Fortunately, the territory of Crimea is regarded as domestic and not international, so you do not urgently need to buy local SIM cards. The most popular all-Russian operator there is MTS, so if you have its number, you just need to contact the company’s employees and find out which tariff plan is best for you.
Due to changes in the country's policies, there is a possibility of a complete cancellation of roaming, so stay tuned for news and browse operator websites, because tariff prices also change regularly.
Regarding mobile internet, here he does not catch everywhere and not always. Perhaps the reason is also that the terrain significantly reduces the signal received from telephone towers.
The cost of Internet traffic is the most optimal from the same MTS. Other operators that consider Crimea as a roaming service may have quite high Internet prices, so it’s better to find out in advance.
If you are staying at a hotel, you can use free wi-fi. In most hotels this service is included in the price of your stay. This point can also be clarified before booking a hotel.
A few words about local operators
As we have already said, you can easily find MTS SIM cards in Crimea. However, remember that in this case Crimea will be in the roaming of the Krasnodar Territory and the Republic of Adygea, and this may affect the cost of communication.
Here are some interesting offers from MTS:
- The Smart mini tariff will cost you 200 rubles. For this you will receive 1 GB of Internet traffic, 1000 minutes for calls to MTS operators throughout the country and 200 SMS to local MTS numbers. Calls to numbers from other operators will cost 12 rubles per minute, and for one SMS you will have to pay almost 2 rubles. Incoming calls are free.
- If you plan to call numbers of other operators, the Smart Unlimited package is suitable for you - calls outside the region will cost from 2 to 5 rubles per minute.
One of the popular operators there is considered "Volna Mobile"— you will pay only 90 rubles and get 2 GB of traffic for a month. If this is not enough for you, you can connect to unlimited for 150 rubles, but the speed there is not very high. Or a package with a volume of 10 GB of traffic worth 300 rubles. Here the speed will be much better.
"Win-mobile" ideal for short trips. It also offers services for using 3G and 4G. You can activate the option for 30 rubles, and pay 3 rubles for every 50 MB. This is enough for you to check your mail or use a city navigator.
You can also purchase 2.5 GB packages for 150 rubles, and 4 GB for 200. We recommend checking with the operators themselves for more accurate information.
"Krymtelecom" appeared relatively recently and, presumably, belongs to the local authorities. Their speed is not very good, sometimes it is difficult to find SIM cards, and navigating the site is inconvenient, but the prices are very reasonable. You can pay 5 rubles per day, receiving 150 MB per day at a good speed, and for 300 rubles you will be given as much as 150 GB, and the speed will also be very good.
"Sevmobile" belongs to Sevastopol operators and is not suitable for a holiday on the peninsula. However, if you are planning to stay in Sevastopol, we recommend that you take a look at the website of this operator; their rates are also quite reasonable.
As a result, at the beginning of 2018, 3G was available almost throughout the entire peninsula, and in major cities- 4G.
How to save on Internet traffic
First of all, download everything in advance necessary information on your phone so you don’t have to run around looking for the Internet later. This is especially true interactive maps cities. If you can use them offline, why not take advantage of it.
It is better to use popular instant messengers for calls and messages. Not only will the calls be inexpensive, but also the traffic consumption will be minimal.
Don’t forget to promptly disable all additional options that will be connected to you so that they don’t charge you extra money. The same goes for your SIM card. It is better to subscribe to the most convenient package in advance than to spend a lot of money on communications later.
When purchasing a local SIM card, make sure that you are not connected to any additional unnecessary options. After the end of your vacation, do not forget to properly liquidate your SIM card so as not to remain in debt.
Before returning home, make sure that there is no debt on your account, call the operator and ask to disable the SIM card. Those who are especially careful can go to the office and write a statement, then you will definitely not have any unexpected debts.
Other operators in Crimea
Remember that on the peninsula, communications work somewhat differently than in our country. There are no such operators as Tele2, Megafon or Beeline there. You won't be able to buy their SIM cards or connect to local plans. You will be roaming within the network, and this can significantly increase communication costs.
Therefore, we will tell you which packages may suit you.
