Santa Maria: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Santa Maria is a city of 271,735 people in Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), 146 m (479 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Santa Maria Airport (RIA), 12 km (7 mi) from the centre.
Key facts
Open Santa Maria in Google Maps
Daylight in Santa Maria runs from about 10 h 17 min a day in late June to 14 h 6 min in late December (computed for -29.68° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Santa Maria is served by one airport with scheduled flights. The closest large one is Santa Maria Airport (RIA), 12 km (7 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 8,839 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft.
Flights to Santa Maria: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Santa Maria · Driving and car hire
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Porto Alegre, 251 km — flights · buses · car rental · tours
- Caxias do Sul, 261 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Pelotas, 271 km — tours
- Canoas, 254 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Posadas, 328 km (Argentina)
- Chapecó, 310 km — buses · car rental
- Gravataí, 273 km — buses · tours
- Novo Hamburgo, 259 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Viamão, 272 km — tours
- Passo Fundo, 209 km — buses · car rental · tours
Common questions
Which airport serves Santa Maria?
Santa Maria Airport (RIA), 12 km (7 mi) from the centre.
How big is Santa Maria?
About 271,735 people live in Santa Maria (GeoNames).
What time zone is Santa Maria in?
America/Sao_Paulo, currently UTC-3.
What currency is used in Santa Maria?
The Real (BRL). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Santa Maria?
Porto Alegre (251 km), Caxias do Sul (261 km), Pelotas (271 km), Canoas (254 km), Posadas (328 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 14 September 2026. Hotel and hostel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.