Roaming is becoming a key factor when choosing a mobile operator for many subscribers. Users consider both comprehensive offers for communication throughout Russia and abroad. In this material we will learn how to activate roaming on Megafon in Russia for free and consider the available tariffs.
General situation with roaming cancellation
Intranet roaming has been cancelled, as has national roaming. However, in Crimea and Sevastopol, where MegaFon still does not have its own networks, special service conditions apply. In other regions, regular tariff plans are used. We divided them into two parts - the first included tariffs with home packages of minutes, the second - with all-Russian packages.
Home packages work either in the home region or in the region where the subscriber is located. For example, when leaving Moscow for Kazan, we will be able to make free calls within Kazan and Tatarstan using the minutes from the package. But calls to Moscow will be paid - they are charged at intercity rates. This may seem unfair to some, but the FAS did not find any violations in this. They are not here - the local package of minutes remains local, only the subscriber’s location changes.
Tariffs with all-Russian packages of minutes give freedom of communication not only at home, but throughout Russia. They are spent on calls in all directions, including when traveling within the Russian Federation. With them, you don’t have to think about call pricing – feel free to call where you need to go. By the way, the same applies to Internet packages that now work throughout Russia.
Now let's understand the terminology:
- Roaming – the subscriber is in another region and communicates there (previously - at roaming rates);
- Intercity – calls from one region to another.
The trick is that many subscribers are sure that if roaming was canceled, then long-distance service also disappeared. This is a misconception; FAS did not plan to cancel the intercity route. Also, no one planned to introduce uniform prices - this is another misconception.
The abolition of roaming for calls led to free incoming calls and the preservation of tariffs in the regions; the abolition of roaming for the Internet eliminated surcharges for using traffic outside the home network.
In June 2021, another innovation was introduced - from the 1st, all incoming calls throughout Russia became free, which is required by the amendments to the Law “On Communications” that have entered into force.
What's free when traveling around Russia
Just a few years ago, travelers were forced to purchase local SIM cards or communicate at expensive roaming rates. With changes in legislation, all this has become a thing of the past - you can easily move around the country and communicate as if at home.
When traveling around Russia, subscribers receive:
- Mobile Internet that works anywhere in the country - tariffs with Internet packages valid only in the home region have disappeared. The same applies to tariff plans with per-megabyte pricing - the cost of traffic remains the same throughout the Russian Federation;
- Free inboxes – these can come from local numbers, other regions and even from abroad. Receive calls calmly anywhere in Russia and communicate for free;
- All-Russian packages that work in all regions - with the exception of Crimea and Sevastopol.
We will discuss these packages in the next section of our review.
How to save on calls
Even in the conditions of canceled roaming, some calls from MegaFon numbers cost 13 rubles per minute of conversation. This is far from an offer that can be called profitable. Therefore, a person who goes on a trip to Russia should take into account several tips:
- When traveling, you need to use a tariff with a package of minutes.
- You should try to receive calls more often than make them, since incoming calls are free everywhere.
- If your package of minutes is exhausted, you can use instant messengers, where calls and messages are free. Unlimited access to such services is provided on almost every MegaFon tariff.
- When you are in Crimea, you should focus on receiving calls, since even in special conditions, incoming calls there are free. For outgoing calls, it is recommended to purchase a SIM card on the spot.
Be that as it may, the abolition of domestic Russian roaming left a big imprint on the lives of many people within the country. This decision was primarily due to the decline in the communications services market.
Favorable MegaFon tariffs without roaming in Russia
Traveling around the country is most profitable with tariffs that include minutes within Russia. Here is their list:
- “Turn on! Look” - 1500 minutes within Russia, intranet unlimited throughout the country and unlimited Internet for 800 rubles/30 days. 20% of the subscription fee is returned in the form of cashback;
- “Turn on! Choose" - 300, 650, 750 or 900 minutes in Russia, 8, 18, 28 or 38 GB of Internet (or unlimited instead of any packages except the minimum) and on-net unlimited with a subscription fee from 450 to 890 rubles/30 days (plus cashback );
- “Turn on! Premium - 5,000 minutes within Russia, unlimited Internet and unlimited SMS with a subscription fee of 3,000 rubles/30 days (plus cashback);
- “Turn on! Communicate” – 15 GB of Internet (or the free “Unlimited Internet” option), unlimited for instant messengers and social networks, 600 minutes in Russia and intranet unlimited throughout the country for 600 rubles/30 days;
- “Turn on! Speak” – 600 minutes to any Russian numbers, intranet unlimited, unlimited for instant messengers and 5 GB of traffic for 500 rubles/30 days.
