We weren't quite ready to leave the shadow of Mt. Mayon just yet so we thought we would check out the nearby black (volcanic) sand beaches. The Lonely Planet book dedicates 13 lines to a town called Santo Domingo which turned out to be a little gem.
We drove into a place recommended in LP. The write-up made it sound like a luxurious resort, but it was actually pretty basic. We thought we'd have a look at another couple of places before we decided. This was easily done in a car – if we had been coming by public transport, we would have had to have settled for this one.
The next resort we found was a place called Costa Palmera and we asked if we could see the rooms. The owner, Chat, showed us two rooms and we knew immediately that we were going to stay for 2 nights. The rooms were fairly basic (although they did have AC, hot water and cable TV!), but the draw was the private pool! OK, not totally private, we would be sharing the beautiful pool overlooking the sea with one other cottage. It was a really beautiful location and we spend the next 2 days lounging, reading, swimming and ordering room service.
We did venture out a few times. Once to have a go at Video-karaoke and also to see the sunset behind Mount Mayon both nights. A really unforgettable experience. Have a look at the rest of my “Santo Domingo” pictures and be blown away. We are already planning our return. The best thing was that there was hardly anyone there so we felt like we had the place to ourselves, although it is spacious enough that I'm sure it would be fine even when full.
Here is their website: http://www.costapalmeraresort.com/