Megafon and Tele2 have special functions for Crimea. Beeline’s “7 days of Internet for traveling around Russia” option will not work here, nor will the “My Country” package.
Megafon will charge you almost 10 rubles for 1 MB if you are roaming. The Crimea option will allow you to pay 5 rubles per 1 MB, including a daily subscription fee of 15 rubles.
As for Tele2, they have an option for Crimea, as we said above, but it basically only removes the charge for incoming calls. For 1 MB you will also have to pay 5 rubles.
So, if you are planning to spend there for a long time, we recommend that you do not use this type of communication.
Let's sum it up
As you probably already understood, Crimea occupies a special place regarding communications. Even the largest Russian providers are still forced to use the equipment of local operators.
This can be explained very simply: until the hype around this territory has subsided, the road here is closed to local operators. Otherwise, the European Union may impose huge fines.
However, companies are working on this and promise to provide their subscribers with high-quality and inexpensive communications in the near future.
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Hello everyone, my dears! I don’t like to write about the negative, but it’s better to be prepared for the bad than to unexpectedly face it. Today I will tell you what cellular communication is like in Crimea, why everything is bad with it, and what a tourist needs to do.
Let me make a reservation right away that our trip took place in May 2015, but at the time of writing the article the information remains relevant. So...
In this article:
What is the main problem of communication in Crimea
When we went to Crimea, we did not suspect that buying a card would be SO bad. Yes, and this main problem problem that we encountered: to buy a SIM card you need to try very hard.
We disembarked from the ferry onto the peninsula at night. At the same moment, our beeline stopped working. All communication shops in Kerch are, of course, closed. We decided that we would buy a SIM card in Sevastopol, but when we arrived there, we had to look for SIM cards for about 2 hours!
How it was.
We stopped in a fairly busy place: a small shopping center, many shops, a vegetable market. By a certain logic, we decided that somewhere in all this diversity, SIM cards should be sold. Well, simply because in such places we always have a small cell phone store, counter or something similar.
I'm not even talking about the fact that in such busy places there can be several of them in different salons at once.
But this was not the case here. We went into shops, salons with telephones, pavilions at bus stops. NOTHING. We asked sellers where you can buy a SIM card. They were just thinking and couldn’t say anything, but at the same time everyone had a smartphone in their hand. The question “where did you personally buy your SIM card?” also remained unanswered.
But we couldn’t give up; we had to contact the owner of the guest house where we later lived.
I remember that we went to the Technopoint store, where we were sent to a shopping center, which was located on the ground floor of a neighboring house. Here we found a point that, in addition to the main goods (electronics and other things), sold SIM cards. True, we had to wait until the seller returned from lunch, but this did not scare us.
As a result, after half an hour the card was in our hands, or rather, in our phone.
Then, when we got to know the city better, we noticed that there were cell phone stores, but there were really few of them. After this, I want to bow to the owners of the Svyaznoy network, Euroset, MTS and others, for the fact that they are 5 minutes from my house and any stop. This is a real thank you to you.
But let's go back to the moment where we were near the pavilion and purchased a SIM card. We were offered a choice of 2 operators: MTS and WIN. Let me tell you briefly about each.
Which operators are currently working in Crimea
1. MTS
I’ll say right away that I haven’t seen MTS stores in Crimea, but instead of them you can meet people on the streets who sell SIM cards directly from the table. During the season they can be found on Nakhimov Avenue and Lenin Street.
Now about the prices. MTS seemed to us more profitable at that time for calls within Russia than its competitor. The tariff was called “Super-MTS” Krasnodar region:
- a SIM card costs 50 rubles and they immediately appear on your account
- calls within Crimea and Krasnodar 20 minutes a day free, then 0.5 rubles per minute
- calls to Russia cost 10 rubles per minute, but you can activate the “Favorite Country” service for 50 rubles per month, and calls will cost 3.5 rubles per minute
- As for the Internet, here you also need to connect a package, otherwise it’s expensive.
I don’t know if it’s possible to buy MTS in advance in Russia, go to an MTS communication store and find out there. I admit honestly, I tried to find out this issue through the support service, but:
- MTS does not distribute information about tariffs in Crimea on its website.