Also, additional options and goodies are available on these tariffs - traffic for MegaFon TV, premium service on the hotline and in offices, ESET NOD32 antivirus with the Anti-Theft function and much more.
Many other tariff plans in the archive are also suitable for traveling around Russia - the main thing is that they include an all-Russian package of minutes.
How are things?
The Big Four operator has developed several excellent features available to any user. Now every subscriber will be able to enjoy travel from a new perspective.
Megafon without roaming in Russia can be obtained on several tariff plans included in the “Turn on!” line:
- Look;
- Premium;
- Choose;
- Listen;
- Communicate;
- Speak;
- Open;
- Write
Cancellation of Megafon roaming in Russia on these tariff plans allows you to use the conditions of your home region when traveling - packages of minutes, messages and the Internet.
Is roaming canceled in Crimea?
In Crimea, there is an alternative tariff within the framework. It provides the following conditions:
- Mobile Internet – 100 MB per day for free, then 2.2 rubles/MB until the end of the day;
- Outgoing within Russia – 60 minutes free, then 3 rubles/min until the end of the day;
- Subscription fee – 99 rubles/day.
The subscription fee is debited only upon the fact of using certain services - just go online or make an outgoing call. To save money on your vacation budget, buy a local SIM card or connect to MTS - this operator remains valid for all packages on the peninsula.
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Author
Vyacheslav
For several years he worked in mobile phone stores of two large operators. I understand tariffs well and see all the pitfalls. I love gadgets, especially Android ones.
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What is considered a home region?
Home region is the area where you connected your Megafon number. That is, for example, if you connected it in Moscow, Podolsk or Zelenograd, then your home zone is Moscow and the Moscow region (Moscow region), if in St. Petersburg or Vyborg, then St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, and if in Ryazan, Ryazhsk or Kasimov - then Ryazan region.
Accordingly, all the descriptions that you read in your tariff plan will be valid only in the territory of this connection area, and beyond the aisles, Megafon Roaming already comes into force, about which you can read in more detail at the link - there is about traveling both in Russia and abroad, and talks about how much money they will charge you for calls, SMS and access to the Internet, as well as how to avoid this.
Don't know which cities are included? All cities in your region. The division on the Megafon website into the Center, North-West, Volga region, South, Ural, Caucasus and so on is a convention; the boundaries of the home region still run along the border of your region, as shown by the geographical map (there may be errors on the border if inside the zone will catch a signal from a tower from another area).
What documents are needed for a trip to Kaliningrad
If you are traveling by plane (flying from a Russian city), then you only need a Russian passport for the trip. No passport or visa is needed.
What do you need to travel to Kaliningrad by train? The train travel route passes through the territory of Belarus and Lithuania. Therefore, a foreign passport and a visa (Schengen or simplified transit document) are required.
Please note that now (at the time of writing, March 2021) it is not possible to use a Schengen or simplified transit visa. A special document for railway transport is required: UPTD-ZhD.
You can get it for free; to do this, you need to fill out a form through the website, print it out and hand it to the conductor when boarding the train.
To travel to Kaliningrad on your own by car you need a Schengen visa, but at the moment (March 2021) it is impossible to get to Kaliningrad by car due to closed borders.
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Holidays in Kaliningrad: pros and cons
I had been thinking about a trip to Kaliningrad for a long time, even before the pandemic. For some reason, it seemed to me that Kaliningrad was some other Russia. And I was not mistaken: every now and then I forgot where I was. Sometimes it seemed like it was somewhere in Germany, sometimes in the Baltic states or even the Czech Republic. Now I’ll tell you about the pros and cons of traveling to Kaliningrad on your own or with a tour package.
Why is it worth going to Kaliningrad?
- The opportunity to visit Europe without leaving Russia
- No visa or passport required (if arriving by plane), knowledge of foreign languages
- It's much cheaper than traveling to Europe
- Many historical (related to the history of Prussia, for example) and natural (Curonian Spit, Amber Quarry) attractions
- Opportunity to try dishes of Königsberg, German, Czech, Lithuanian cuisine in good quality restaurants.
