Apps to use for navigation in Russia

You can navigate Russia using Google Maps. But there are a few apps which have more specific, recent and relevant data. Here I list them and what they are most useful for.

2gis — offline map and exact locations

Use it to find exact locations (up to where the entrance is), working hours and contact information of organizations. It also has a built in navigator, but app’s most useful features are listed below.

Features:

• Contains the most relevant data for cities other than Moscow and St. Petersburg.
• Keeps its data on organizations regularly updated: working hours, phone number, website and social accounts.
• Shows on the map where the place’s entrance is.
• All features work offline.

Use tips:

• Download a city while you are online. Use it when you’re out and have no internet. Note that city names are in Cyrillic, so you will need to know city names in Russian and get Cyrillic input for the first use.
• Look for places by their names (e.g. Spar, McDonald’s) or by type (e.g. train station, post office, cafe, ATM, bank & etc.) You can use English here.
• Click the clock icon on top of the map to filter places that are open now.
• Click “Entrance” icon on the bottom of the screen to see the entrance.

In my Android app only a part of the interface is in English, but the street names and some actions are in Russian. But you can type in English, it will understand you in most cases, e.g. with “bank” or “cafe”.

Yandex Maps and Yandex Navigator — car routes, traffic jams and road alerts

It’s same as Google Maps but for Russia and with more relevant local information about roads and traffic conditions.

Use it to plot routes when you travel by car. People use it more than Google Maps, so traffic states and road alerts are more relevant.

Features:

• Fully translated into English.
• Precise data on traffic conditions and many user-generated road alerts.
• Makes good estimations on arrival time. In my experience, it’s around 10–15 minutes difference for a 4 hour ride.
• Has a more detailed map of rural areas than Google Maps.
• Needs to be online to function.

Use tips:

• Click on the circle in the top left corner to turn on traffic information.
• In general roads in Russia are just like in central Europe, nothing special. But the ones that are rarely used can sometimes be totally destroyed. Once in a while routing algorithms go wild and offer you a shortcut through a narrow rural road. Stick to wider more general roads, it’s safer for your car.

If you have a friend to act as a navigator I recommend Yandex Maps (I think it’s more convenient, but see for yourself). If you need a navigation program, then pick Yandex Navigator.

Yandex Transport — current state of all public transport units

Tracks all public transport movement in real time, use it to pick a commute to a destination. Works in Moscow, St. Petersburg and several big cities.

Features:

• Shows transport units movement in real time.
• Shows routes on the map.
• Can filter off transport types.
• Needs to be online to function.

Use tips:

• Click on a bus or type its number to see its full route.
• Go to account settings to filter out undesired transport types, e.g. minibusses.
• Tap and hold a point on the map to plot a route there.

Conclusion

These are the alternatives to Google Maps. There are also apps for other navigation purposes, which I didn’t cover here. Look for Yandex Taxi (alternative to Uber) and Yandex Metro (subway map and information) if you need those.

Yandex and other local companies put a lot of effort to keep their market in Russia, and their main perk is that they provide more relevant data. Each app offers a specific feature, so I keep them all on my phone and use each for what it does best.

Hope you find it useful,

Natu.