Any way to send email from StPb to US?

marcelapa10

Hello, we are traveling to St Petersburg June 2026. Is there any way to let family back in the US know that all is well once we arrive and every couple days thereafter? Gmail? Yandex? Other method? From this incredibly helpful site, public Wi-Fi requires russian phone number. Maybe our hotel can help?
I plan on getting Ubigi eSIM before travelling to Russia, but it does not support voice calls or texting to my knowledge.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

antoniob

you can connect to any Wifi at hotels, shopping centers, several public places.. No need for a SIM in order to use internet. Email works fine.

your SIM should be unlocked for voice and SMS after the first 24hrs in the country, optionally after clicking a link send by SMS from the operator that will do the roaming, this provided that your operator has a roaming partner in Russia, so you have to check.

marcelapa10

antoniob
Thank you for your response!

Everything I read said how even public Wi-Fi connection needs a russian phone number. But sounds like I should be able to at least use Wi-Fi at our hotel. I didn't think Google/Gmail works though. I am reading conflicting information online.

The Ubigi eSIM I plan on getting thanks to Irina's tip does not have voice calling or texting.
I know a VPN is an option, but I am not super tech savvy and don't want to go through the hassle especially with the most recent govt VPN restrictions.

I primarily just want a way to let family know we are fine and having a good time in StPb.

marcelapa10

I was just reading that Yandex Telemost is an option similar to Zoom. If I have Gmail, I could invite my family to the Telemost meeting at a set time. If my Gmail does not work, perhaps I can do it from within the Telemost app?

antoniob

marcelapa10 If I have Gmail, I could invite my family to the Telemost meeting at a set time

Telemost requires obviously a Yandex account for all participants, ie. you and the people you will video chat with. Just create accounts on Yandex.

Bill

St Petersburg airport does not have public wifi. Well it sort of has "public" wifi, but you have to have a phone number that can receive a text.

You'll prolly just have to wait till you get to the hotel that will have wifi.