- To get through to them, I had to hang on the line for 1.5 hours, after which the call was interrupted, this is really tough.
2.WIN
The salons of this operator can be found on the streets of Sevastopol. Not very often, but still. You can view the rates at his official website.
Below I will briefly list the cost of calls to Russia using the “Freedom of Communication” tariff:
- a SIM card costs 50 rubles and this amount appears on the account
- calls to Russia cost 9.5 rubles per minute, but you can activate the “My Russia” service, which costs 15 rubles one-time + 2 rubles subscription fee per day, but calls will cost 2 rubles per minute.
- Calls to Krasnodar region and Crimea cost 1 ruble per minute
- Internet is 10 rubles per 1 MB, but you can connect packages with a subscription fee of 3 rubles per day.
Actually, if I had to choose of this operator, then only because of the Internet. He has an interesting tariff called “Fast and Furious,” which we didn’t pay attention to at the time. Pay 400 rubles per month and you have 5 GB of daytime and 5 GB of nightly Internet, that is, 10 GB of Internet! You can simply call on Skype, Viber and communicate via social media. But calls in this case will be expensive.
3. Beeline
Beeline for Crimea offers to connect the “My Country” service. Naturally, you need to connect it in advance, before entering the peninsula. So, how much does roaming cost:
- connecting to the service costs 25 rubles
- incoming calls for 1 minute cost 3 rubles, for subsequent calls - free
- outgoing within Russia - 3 rubles per minute
- SMS within Russia - 3 rubles per minute
In addition, in order to roam, you must have a certain amount of money in your account. If my memory serves me right - 500 rubles. But in my opinion, for calls this is one of the best and simple options. As for the Internet, everything is not so rosy here - 10 rubles per 1 MB.
Let me summarize briefly. If it is important for you to be in touch immediately after crossing the bay, you need to worry about a SIM card in advance: either it will be MTS or Beeline with roaming. If this is not important for you, you can buy a SIM card on the spot, in the salon. I would prefer to at the moment Internet tariff from WIN.
Here's a review, my dears. I really hope you found this article helpful. I'm waiting for your comments and questions, ask, we'll figure it out together. In addition, I suggest you read the article about
Review of tariffs of mobile operators of the peninsula
Summer is already close, which means that millions of Russians will come to the cities of Crimea to the sea and the sun, and one of the first questions that arises among guests of the peninsula as soon as they set foot on Crimean soil, getting off the train, bus, ferry or plane, is this what SIM card should I buy?
Due to sanctions, Russian mobile operators are in no hurry to conquer the Crimean market - there are only a few of them here:
- MTS, registered in the Krasnodar region;
- W in Mobile, which is the successor to the network MTS-Ukraine;
- Krymtelecom is the “successor” of the Ukrainian networks Kyivstar and Trimob.
- SevMobile is an exclusively Sevastopol mobile operator;
- Volna Mobile is a new mobile operator in Crimea.
MTS is the first and most popular operator in Crimea
The most popular operator in Crimea, which has captured the lion's share of the market, is the MTS mobile communication network. There is only one tariff here and it involves cheap, almost free communication between network subscribers (which are almost all Crimeans) and reasonable prices for calls within Russia. In addition, MTS has a very good coverage communications throughout the peninsula - almost everywhere in Crimea you will be in the access zone.
A day provides 12 free minutes of conversation between network users in Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, which amounts to 7 hours of free calls per month and this is more than any of the competitors offers.
But there is one significant drawback - outside the region, a minute of conversation with this operator will cost 10 rubles. There is no monthly fee in MTS as such - just top up your account with 50 rubles at any city terminal and you can call until the free minutes run out, even if the money in your account is exhausted. On average, if you communicate only in Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, this may be enough for a month.
Almost all local residents use the networks of this mobile operator. One of the reasons for this is that for a long time MTS was the only mobile company providing its services in the sanctioned Crimea - other Russian operators did not dare to do this. And now, despite the fact that other operators also provide a function with a certain number of free minutes within the network, this service actually works only for MTS subscribers, because their network covers almost all residents of the peninsula.
WinMobile
Despite the fact that Win Mobile offers a wide variety of tariffs, this network is not popular and many Crimeans do not even know that this operator exists on the peninsula.
