Soutchai Travel

Would not recommend this trip. The journey took 5 hours longer than suggested, we arrived at 12pm instead of 7am. Beds were extremely uncomfortable. Bus broke down on the side of the road at 2am for at least an hour. Very dirty

Je crois qu'il nous avait oublié. On a été aidé par le personnel de l'hôtel pour avoir le bus.

After transfer from vang vieng had to contact operator as it was unclear where we needed to be picked up for the next bus, beds small but expected

The pickup did not show up. After waiting 2 hours I got a tuktuk paid by the company because I would miss the big bus. That’s quiet stressfull. The whole bus had to wait for me and I had the last free chair. Did not like this for sure.

A very pleasant and easy journey. Had to swap 30 minutes outside Savannakhet to a minivan which was safe and easy. The beds are for 6ft tall or less, but comfortable

I had a bad experiece using Soutchai Travel. I thought I was paying a premium to travel in a nice shuttle van (as pictured on their webpage), but instead it was just a tuk-tuk that took me to the Central Station, then a dirty, old bus. But this bothered me less than the way time was managed. I was ready 30 minutes before the pick-up time as instructed. The tuk-tuk driver showed up about 40 minutes later. Fine, whatever. Then we drove across town to another hotel for another pick-up. The other passenger wasn't there. I sat there for another 25 minutes before the driver finally gave up and we went to the Central Station. He bought my ticket at the station, just as I could have; the station is only 10 minute walk from where I was staying. And I really wish I'd done just that. Leaving Vientiane later than expected - for no reason - made me stress about making my Udon Thani flight. TL;DR - I paid a premium for Soutchai to waste my time and stress me out.

Picked up on time at the hotel, transferred to the bus pick up point and had a seamless trip to Vang Vieng.

According to the TOS they can change the vehicle type. I booked a minivan with 5.5h travel time and ended up in a bus with nearly 8h travel time. The problem was not the changed vehicle, it was the changed schedule. I booked 11.30am - 5pm. The new schedule was 1pm - 8.30pm. So the day was ruined because I had to wait from 10.30am in the lobby for the pickup. The pickup I got was later than they told me. I tried to call the buscompany but the number on the voucher doesn't work. The number which I found on google worked but no one answered my calls.

Driver die not find me at first to bring me to the busstation, but did not give up. Good service.

English* / Deutsch English // We booked for 9am and had to call the hotline 1.5 hours later to ask why we weren't picked up. Apparently the time was wrong and the shuttle wouldn't leave until 12:00. After calling, we were picked up very quickly by a private car and then had to spend another hour in the vicinity of the shuttle before we could start. The shuttle itself was perfectly fine and we arrived at our destination quickly. Watch your stuff! My hat was kindly put on my seat, but unfortunately the shuttle was not taken, but another one. So my hat is gone now. Deutsch // Wir haben für 9 Uhr gebucht und mussten 1,5 Stunden später bei der Hotline anrufen und erfragen, wieso wir nicht abgeholt wurden. Scheinbar stimmte die Zeit nicht und das Shuttle würde erst 12 Uhr losfahren. Wir wurden also nach dem anrufen sehr schnell abgeholt von einem privat PKW und mussten dann in der Umgebung des Shuttels noch eine Stunde verbringen bis es los ging. Das Shuttle selbst war vollkommen in Ordnung und wir waren auch zügig am Ziel angekommen. Achtet auf eure Sachen! Mein Hut wurde freundlicherweise auf mein Platz gelegt, leider wurde aber nicht mit dem Shuttle gefahren sondern mit einem anderen. Demnach ist mein Hut nun weg. *translated by Google

The driver came far too early, the open vehicle was okay but I was in constant fear our luggage would drop off. In hindsight I should simply have bought the ticket myself and take a grab taxi to the bus station. More comfortable, less waiting time, much cheaper.

The transport was on time, driver was friendly and helpful. He did neather drive too fast nor too slow. Recommended.

