Surathkal is one of the major localities in the northern part of Mangalore city located on National highway 66 in the Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka state, India on the shore of Arabian sea. It is a municipality merged with Mangalore City Corporation. It lies between Gurupura (Phalguni) and Pavanje (Nandini) rivers. It is the northern suburb and can be considered as the northernmost area of Mangalore City until Mukka. Surathkal has a railway station on Konkan railway route which connects cities of Mumbai to Mangaluru. Surathkal is 8 km north of New Mangalore seaport, 4 km west of Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited and 16 km west of Mangalore International Airport This region has developed educationally, industrially and commercially can be regarded as one of the crucial localities in Mangaluru and coastal Karnataka. The only NIT of Karnataka is situated here which is adjacent to the national highway NH 66. Mukka a popular name in Indian surfing is also situated close to Surathkal. Surathkal beach is well known for its cleanliness and well maintained like other beaches in Mangalore.

National Highway 66, commonly referred to as NH 66, is a mostly 4 lane 1640 km long busy National Highway that runs roughly north–south along the western coast of India, parallel to the Western Ghats. It connects Panvel, a city east of Mumbai to Cape Comorin (Kanyakumari), passing through the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.