Surrey (British Columbia)

Surrey is a suburb of Vancouver. It is the largest city in land area in the Lower Mainland region and the second largest city in population (518,000 in 2016) after Vancouver. Surrey is very culturally diverse. Surrey is mostly a working-class suburb, but it also has a sizeable industrial area -- mostly factories and warehouses.

Understand
Surrey is Vancouver's largest suburb in both population and area, and is one of the fastest growing cities in British Columbia. It is expected to be the most populated city in British Columbia by around 2030. The city contains a sizable immigrant population from South Asia (30.9%), primarily from India's Punjab province, as well as a sizeable population from other parts of Asia (16.9%).

The city is divided by North and South, mostly by demographics and economics. North Surrey is for the most part middle class, while South Surrey is much more affluent. South Surrey borders with the United States and the Pacific Ocean.

Surrey has a number of neighbourhoods, officially known as "town centres". They include:


 * Surrey City Centre - A gleaming new high-rise neighborhood around the Surrey Central SkyTrain station, which is effectively Surrey's downtown area. An area in transition, where the city has spent years gentrifying.  This area is within Whalley.
 * Whalley - North-west part of the city. A combination of residential, commercial, and some industrial.
 * Guildford - North-east part of the city. Home to Guildford Town Shopping Centre.
 * Newton - Central-west part of the city. An old village, absorbed by Surrey, and now home to corporate office parks and areas of industrial use. It's roughly in the middle of Surrey (by land area).  Most South Asian shopping complexes in Surrey are located here.
 * Fleetwood - Central-east part of the city, to the north of Cloverdale. Mostly a residential area with some shopping.
 * Cloverdale - Central-east part of the city, to the south of Fleetwood. Divided into areas that have residential with some shopping, and areas with farms. It includes a historic village known for its small town charm. If you love antiques, then you have come to the right place. The traditional Cloverdale Town Centre is well known for being the “Antique Capital of BC”, famous for its antiques and collectibles. It was the setting of "Smallville", a fictional location used during the filming of the popular American television series Smallville.
 * South Surrey - South part of Surrey extending from the western to eastern city limits. The portion west of Highway 99 is often incorrectly referred to as part of White Rock (a small city that South Surrey surrounds), this community is more affluent than most other areas of Surrey, and the only portion of the city that borders the Pacific Ocean. East of Highway 99, except for near the highway, the area is mostly rural.
 * Crescent Beach - An area of South Surrey adjacent to a beach with the same name. Popular activities at Crescent Beach include swimming, kayaking, crabbing, fishing,  boating, and bird watching (e.g. bald eagles). There are shops nearby and restaurants with ocean views.  While the  beach is fairly lengthy heading north-south, only northern areas of the beach are sandy.

Get in
See Vancouver for options to get in the Vancouver area by plane, by bus, and by train, and by boat.

By plane
The nearest airport to Surrey is Vancouver International Airport in nearby Richmond. Surrey is a 30-minute drive from the airport via Highway 91 or Highway 99. Taxis and airport limousines available at the airport will also take you to Surrey. Rail rapid transit from the airport is also an option, using the Canada Line and the Expo Line, transferring between those lines at Waterfront station.

Abbotsford International Airport is a smaller, easier to navigate option to the east of Surrey easily accessed via 16th Ave. Bellingham International Airport   is immediately south of Surrey, about 25 minutes from the US border. It offers a limited range of direct destinations but with connections can be a good way to get cheaper fares than YVR offers.

Boundary Bay Airport in Delta accepts private aviation traffic.

