Bureau of Immigration in Legazpi City has moved

Bureau of Immigration in Legazpi City has moved to a new address.

Legazpi, the Mayon City, is on the move! The whole center of the capital of Albay province is being turned upside down. I’ll write a bit more below. First comes the important information for tourists and expatriates.

Yesterday a friend found this message posted outside of the closed field office of the Bureau of Immigration:

On the official website of the Bureau of Immigration you still find the old address. But it’s really CLOSED! We have already updated our visa page.

Map of the Bureau of Immigration offices (old and new) in Legazpi City:

The shortest way from the old to the new office of the Bureau of Immigration is 900 meter or about 12 minutes walk. Best is to take a tricycle for a 5 minutes ride. By car it’s a bit difficult because of all the one-way roads.

Bureau of Immigration Legazpi

BI Legazpi Field Office
L3-4B,3rd floor, embarcadero de Legazpi
Port Area, Victory Village Legazpi City 4500
Phone/fax: (052) 201-0651

Please note that also the phone/fax number has changed!

And here is the building. It’s nice to have an office with view on the harbor.

More about Legazpi City

I like Legazpi. The first time I went to the capital of Albay had been 9 years ago. On top of my bucket list stood Mount Mayon, world’s most beautiful volcano. At that time I didn’t see much of the city. My eyes were fixed on the perfect shape of Mayon. Since then, I travel once or twice a year to Legazpi. It is the best route to travel from Camiguin to Naga City. But Legazpi is always worth a stop.

The first wonderful surprise had been the renovation of the Embarcadero de Legazpi, the port buildings. The Embarcadero became a nice place to have dinner or just a drink in the evening. A fresh breeze from the sea cools down the heath of the day. The choice of food is international and affordable.

There are at least two excellent hotels in Legazpi. The St Ellis, a real downtown hotel, is 7 minutes’ walk from PNR Legazpi Terminal railway station and 11 minutes’ walk from Kapuntukan Hill, a coastal hill overlooking the Albay Gulf. Hint: Go up to the ballroom on top floor. From there you have a breath taking view on Mount Mayon. The Oriental hotel lays a bit outside on a hill oposing Mount Mayon. For me the Oriental is one of the best hotels in the Philippines’ countryside. From your balcony and from the swimming pool you have an excellent view over the whole city, and of course of Mount Mayon.

Legazpi booms!

Downtown Legazpi is one big construction site. All supermarket chains are moving in and building malls straight in the center. A 8-lane highway from Daraga to Legazpi is being finalized. I just wonder, where they will put all those cars. Finding a parking space in the center is already now a painful activity.
Outside of Legazpi the works on the Bicol International Airport (BIA) are progressing. Inauguration is planned for 2019. It seems that Cebu Pacific Air will make a hub of BIA for their Visayas and Mindanao operation. The only negative point is the location of the airport far outside the city. But passengers from Sorsogon will be happy.

And a last hint: If you want take photos of Mount Mayon, do it very early in the morning. Short after sunrise, cumulus clouds will build up and hide the Queen for most of the time!

[GARD]