classy at Sunset Monalisa – Dec. 31
NYE 2021 at SUR Beach House – Dec. 31
NYE 2021 at Bar Esquina – Dec. 31
NYE 2021 at Grand Solmar Land’s End – Dec. 31
NYE 2021 Glitz & Glam at Brigantine/Playa Grande – Dec. 31
NYE 2021 Wild Wild West at Anica/Grand Solmar Rancho San Lucas – Dec. 31
January
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Jan. 1, 8, 15, 22, 29
Día de los Reyes Magos – Jan. 6
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Jan. 7, 14, 21, 28
Twin Dolphin ProAm Golf Tournament – Jan. 9 – 12
Cabo del Sol ProAm Golf Tournament – Jan. 10 – 14
February
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Feb. 5, 12, 19, 26
Cabo Collegiate Golf Tournament – Feb. 28 – Mar. 2
March
Cabo Collegiate Golf Tournament – Feb. – Mar. 2
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Mar. 4, 11, 18, 25
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Mar. 5, 12, 19, 26
Semana Santa – Mar. 28. – Apr. 3
April
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Apr. 1, 8, 15, 22
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Apr. 2, 9, 16, 23
May
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – May 6, 13, 20, 27
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – May 7, 14, 21, 28
June
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Jun. 3, 10, 17, 24
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Jun. 4, 11, 18, 25
July
Los Cabos Open of Tennis – Jul. 19 – 24
August
Bisbee’s East Cape Offshore – Aug. 3 – 7
September
Mexico Independence Day – Sep. 16
October
Bisbee’s Los Cabos Offshore Fishing Tournament – Oct. 14 – 17
Bisbee’s Black and Blue Fishing Tournament – Oct. 19 – 23
November
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Nov. 4, 11, 18, 25
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Nov. 5, 12, 19, 26
SCORE Baja 1000 – Nov. 15 – 20
December
Art Walk in San Jose del Cabo – Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30
Viva La Plaza in Cabo San Lucas – Dec. 3, 10, 17, 24, 31
Please let me know what you think about this!