The short answer: day visits are $60, an overnight registered nurse is $120 per night, and 24/7 live-in care is $180 per day. All prices are in US dollars, quoted before you fly, with no hidden fees.
That is the whole price list. We publish it because almost nobody else does — most Bogotá recovery services make you send a WhatsApp message and wait for a number, which makes it impossible to budget your trip before you commit to surgery.
Below is what each tier includes, what actually moves the price up or down, and roughly what a full recovery costs end to end.
Rates
The three tiers, and what each one includes
| Tier | Rate | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Day visit | $60 / visit | One to two hours at your hotel, apartment or recovery house. Wound and dressing check, vital signs and pain assessment, medication review, drain measurement and emptying, written report to your surgeon. |
| Overnight RN | $120 / night | A nurse present from 8pm to 8am — everything in a day visit, plus overnight vital-sign checks, medication and IV schedule management, emergency response and surgeon contact, and a morning handover report. |
| 24/7 live-in | $180 / day | One dedicated nurse on site around the clock. Everything above, plus daytime mobility and bathing assistance, meals and hydration on schedule, daily WhatsApp updates to family abroad, and light housekeeping. |
There is no minimum for day visits or overnight care. Live-in care is normally booked in blocks of three to seven days, covering the highest-risk window straight after surgery.
Cost drivers
What actually changes the price
Four things, in roughly this order of impact.
How many nights you need someone present
This is the single biggest factor. The jump from day visits to overnight presence doubles the nightly cost, and live-in care roughly triples it. It is also the decision that matters most clinically, because the hours when something goes wrong unnoticed are the hours you are asleep and alone.
The procedure itself
A rhinoplasty patient and a cardiac bypass patient need very different levels of supervision. Procedures involving drains, anticoagulation, strict positioning rules or significant fluid shifts need more nurse-hours than procedures that mainly need rest and wound checks.
Whether you are travelling alone
A patient with a partner or friend in the room can often manage on day visits, because someone else is there to notice a problem and call. Solo travellers usually need overnight or live-in care for the first few nights — not because the clinical need is different, but because there is nobody else to raise the alarm.
How long you stay in Bogotá
Nursing intensity tapers. Most patients start heavier and step down around day four to seven, moving from live-in to overnight, then to daily visits, then to on-call as their surgeon clears them for less supervision. Your total is not your daily rate times your trip length.
Examples
What a full recovery actually costs
Three patterns, using the published rates. These are illustrative bookings, not quotes — your surgeon’s discharge instructions decide what you actually need.
| Pattern | Made up of | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Light supervision Lower-acuity procedure, travel partner present | 7 day visits | $420 |
| Moderate Drains, solo traveller, first week | 5 overnight nights + 5 day visits | $900 |
| Intensive Major procedure, highest-risk first days | 5 days live-in + 5 day visits | $1,200 |
For comparison, a cardiac patient who needs a nurse present every night for ten nights comes to $1,200. Set that against the cost of the surgery itself, the flights and the accommodation, and recovery care is usually the smallest line in the budget — and the one that protects everything you spent on the rest.
Comparison
Why it costs less here than at home
Private duty nursing in Bogotá is substantially less expensive than the equivalent care in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom, and the gap is large enough that patients routinely add nursing care to a Colombian surgery trip that they would never have been able to afford at home.
The reason is local cost structure, not lower standards. Nursing salaries, and the cost of living they have to cover, are simply lower in Colombia than in North America or Western Europe. The clinical training is not — Colombian registered nurses complete a university nursing degree and hold a national licence, and the nurses we place are additionally background-checked and verified for English fluency before they join the roster.
If you are comparing our rates to a US private-duty agency quote, compare what is actually included as well as the headline number. Some agencies price the nurse and bill separately for supplies, travel, night differentials and weekend rates.
Add-ons
What is not included
These are quoted alongside your care plan rather than bundled into the rate, so you only pay for what you use:
- Airport pickup and clinic drop-off coordination
- Lymphatic drainage massage scheduling
- Translation for pharmacy and laboratory visits
- Extended live-in care beyond seven days, at a discounted daily rate
Medications, medical supplies and anything your surgeon or clinic bills for are separate — those go through the clinic or pharmacy directly, not through us.
Payment
How payment works
Everything is quoted and paid in US dollars. We accept Zelle and international debit or credit cards. We do not handle cash.
On insurance: assume this is an out-of-pocket cost. Most travel and domestic health policies do not reimburse elective private nursing abroad, and some exclude anything connected to elective surgery entirely. If you intend to claim, ask your insurer before you travel what documentation they need, and we will tell you honestly whether we can produce it.
Due diligence
What to check before you book anyone
Whoever you end up hiring, in Bogotá or anywhere else, ask these five questions:
- Is the person a licensed nurse, or a caregiver? The words are used loosely. A caregiver or companion cannot manage drains, give injections or assess a wound. Ask for the licence.
- Who exactly is coming? Not “one of our nurses” — a named person, with credentials you can see before you fly.
- What happens at 3am if something is wrong? Ask specifically who they call, and whether they can reach your surgeon.
- Is the price fixed? Get the total in writing, in a currency you understand, including nights and weekends.
- What English do they actually speak? Clinical English under stress is a different thing from conversational English.
Is there a minimum booking?
No minimum for day visits or overnight care. Live-in care is typically booked in blocks of three to seven days.
Can I change the plan once I arrive?
Yes. Many patients begin with 24/7 live-in care and step down to daily visits as their surgeon clears them. We adjust as you recover.
Do you charge in dollars or pesos?
US dollars, quoted and paid. Zelle or international debit and credit cards.
When do I pay?
Ask us when you request your quote — we will tell you the schedule in writing before you commit to anything.