W in Mobile provides 2G, 3G network, but it is available only in the Simferopol area, along the cities and towns of the coast, as well as some populated areas eastern part of Crimea. 4G only works in Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta.
The number of terminals where you can top up your Win Mobile account is very limited, and there are not enough communication towers to cover all corners of the peninsula. But the main reason for the weak popularity of this network is that the operator came to Crimea much later than MTS, and it’s unlikely that anyone will be able to take advantage of the enticing option of 60 free minutes within the network, because the vast majority of Crimeans already use MTS services and call “for free” with Win Mobile you will simply have no one. And guaranteed replenishment of the account of this operator is possible only through personal account on the Internet and at some points in life, if there is no Wi-Fi network at hand, you may be left without communication.
Wave mobile
Volna Mobile is the latest operator to appear in Crimea quite recently. There are three tariffs of this operator: “Sea”, “Sun” and “Wind”. The most attractive tariff is "Sea". With a subscription fee of 150 rubles per month, it provides 300 free minutes for calls to numbers of all operators in the Crimea, Sevastopol and Krasnodar Territory and 3 gigabytes of Internet traffic. Calls to numbers of operators in other regions of Russia will cost 3 rubles per minute. It is worth noting that payment here is per minute. This tariff is close to the indicators from MTS, but is still inferior to it in terms of the number of free minutes per month and the amount of the subscription fee.
Krymtelecom
Krymtelecom is the second company after MTS that appeared in Crimea, but it is also not very popular yet, despite the fact that its networks were modernized and significantly expanded after overcoming the consequences of the virus launched by Ukrainian companies.
The “My Crimea” tariff looks the most attractive, but the cost of calls within Russia outside of Crimea here is 5 rubles, which is 2 rubles more than most other operators offer. The advantages are the absence of a subscription fee and the ability to connect additional options, which for 200 rubles per month provide up to 10 gigabytes of Internet traffic.
SevMobile
This operator operates exclusively in Sevastopol - it does not have a coverage network outside this city, so the possibility of using the entire range of its tariffs is very limited.
One of the most attractive tariffs “My City” for a subscription fee of 180 rubles per month provides 90 free minutes for calls to numbers of all mobile operators in Crimea and unlimited internet-traffic at a speed of 64 Mb/s. - for higher speed you will have to pay extra. Calls to numbers outside the region will cost 1.5 rubles.
For guests of Crimea, there is also the opportunity to come to the peninsula with SIM cards from other Russian operators not represented in Crimea. Megafon, Beeline and Tele2 have offers in their tariff lines specifically for Crimea, but still, the most profitable thing is to purchase a SIM card from one of the local operators that provide free hours of communication within Crimea.
The best option is to take an MTS SIM card for free calls within the peninsula and the Krasnodar Territory, and for calls outside the Crimea, use cheaper offers from other operators, for example, W in Mobile or SevMobile.
Although Crimea is now part of Russia, mobile communications It works differently there than in other parts of our country. In Crimea there are no Beeline, Megafon, MTS, Tele2, Yota networks, but there are Win Mobile, Krymtelecom, Volna Mobile networks, so all SIM cards of Russian operators operate in roaming mode in Crimea.
For all Russian operators, except MTS, roaming in Crimea is quite expensive - calls, SMS and megabytes of traffic cost 5-10 rubles. MTS package tariffs, operating throughout Russia, also work in Crimea through Win mobile roaming. Additional fee not taken, but there is one unpleasant feature - MTS free roaming only works in 2G mode. Internet speed is on average 0.1 Mbit/sec.
Win Mobile has 3G and 4G networks, but for some reason MTS is only allowed on 2G. Apparently, that's what they agreed on.
I asked several residents of Crimea and even SIM card sellers about mobile networks in Crimea, but to my surprise they knew nothing, talking only about MTS. I had to figure it out myself.
In Yalta, the networks of three operators are caught.
In the Internet S Tariff Plan, 100 MB of traffic costs 5 rubles. The “Youth” tariff plan has a subscription fee of 100 rubles per month, which includes 3 GB of traffic and unlimited calls to Krymtelecom numbers. Calls to Russian phones - 5 rubles per minute, SMS - 2 rubles.
