By road, Santa Maria, Brazil and Palhoça are about 444 miles (715 km) apart, or roughly 9 h 26 min of driving.
- Level 4: Do Not Travel in Brazil: informal housing developments (favelas, vilas, comunidades or conglomerados).
Full advisory: Brazil. Advisory issued: Brazil August 31, 2026; checked October 10, 2026.
On the roads, the State Department says:
- Brazil: “Driving on Brazil’s roads poses significant risks.”
| Distance by road | 444 mi (715 km) |
|---|---|
| Driving time, no stops | 9 h 26 min |
| Main roads, in order | RSC-287 → BR-386 → BR-448 → BR-116 → BR-101 |
| States on the route | Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina |
| Fuel estimate (car at 25 mpg) | about 17.8 gal; actual use varies by vehicle and traffic |
| Stops listed below | 9 |
The Santa Maria–Palhoça drive in a few lines
BR-101 (209 mi) and RSC-287 (127 mi) carry about 76% of the 444 miles. It runs through 2 states: Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina. Of the 9 stops listed below, 2 are within a mile of the road.
The route from Santa Maria to Palhoça, road by road
| Road | Route miles (from–to) | Length, mi | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| local roads | 0–7 | 7 | Rio Grande do Sul |
| RSC-287 | 7–134 | 127 | Rio Grande do Sul |
| BR-386 | 134–168 | 34 | Rio Grande do Sul |
| BR-448 | 168–175 | 7 | Rio Grande do Sul |
| connecting roads | 175–176 | 1 | Rio Grande do Sul |
| BR-116 | 176–234 | 58 | Rio Grande do Sul |
| BR-101 | 234–443 | 209 | Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina |
| local roads | 443–444 | 1 | Santa Catarina |
- Mile 290 of this route: Rio Grande do Sul → Santa Catarina (state line)
Stops between Santa Maria and Palhoça
- Right off the route (under 1 mile): Morro de Osório Protected Area (mile 232), Museu Willy Zumblick (mile 369)
- Nature and outdoors: Guarita State Park (mile 285), Guarda do Embaú (mile 424)
- Museums and history: Aristides Carlos Rodrigues Museum (mile 65), St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Santa Cruz do Sul (mile 88), Arquivo Histórico e Museu de Canoas (mile 172), Museu Willy Zumblick (mile 369)
Planetário Professor José Mariano da Rocha Filho
Founded in 1971 at the Federal University of Santa Maria, this planetarium seats 120 people and has used a Digistar 4 digital projector since 2011.
Aqueduto de Candelária
In Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul, the Aqueduto de Candelária stands in the Linha Curitiba area. It was commissioned by João Kochenborger, one of the first German immigrants to reach the municipality, in 1862.
Aristides Carlos Rodrigues Museum
In the town of Candelária, Rio Grande do Sul, the Aristides Carlos Rodrigues Museum is part of the Paleorrota Geopark and offers information about the region.
St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Santa Cruz do Sul
Facing Getúlio Vargas Square in central Santa Cruz do Sul, St. John the Baptist Cathedral is the city's Roman Catholic cathedral.
Arquivo Histórico e Museu de Canoas
Canoas's history museum and archive keeps photos, newspapers, maps, documents, audiovisual material and objects that tell the story of the city in Rio Grande do Sul.
Morro de Osório Protected Area
Created in 1994, the Morro de Osório Environmental Protection Area is a municipal conservation unit of Osório, Rio Grande do Sul, originally covering about 6,896 acres.
Guarita State Park
Officially Parque Estadual José Lutzenberger, Guarita State Park in Rio Grande do Sul protects a promontory on the South Atlantic Ocean.
Museu Willy Zumblick
In downtown Tubarão, Santa Catarina, the Museu Willy Zumblick keeps a permanent exhibition of part of the collection of local-born artist Willy Zumblick.
Guarda do Embaú
About 46 km south of Florianópolis, Guarda do Embaú (Praia da Guarda do Embaú) is a beach recognized as a World Surfing Reserve, the first of its kind in Brazil.
In Palhoça itself
Teatro Adolpho Mello
Founded in 1854 in the historic center of São José, Santa Catarina, Teatro Adolpho Mello opened its building two years later and is the oldest surviving theater in the state.
More drives to Palhoça
- Itajaí to Palhoça
- Joinville to Palhoça
- Curitiba to Palhoça
- Ponta Grossa to Palhoça
- Sorocaba to Palhoça
- Praia Grande to Palhoça
From Santa Maria to other places in Brazil
- Santa Maria, Brazil to Santa Cruz do Sul
- Santa Maria, Brazil to Bento Gonçalves
- Santa Maria, Brazil to Erechim
- Santa Maria, Brazil to Guaíra
- Santa Maria, Brazil to Umuarama
- Santa Maria, Brazil to Jaraguá do Sul
Frequently asked questions
How long is the drive from Santa Maria, Brazil to Palhoça?
About 9 h 26 min of driving without stops, over 444 miles.
How far is Palhoça from Santa Maria, Brazil by car?
About 444 miles (715 km) on the Wayro route. Other map services may show a few miles more or less, depending on where they start and end in each city.
Is it safe to drive from Santa Maria, Brazil to Palhoça?
The U.S. State Department rates Brazil Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. Read the full advisory before you go.
What roads does the drive from Santa Maria to Palhoça use?
In order: RSC-287, BR-386, BR-448, BR-116 and BR-101. The road-by-road table above shows the route miles for each one.
What are good stops between Santa Maria and Palhoça?
Closest to the road: Aristides Carlos Rodrigues Museum (museum, mile 65, 1 mi from the route); Morro de Osório Protected Area (environmental protection area, mile 232, 0.8 mi from the route); Museu Willy Zumblick (museum, mile 369, 0.3 mi from the route). All stops are described above.
How we put this guide together
Wayro calculates the route from OpenStreetMap road data; mile numbers are positions along this route, not highway markers, and "from the route" distances are straight-line, so the real detour depends on access roads. Stops are chosen from parks, natural sites, museums, historic sites and attractions close to the route: at least one strong stop for each stretch of the drive, then the best-known places nearest the road, up to nine in all. Places that are closed, private or not open to visitors are removed. Place descriptions are written by the Wayro team from official park, museum, tourism and government websites and other published sources. Safety levels and entry rules were checked against the U.S. Department of State on October 10, 2026. Conditions change, so check the linked sources before you travel.
Route data © OpenStreetMap contributors.