Medical Repatriation and Supported Travel Between Mexico and Canada
Portage travels with Canadians who become ill or are injured in Mexico home to Canada, and with people who need support to get to or from a home in Mexico.
Last updated October 11, 2026
Portage arranges medical repatriation from Mexico to Canada on commercial flights. A Medical Escort or Travel Companion flies to Mexico, meets the traveller at the hospital or at their home, and travels with them door to door. Your Case Coordinator works with the treating team in Mexico, the airline, and the family or the receiving hospital in Canada.
Who needs help getting home from Mexico?
Canadians made about 1.3 million visits to Mexico in the first three months of 2026 alone. Some of them end up in hospital and need support for the trip home.
Snowbirds. Many Canadians own or rent a place in Mexico and live there for part of the year. When a hospital stay interrupts the season, we bring them home to Canada, or help them return to Mexico once they are able.
Tourists. A holiday can end with an accident or a sudden illness. Once the patient's condition has stabilized, a Medical Escort travels with them from the hospital in Mexico to their home or to a hospital in Canada.
People who need support to make the trip. Someone with a home in Mexico may need help getting there at the start of the season, or back to Canada at the end of it, after a change in health or mobility. A Travel Companion travels with them.
Families in Canada. Relatives are often managing the situation by phone from another country. Your Case Coordinator becomes their contact, speaks with the treating team, and updates them at agreed points until the traveller arrives.
In each of these situations your Case Coordinator plans the journey around the traveller: the flight, the ground transport at both ends, and who receives them when they arrive.
Most of the journeys we are asked about start where Canadians spend the winter: Puerto Vallarta and the Riviera Nayarit towns of Sayulita and San Pancho, Mazatlán, Los Cabos, Cancún, and Mérida. These cities have private hospitals used to treating international patients, and in winter several have direct flights to Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Toronto.
If the patient is somewhere else in Mexico, tell us. We plan the road leg to the nearest airport with flights to Canada, including an ambulance when the patient needs one.
With the patient's consent, your Case Coordinator speaks with the treating team about discharge, current medications, and what the flight will need..
Where in Mexico does Portage work?
Yes. Some of our clients have a home in Mexico and need support to make the trip there or back: an older adult who no longer manages airports alone, someone recovering from surgery who wants to finish the season at their place, or a person whose mobility or memory has changed since last year.
A Travel Companion or Medical Escort travels with them, and we book the flights and arrange ground transport at both ends. Portage is set up for the journey itself; support during a stay can sometimes be arranged case by case.
Can Portage help someone get to Mexico?
Medical Escort or Travel Companion?
Travel Companion
A Travel Companion is an experienced caregiver for someone who is well enough to fly but needs help with mobility, personal care, luggage, and connections, for example a snowbird returning to Canada after a fall.
Medical Escort
A patient leaving hospital in Mexico usually travels with a Medical Escort, who provides clinical care and monitors the patient through the flight, with a clinical handover when a hospital in Canada is receiving them.
Questions about travel between Mexico and Canada
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A Portage journey from Mexico to Canada will typically cost $8,000 to $20,000 Canadian: a Medical Escort or Travel Companion travels with the patient on a commercial flight, door to door. An air ambulance on the same route can often cost $75,000 or more and is needed only when a patient cannot travel on a commercial flight. Every extra day in a private hospital in Mexico can add to the bill. The level of care, the route and season, and the ground transport at each end set the price within our range. Call us for a free consultation.
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Call us. We assess with the treating team whether the patient can travel on a commercial airline with a Medical Escort or Travel Companion, which costs far less than an air ambulance, and we give you a quote. If there is travel insurance, the insurer or its assistance company usually approves the plan first, and we can work with them directly.
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Yes. Your Medical Escort or Travel Companion flies to Mexico, meets the patient at the hospital or at their home, and stays with them until they are home or received at a hospital in Canada. Family members can travel with them, and we can book the whole party.
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If the treating team or our own assessment indicates that the patient cannot travel on a commercial flight, we tell you and refer you to an air ambulance provider.
Let’s plan the journey
Tell us about the traveller and the trip. We'll recommend the level of support, plan the journey, and have a Travel Companion or Medical Escort ready to go.
+1 (403) 536-9446