For years, Canadians frustrated by long wait times at home have headed south for quicker, lower-cost medical care. Puerto Vallarta—already beloved for winter escapes and direct flights—has been a steady favorite.
In 2025, though, the case goes beyond affordability and sunshine: fresh investment, academic ties, and more comprehensive service models are turning Vallarta into a genuinely compelling cross-border care option.
From ‘Dental Deals’ to Broader Specialties
The early draw was dentistry and elective procedures; those remain, but the menu is broader now—orthopedics, bariatrics, and fertility, among them—offered by established local hospital networks (CMQ, Joya) and clinics that court International patients.¹
Bariatric care illustrates the shift: several Vallarta-area programs market all-inclusive surgery packages and coordinated after-care for foreign patients.²
A Hospital Boom—With Academic Ties
The biggest near-term change is infrastructure. Jalisco authorities and the University of Guadalajara have green-lit a new civil/teaching hospital in Puerto Vallarta, with construction scheduled to begin in 2026.³
Local reporting describes added capacity and university integration aimed at training and specialty care—an upgrade that matters for both residents and visiting patients.
Turnkey Care, Fewer Unknowns
One reason Canadians hesitate to go abroad is logistics and cost opacity. Vallarta providers increasingly advertise bundled packages—procedure, hospital stay, hotel nights, ground transfers, pre-op tests, some medications, and nutritionist consults—designed to reduce friction and the fear of hidden fees.⁴
Hospitals in the metro area also emphasize 24/7 bilingual staff and ‘international patient’ pathways, another anxiety reducer for English-speaking patients.⁵
Recovery in a Place Built for It
The destination advantage is real: beaches, warm climate, and wellness amenities ease post-op recovery for many travelers. Several regional hospitals explicitly market ‘medical tourism’ and recovery-friendly settings along Banderas Bay.⁶
Easier Access From Canada
Air access matters when you may need a quick return for a check-up. Puerto Vallarta’s airport (PVR) continues to grow traffic under the operator GAP, and major Canadian gateways (e.g., Vancouver) publish route guides listing PVR with heavy winter frequencies across Air Canada, WestJet, Flair, and others.⁷
Why Canadians Look South in the First Place
At home, wait-time pressures persist for priority procedures. CIHI’s 2024–2025 reporting shows fewer hip/knee patients treated within the recommended windows than before the pandemic (despite more surgeries), while cataract waits rebounded to pre-pandemic norms.⁸
Independent research likewise shows wide provincial variation in total waits from GP referral to treatment, underscoring the demand drivers for outbound care.⁹
What’s Distinctly ‘New’ in 2025
- Imminent teaching hospital: the 2026 build signals more specialty capacity and academic oversight locally.³
- More transparent offers: clinics publish package inclusions and pathways for foreign patients.⁴
- Air access keeps scaling: PVR’s operator reports continuing passenger growth; Canadian hubs list robust winter service to PVR.⁷
The cliché about medical tourism is that it’s only about saving money. In Puerto Vallarta, circa 2025, the story is broader: expanding capacity tied to a public university hospital, easier access from Canada, and a crop of providers structuring care into predictable, bilingual, recovery-friendly experiences.
For a subset of Canadians—especially those facing long waits—Vallarta now competes not just on price, but on the overall care journey.
Sources
1. CMQ Hospitals, Joya Hospitals, Punta Mita Hospital (provider websites marketing international patients)
2. Weight Loss Team PV, Advance Gastro Surgery PV (bariatric package offers)
3. Vallarta Daily, Vallarta Today, Banderas News – reports on new Civil/Teaching Hospital tied to UdeG
4. Advance Gastro Surgery PV (all-inclusive packages)
5. CMQ and Joya Hospitals (bilingual staff claims)
6. PuertoVallarta.net, VisitPuertoVallarta.com (medical tourism recovery promotion)
7. GAP airport operator press release; Vancouver Airport route guides (PVR listings)
8. CIHI 2024 Wait Times report
9. Fraser Institute 2024 Wait Times report (provincial variation)