The third network 25060 2G/3G belongs to the operator Volna Mobile (KTK-Telecom), which has not yet launched.
Most cheap option MTS has a tariff with the strange name MTS Smart Unlimited, a SIM card with which you can buy in Moscow for 200 rubles. Every day in the first month, 12.9 rubles will be debited, for which you will get unlimited Internet, 200 minutes and 200 SMS per month. Upon return, the tariff can be changed to any tariff without a subscription fee, for example Super MTS. Let me remind you once again that the Internet in Crimea with this SIM card will be very slow - only 2G.
p.s. Important tip. If your mobile Internet does not work while roaming, even though everything is configured correctly, just turn off the phone (do not put it in airplane mode, do not overload it), wait a minute and turn it on again.
© 2016, Alexey Nadezhin
In the 2017 season, the conditions and tariffs of Russian mobile operators for communications in Crimea have changed. To make it more convenient to choose an operator, the optimal tariff and save on communications, read comparative review conditions of 4 main operators in Russia - MTS, Megafon, Beeline and Tele2.
MTS: communication in Crimea
Most Crimeans use MTS, and this despite the fact that there is no “own” MTS on the peninsula.
As for roaming tariffs, the best option is Smart group tariffs. On the Smart mini tariff you need to activate the “Everywhere at home” option. The service will cost 100 rubles. per month. This is exactly what I did before the trip (my number is Moscow).
MTS prices for roaming in Crimea
Before the trip, I subscribed (for points) to the “Everywhere at Home” service for a month (less than that is impossible). And I used the connection at the home rate, nothing extra was written off. Communication worked everywhere, and we climbed into the most different corners Crimea. The only thing is that my mobile Internet was turned off and I didn’t check how it worked. In all other respects, no complaints against the operator.
On Smart and Smart Unlimited tariffs you need to activate the All Russia Smart service. It also costs 100 rubles. per month.
On the Smart+ and Smart Top tariffs, you won’t even have to connect anything additional; billing will be carried out according to the tariffs of your home region.
Megafon in Crimea
Megafon offers an option called “Crimea”. When you activate the option, incoming calls will be free, outgoing calls will be 5 rubles/min, SMS will be 3 rubles, Internet will be 5 rubles/1 MB. The cost of the option is 15 rubles per day. So, in fact, it’s not very profitable. However, if you are traveling for just a week, it will cost relatively little.
Without connecting the Crimea option, all incoming and outgoing calls cost 9.99 rubles/min, SMS – 4.90 rubles, Internet – 9.90 rubles/1 MB.
Roaming prices in Crimea Megafon
On the second phone on our trip to Crimea there was just a Megafon and it didn’t work. Immediately upon arrival at Simferopol airport, this annoying nuisance was discovered. Why the SIM card did not work at all remained a mystery. But we didn’t find out anything on the spot, because there was MTS at home tariffs, and, as a last resort, Beeline.
Beeline in Crimea
Beeline for roaming in Russia offers an excellent My Country option. Connection is only 25 rubles. one-time fee, and all incoming, outgoing and SMS for 3 rubles. But this option does not apply to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol.
Beeline doesn’t offer anything interesting specifically for communications in Crimea. The best option All group rates. At the most economical tariff ALL 1, for example, incoming calls will cost 1.5 rubles/min., outgoing calls – 4 rubles/min., SMS – 4.95 rubles, Internet 9.95 rubles/1MB. At the same time, everything is spent outside the package, that is, it is paid additionally.
Communication prices in Crimea Beeline
I can say that the Beeline SIM card worked fine, although we didn’t use it, but kept it just in case. But she was always in working order and caught the net.
Tele2 in Crimea
Tele2 operator offers to activate the “Like at home in Crimea” option for holidays in Crimea. The service costs 6 rubles/day. When you activate the option, all incoming calls will be free, outgoing calls will be 5 rubles/min. SMS will cost 3.5 rubles, Internet – 5 rubles/1MB. Plus, you will need to pay a one-time connection fee of 30 rubles.
Roaming prices in Crimea Tele2
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