If something happens

For anything that isn't an emergency — you feel ill, you need a doctor, a pharmacy, a dentist — message us first. There are pharmacies and consulting rooms in the lakeside towns, and we'll save you searching blind from a hillside with a headache.

If something more serious comes up, the most complete private hospital in the area is on the Ajijic–Chapala corridor, and there are private clinics with emergency service along that same stretch. Major cases get referred on to hospitals in Guadalajara.

We'll help with the language if you need it. That's not a courtesy line — it's the part guests most often need.

The national emergency number in Mexico is 911. It's free from a landline or a cell phone, it works 24 hours, and it covers medical emergencies, fires, accidents and crimes in progress. Jalisco was the first state in the country to adopt it.

If you call 911, let us know as soon as you can. We know the exact address, the way into the development and who to tell at the gate, so help arrives at the door instead of circling the hillside.

The lakeside road drives easily in daylight. At night, treat it the way you'd treat any road that runs through small towns: no hurry, low beams when you meet someone, an eye out for pedestrians, cyclists and speed bumps, and ideally having done the route once in the daytime first.

For the drive up to the house, keep the flashlight on your phone handy. The stretch from the car to the door is where you'll want it.

National pharmacy chain branch in central Ajijic, stocking medicines and everyday personal-care items.

Private hospital with an emergency department on the Ajijic–Chapala corridor, one of the closest medical options to the property.