The region constituted by the Serra da Pescaria and by the Bouro mountain constituted, in geological times, a single island. When it was divided it gave rise to the bay of São Martinho do Porto.

In historical times, the village was mentioned for the first time in a letter passed in 1257 by Friar Estevão Martins, 12th abbot of the Monastery of Alcobaça. The bay was the sea port of Alcobaça, where activities related to fishing and shipbuilding were developed. It had, in 1801, 932 inhabitants. In 1839 the parishes of Alfeizerão, Salir do Porto and Serra do Bouro were annexed. It had, in 1849, 3,596 inhabitants.

Given the local development and the construction of the pier, already around 1885 the neighborhood of the beach came to remember a second village.

It was constituted has a seaside resort frequented by the nobility and the bourgeoisie since the end of the 19th century, becoming known as the "bidet of the marquees".[1]

Currently the village is constituted by two distinct nuclei:

The lower part, near the beach, directed for the tourist activity; The upper part, where the traditional dwellings and the Mother Church reside;