SÃO MARTINHO DO PORTO

Where beauty meets tranquility and the sun shines an average of 252 days a year, lies the quaint little town of “São Martinho do Porto” on Portugal's silver coast.
This is a beautiful small town overlooking a famous shell shaped bay, with a very narrow entrance ("barra in Portuguese) flanked by two craggy hills. The "barra" is known for its occasional bursts of bad temper with breakers that can reach up to half the height of the flanking hills.
For those who think the sweltering Summers of southern Portugal are too hot for them, “São Martinho do Porto” is probably the perfect location to vacation.
The town is neatly divided in two sections. The lower section, built around the northern and eastern shores of the bay, adjacent to the beach, caters for the majority of tourists and occasional visitors, and is where most businesses, restaurants, bars and accommodations are located. The upper section located on the north-easterly hills overlooks the bay. There you'll find the majority of the permanent dwellers, the Church and the businesses that cater to the locals. The older and more traditional generation of Summer and weekend dwellers tend to have their houses in the upper section as well.

The lower and upper sections are connected by a sort of village ring road for cars and three very steep streets for pedestrians. These are locally known as "ladeiras", and are one of the main hallmarks of the town and a constant pretext for loud complaints particularly at the time of returning home after a long and tiring day at the beach.
 In the Summer, after 10 pm., it normally takes you a good half an hour to walk the town's main street full length, if you efficiently use your elbows and "excuse-mes"..
The lighthouse that signals the entrance to the bay





 
is located almost at the end of hill overlooking the bay. You can cross that hill directly from the bay through a tunnel that leads you to the “Santo Antonio” rocky beach .
To reach the lighthouse you either climb on foot a steep stairway or go a short distance by car along the road between two hills. .
It is difficult to think of a place with more abundant healthy leisure activities. All the normal beach activities are naturally available : swimming, sand games and plain skin roasting . The latter, however, has to be practiced with great care. Although the Sun hides behind mist and clouds more often than elsewhere along the Portuguese coast, the iodine in the air is blamed, rightly or wrongly, for one of the deeper and golden tans there are. The tan, if not slowly acquired, may come with nasty burns. However pleasant the beach activities, or lack of them, “São Martinho” is far more famous for its nautical sports : sailing either racing dinghies or the more sedate old fishing boats now refurbished into pleasure crafts, rowing, jet skiing and obviously fishing, be it in the calm waters of the bay or in much rougher outer seas.
“São Martinho” is located halfway between Caldas da Rainha and Nazaré. To get to “Caldas da Rainha” you can go via Bouro and Salir do Porto, located at the opposite end of the bay. Salir is close to beautiful sand dunes that provide great fun for children of all ages: racing down on foot or sand sledge. It has to be admitted, however, that going up is not half as fun... At the foot of the dunes a small river, called Salir or Tornada, finds its way to the bay.
Where the river meets the bay you can find the ruins of a safe harbor “Porto de Abrigo” used by sailors between the 15^th and 18^th centuries, to replenish their food and drinking water supplies.
Locals bathe in and drink the water from the spring in the safe harbor ruins, as it's known to cure liver illnesses as well as treat certain skin conditions.
The highway between Lisboa and Leiria puts São Martinho at less than one hour comfortable drive from Lisboa International Airport.