By bus
Most long distance bus or train services reaching the Lower Mainland area terminate at Vancouver's Pacific Central Station. From there, passengers can ride public transit to Surrey via the SkyTrain's Expo Line. The following inter-regional buses stop in Surrey:

Highways reaching Surrey

 * Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway). Surrey can be reached by traveling east from Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) ferry terminal and Vancouver, and can reached from by traveling west from Kamloops and the Fraser Valley. Connects with Highways 10, 15, and 17. Vancouver (Horseshoe Bay) ferry terminal is the point of arrival for travelers from Bowen Island, Vancouver Island, and the Sunshine Coast
 * Highway 10. Reaches Surrey heading east from Delta and heading west from Langley. Connects at its eastern end with Highway 1 and with Highway 99.
 * Highway 15. North-south highway connecting Highway 1 and 17 with the United States border. Hwy 543 in Washington state becomes Highway 15. Highway 543 travels only a few kilometres between Interstate 5 and the international border. This border crossing takes cars, trucks, and buses.
 * Highway 17. Terminates in Surrey after traveling from Vancouver (Tsawwassen) ferry terminal in Delta, about 30 minutes away from Surrey. This highway connects with Highways 1, 17, 91, and 99. Vancouver (Tsawwassen) ferry terminal is the point of arrival for travelers from Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands.
 * Highway 99. Travelers heading north on Interstate 5 in Washington state from Seattle and Bellingham cross the international border at Surrey, at which point Interstate 5 becomes Highway 99. Travelers heading south reach Surrey from Vancouver, Richmond, and Delta. This highway connects with Highways 10, 17, and 91. The border crossing for Interstate 5 / Highway 99 allows cars and does not allow commercial trucks and buses. For commercial trucks and buses, they must exit the highway and travel a short distance to cross at Highway 15.

Get around
King George Boulevard (BC 99A) is the major surface street that runs from South Surrey to North Surrey.

By public transit
Passengers can pay for fares using Compass Cards ($6 refundable deposit), Compass Tickets, or tap-to-pay using contactless credit cards (only American Express, Mastercard or Visa) or mobile wallets. Passengers using Compass Cards and Compass Tickets pay discounted fares. Passengers can transfer for up to 90 minutes, except if taking West Coast Express, in which case they can transfer for up to 120 minutes. On bus and HandyDART, passengers can also pay in cash, but in that case will not receive change and are not eligible for transfers. Zone based fares apply between Monday and Friday for trips starting before 6:30 pm, if travel involves SkyTrain or SeaBus. Outside of those hours or for travel on only bus or HandyDART, a single zone rate applies. If traveling by West Coast Express, a higher cost zone based fare system applies regardless of time of travel. Children 12 and under can ride for free. People aged 13 to 18, and 65 and older pay discounted concession fares. Two zone fares are roughly 1½ times the price of one zone fares, and three zone fares are roughly twice the price of one zone fares. Effective July 2021, one-zone fares are $3.05 (effective July 2021) and three zone fares (for travel between Surrey and Vancouver) is $5.90.

Point to point trip planning of routes and schedules are available both on TransLink's website and on Google Maps.

By SkyTrain
The Expo Line SkyTrain connects Surrey with Vancouver's neighbouhoods of downtown, Yaletown-False Creek, Gastown-Chinatown, and East Van, and beyond Vancouver in Burnaby and New Westminster. Surrey Skytrain stations from west to east include:



King George station is about a 45-min trip from Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver.

By bus
Some notable bus routes:


 * N19 - Operates only during overnight hours, when the Expo Line does not operate, between downtown Vancouver and Surrey Central station (Expo Line) with stops in Burnaby and New Westminster.
 * R1 - A frequent, rapid bus service with limited stops that operates all day each day. It connects Scott Road and King George stations in Whalley with Guildford and Newton town centres.
 * 301 - Between Newton Exchange and Brighouse station (SkyTrain's Canada Line) in Richmond with stops in north Delta.
 * 319 - Between Scott Road station (Expo Line) and Newton Exchange. Travels along Scott Road and 72 Ave. Scott Road is the border between Surrey and Delta.
 * 320 - Between Surrey Central station (Expo Line) and Langley with stops in Guildford, Fleetwood, and Cloverdale.
 * 321 - Between Surrey Central station (Expo Line) and South Surrey (near border with White Rock) with stop at Newton Exchange. Travels mostly along King George Blvd.
 * 502 - Between Surrey Central station (Expo Line) and downtown Langley with stops at King George station (Expo Line) and in Fleetwood. Travels along Fraser Hwy.
 * 503 - Limited stop route between Surrey Central station (Expo Line) and Aldergrove in east Langley with stops at King George station (Expo Line), Fleetwood. and downtown Langley. Travels along Fraser Hwy. From Aldergrove, route 21 operated by BC Transit (Central Frasey Valley Transit System) travels to Abbotsford.