Jam packed bus! Had our bags at our feet. A bit of confusion leaving Vang Vieng but still arrived in time. Super windy roads and some rough bits of road but the driver handled it well.

Die Fart von Vientiane nach Vang Vieng fand in einem Omnibus statt und verlief an sich reibunfsfrei. Allerdings machte der Bus nach 20 Minuten Fahrt Halt, da der Fahrer einen Anruf erhielt, dass zwei Fahrgäste, welche zu spät zur Abfahrt erschienen, noch mit einem extra Fahrzeug zum Bus gebracht werden. Daraufhin mussten ca. 30 Fahrgäste, welche alle pünktlich erschienen, fast eine halbe Stunde mitten auf der Strecke warten. Das ist absolut inakzeptabel und unfair den zahlenden Kunden gegenüber. Zumal es am gleichen Tag noch eine zweite Fahrt gegeben hätte, bei der diese beiden Personen hätten mitfahren können.

Were not informed coach terminates at Veng Viang and change to minibus.. 5 others in same position. Language problem but okay in end. Glad I went by road - great experience

Very good service, left Vang Vieng on time, pick-up from my hotel appreciated, recommended you ask your hotel to confirm the time and pick-up. At Vientiane drop-off there are tuk-tuk drivers waiting who will overcharge you. I recommend to take a little walk away from the drop-off and engage another tuk-tuk driver. There are plenty. Don't pay more than 30,000 kip to a central hotel or hostel.

We were.picked up from our specified hotel at the agreed time. Journey was good and bus arrived on time in Vientiane.

Bus was fine. The destination is NOT any hotel, they drop you off in a central hub and you will need to pay a tuktuk to drive you to your final destination. Cost us an additional $6

Inutile de l'acheter sur ce site, c'est une perte de temps et d'argent, mieux vaut aller directement à la gare routière de vientiane. Autrement le voyage était plutôt ok.

As comfortable as in Lao public roads can be... But in schedule!

I was suppose to travel by bus and they told me in advance I would be traveling by van. It is ok if you book a decent number of people with their luggage. They expected us to be 13 in a van crowed with luggage. Back to the bus station, I asked to change van. I finally travelled in better conditions. I was aware of it by previous complaints from travelers. Please check on the reviews if you think they mean something to you. We, as travelers take time to write them.

Follow time accordingly, no problem whatsoever, bus is comfortable

Erst in einen Mini-Van mit zu vielen Personen, dann Umstieg irgendwo in Vientiane. Gut das die anderen Passagiere uns Europäern sagten, dass wir umsteigen sollen. Sonst säßen wir noch im Mini-Van. Nach mehr als 30 Minuten ging es dann endlich los. Der VIP-Bus war gut & ich hatte damit echt Glück, denn gebucht hatte ich diesen nicht. Damit war die lange Fahrt gut zu bewältigen. Der übliche Stop an einer Tankstelle mit Supermarkt und Toilettenpause durfte nicht fehlen...

Bus arrived a little late but the entire bus trip was ok.

We were packed into a tiny mini bus that could barley fit us all so I had to sit in the middle front seat which was concrete hard unlike the seat everyone else was sitting on the difference was night and day, made for a very uncomfortable journey, although the driver got us there an hr early so that was positive and he was nice

Safe and comfortable trip. Bus started to leak air half way through the trip though but luckily the driver could fix it with a piece of plastic bag.

Driver did not seem that confident on the roads and at times felt dangerous. On the plus side, the bus left 15 mins early and did not take 6 hours, more like 4.5 - with a 30 min food stop and a shorter 10 min toilet break.

6 Stunden waren angepeilt. 4 Stunden hat der Fahrer gebraucht. Top! Fahrt war in Ordnung. Habe schon schlechtere Straßen erlebt. Einziger negativer Punkt: Fahrer machte 2 mal eine kleine Pause um sich zu entleeren und die Gäste wurden nicht gefragt.

Die Schlafkojen sind sehr eng und kurz. Und da immer zwei Personen in einer Koje schlafen, waren wir sehr froh, zu zweit unterwegs zu sein. Mit einer fremden Person so eng in einem Bett zu schlafen, hätte uns noch weniger gefallen.