- Huge selection of excursions - group and individual
- Housing for every budget
- It will be interesting here in any season of the year
- When the borders are open, you can combine it with a trip to Poland or Lithuania.
- You can come at any time of the year. I was there in winter, I liked it :)
Sometimes you can forget that you are in Russia
Disadvantages of traveling to Kaliningrad
- Separation from the main part of Russia. For example, we flew from Yekaterinburg for almost 4 hours (slightly less than to Prague)
- There are rarely cheap plane tickets (for example, buying a ticket from Yekaterinburg for less than 15,000 rubles per person even in the off-season is problematic)
- When traveling by train or car, a Schengen visa and passport are required.
Honestly, I don’t see any more disadvantages, and the ones I listed are far-fetched. I am sure that for many of you they are also uncritical.
What to try in Kaliningrad and where to eat
In my guide to Kaliningrad for independent travel, I can safely call Kaliningrad a gastronomic destination for tourists. Here you can try dishes of Königsberg cuisine, sit in cozy restaurants with German, Czech, Lithuanian, Ukrainian cuisine, taste local cheeses and taste beer from local breweries.
I have a separate gastronomic article, where I wrote in detail about what to try in Kaliningrad and where you can eat deliciously. If you are planning to go on vacation to Kaliningrad, read it.
- TOP 15 dishes in Kaliningrad and 15 restaurants in the city with delicious food.
The best dishes of Kaliningrad
In the TOP dishes of Kaliningrad that I recommend trying, I would include
- Koenigsberg bedbugs. You can try them in almost all establishments in Kaliningrad. We tried it at Zotler and Aunt Fischer restaurants. The presentation is a little different, but both are very tasty, even though they are ordinary meatballs.
- Stroganina from bonito. We tried it at Aunt Fisher: delicious!
- Venison. There is a reindeer herding farm in the Kaliningrad region, so venison is very popular. In the Steindamm 99 restaurant, for example, they even make bugs from venison. I tried the venison stew and liked it.
- Marzipan and marzipan coffee. You can try it at the marzipan museum or the Marzipan House store. You can also buy sweet souvenirs for your loved ones there (if you buy small marzipan bars, take those that cost 70 rubles, not 40: they are not so sweet and you can feel the marzipan more)
- Lithuanian zeppelins. The Brikas restaurant specializes in them.
- German sausages, knuckle - you can try them in any German restaurant, for example, Zotler, Khmel or Kaiser Wurst
- Local cheeses can be tasted at cheese factories. For example, on this excursion you will be taken to the Schaaken Dorf cheese factory, and on this one - to the city of Sovetsk (formerly Tilsit), where cheese-making traditions are being revived.
- Beer "Ponart" and other local varieties. In Kaliningrad there is even a Königsberg Beer excursion dedicated to this drink.
Pelamid stroganina is a popular local dish.
Königsberg bedbugs: different restaurants serve them differently
Where to stay in Kaliningrad: the best hotels in the center
A guide to Kaliningrad cannot fail to include information about hotels. Choosing housing in Kaliningrad is not a problem. There are offers for every budget: from the most inexpensive hostels, mini-hotels and guest houses to good 4* hotels. There are 4 five-star hotels in Kaliningrad and the region:
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- Crystal House Suite Hotel & SPA is a luxurious, modern 5-star hotel with all amenities, 900 m from the Königsberg Cathedral.
- Schloss Hotel Yantarny is a hotel in a reconstructed castle in the village of Yantarny.
- Grand Palace Hotel on the embankment in Svetlogorsk
- Hotel Madame L & SPA also in Svetlogorsk
There are also chain hotels in Kaliningrad, these are:
- Radisson Blu Hotel Kaliningrad 4* on Victory Square
- Holiday Inn Kaliningrad 4* hotel near the Cathedral
- Mercure Kaliningrad 4* next to the Amber Museum
- Ibis Kaliningrad Center 3* on Moskovsky Prospekt
One of the popular hotels
For other hotels and unusual accommodation (for example, a castle hotel, a hotel in a German villa or guest cabins on a ship), read my article
- 19 best hotels in Kaliningrad for tourists