Direct bus service is available from Surrey to Burnaby, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, and White Rock.

By boat

 * Ferry serving Surrey:

Parks

 * Redwood Park 200229-007 (50021753567).jpg
 * Redwood Park 200229-007 (50021753567).jpg
 * Redwood Park 200229-007 (50021753567).jpg
 * Redwood Park 200229-007 (50021753567).jpg
 * Redwood Park 200229-007 (50021753567).jpg
 * Redwood Park 200229-007 (50021753567).jpg

Golf
There are many golf courses in Surrey. Several PGA tournaments have in the past been hosted in Surrey and parts of the movie Happy Gilmore were shot here.

Learn

 * Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Surrey Campus, Pond and Courtyard.jpg

Buy
Surrey has several major shopping areas, including:



Surrey has plenty of shops and restaurants, including the largest variety of South Asian ones in British Columbia. Metrotown, British Columbia's most visited mall, is in Burnaby, about 20 minutes ride from Surrey on SkyTrain.

Eat
Surrey has many of the standard national and international fast food chains and mid-range family restaurant franchises. Beyond this, Surrey has hundreds of independently-run local restaurants, with a particular focus on sushi, westernized Chinese, and Punjabi food. That said, Surrey's diverse population also allows one to find a surprising number of Mexican, Korean, Vietnamese, and Filipino eateries, as well as more unusual one-offs for the adventurous. For more upscale dining, look to South Surrey.

Newton
See also Delta for restaurants on the west side of Scott Road, a major street lined with businesses, which also the boundary between Surrey and Delta.

South Surrey
See also White Rock, a separate municipality surrounded by South Surrey.



Drink
Surrey has neighbourhood pubs where food can be found reasonably cheap - usually $5-8 for a burger and fries and around $10 for an entree. BC has very high taxes on liquor, so although the food is reasonably priced at pubs, alcoholic beverages can be quite expensive with a jug of beer costing between $12 and $18 and highballs upwards of $5 each.

Those looking for a vibrant nightlife are advised to look to Vancouver, which has a number of popular bars and night clubs on its Granville strip.

South Surrey
See also White Rock.



Stay safe
Parts of Surrey suffer from an image problem with a perceived crime and drug problem. However, Surrey's crime rate is often lower than many other cities in British Columbia. Crime within a couple of blocks of King George Boulevard in Whalley and Newton is higher than other areas of the city. Surrey is attempting to gentrify the Surrey City Centre area of Whalley, including by focusing development of new residential and business buildings there. The city also has been funding infrastructure in Surrey City Centre, such as relocating city hall to there and building a new main library. In this regard, the Surrey City Centre area is in a stage of transition, as although new million-dollar developments are sprouting up, homelessness and drug dealing can be found within the same city blocks in some cases. Compared to tougher parts of similarly sized US cities, no area in Surrey is very bad though.

Hospitals

 * If you are in southern Surrey, a hospital with an emergency department operating 24/7 is located in White Rock.
 * If you are in southern Surrey, a hospital with an emergency department operating 24/7 is located in White Rock.

Go next
White Rock, with its popular beach, water-view dining and pier, is surrounded by South Surrey. To the east is Langley, which has historic Fort Langley and the Vancouver region's zoo.