Field notes from the ground.
Written in Medellín, about the parts of a medical trip that don't make it into the brochures. No procedure prices, no clinic recommendations, no invented stories. Just what actually happens and what to do about it.
The buffer days: why medical trips run long, and what it costs when they do
Every trip length on this site has a low number and a high number. The gap between them is the most important part of your budget, and it's the first thing people delete.
ReadCities · 6 minBogotá is 2,640 metres up. Put that on your surgical checklist.
Altitude is the single most under-discussed variable in choosing a Colombian city for a procedure, and it's a question your surgeon can answer in about thirty seconds if you ask it.
ReadDue diligence · 8 minTwelve questions that tell you what a clinic is actually like
You can't assess surgical skill from an email. You can absolutely assess how an organisation operates, and that turns out to predict a great deal.
ReadPractical · 7 minWhat to pack for a medical trip to Colombia
Not a travel packing list. The specific things that make the difference between a manageable recovery in a foreign apartment and a miserable one.
ReadFirst timers · 6 minMedellín's airport is not in Medellín, and five other surprises
The things that catch first-time medical travellers off guard aren't dramatic. They're small, practical, and completely avoidable if somebody tells you first.
ReadAftercare · 6 minHow to tell your doctor at home that you're having surgery abroad
This conversation goes badly for a lot of people, and it usually goes badly for avoidable reasons. Here's how to have it before you fly, not after.
ReadReading is good. A plan is better.
The planner turns any of this into your actual itinerary, budget and checklist in about a minute.