Good bus and good ride. Howewer this company should not be allowed to state a 3h duration online (totally unrealistic for this journey) as it takes 4.5h (which is absolutely fine), especially as they advertise it differently in their shop... 12.go should also monitor unrealistic timings advertised on its portal...

Terrible roads. It took 5 hours, not the 3 hours 'advertised'. Bus was full (some paying passengers were turned away). Seats are hard but the bus is not old and the driver was good (not too fast etc).

The shuttle bus never picked me up. I had to contact them to find out where they were. They sent a taxi, who asked me for payment as he was not informed the ride had been paid. When we reached the Thai Border crossing, I was held up and the bus left me there! I had to call a taxi to get to the bus station. I still have not heard back about reimbursement of the taxi.

The departure time on the ticket was 8 am, and I was supposed to be waiting at least 30 minutes before that. In the end, they picked me up almost at 9 with a tuk-tuk. Then we went to a place where they keep their buses, and we waited there until 10 am (so already 2 hours after the departure time stated on the ticket). In the end, they took so many people that they had to add some extra “chairs” to the van, and those poor people were sitting in very bad conditions. I felt sorry for them. And of course, we arrived in Vientiane later than the time stated on the ticket.

Pretty nice on the way to Pakse. Nothing to complain about. Clean and fast. On the way back it was freezing the aircon was so cold all of us were shivering, and we got stopped while police searched bus

Fully understanding this company is local, I get why they only speak their language. However, when you have a large percentage of travelers who are tourists, and a vast majority of them speak English, it might be a good idea to have a local who is multi-lingual to assist travelers at the bus station AND on the bus. The stops that offer toilet breaks is confusing when people are constantly loading and unloading throughout the trip. At the very least, the rest stops should be listed on 12Go's site when purchasing the ticket, or on the app, or via text (LINE, Whatsapp) before arriving at the stop so passengers can prepare. The transfer was horrendous! Was told IN WRITING via email, "Vientiane Transfer" meant I'd be picked up at my hotel, only to find out, it was too far out, which caused me to miss the bus AND had to pay another night at the hotel. Next day took a taxi to one of the pickup places (One Vientiane Hotel) only to be told to walk (with all my luggage) to what appeared to be a laundry location, to wait for transportation to the bus station. I could've just gone to the bus station, it was closer to my hotel than the pickup spot and less LAK! Then, while waiting, the laundry person's cat, which I'm not a fan of (not a cat person) kept bothering me. It was annoying and uncomfortable, she kept calling it away. After waiting for 40 minutes she hurries me into a car with 2 other people and drives like a lunatic while arguing with someone on her cell. Get to the bus station (where I could've gone in the first place) load the bus after 30+ minutes of waiting, get to the LAO border and immigration to check out, back to the van, to Thailand immigration/boarder, then to the final bus to get back to CM. The experience was INSANE, with no one explaining anything. We all were just following each other. The best thing was the lady who waited for all passengers to get through Immigration before we boarded the van, to get to our respective buses at different locations. She spoke enough English to communicate with us effectively. I hope she gets paid very well, cause that seems like a harrowing job. But I was very thankful for her and her assistance during the entire debacle. Finally, the bus to CM arrived, but it was shaky, meaning it rocked side-to-side, and the suspension had us bouncing like balls. We were ROCKING AND ROLLING, literally! Not fun, through winding roads in the mountains! I've taken several bus lines before, but will never use this one again. Unfortunately it was the only one available for the time I wanted to get back to CM. Next time I'll fly.

The first bus took 2 hours longer than it was supposed to for no apparent reason. Due to this we missed the second bus by an hour and I was forced to stay in Pakse for 24 hours for the next bus. The second day with almost no guidance I rode on four different vehicles and arrived in Phnom Penh after a 13 hours, and a total of 53 hours, 33 hours later than expected. The company did pay for my accommodation in Pakse but I would not recommend this route unless you are fine with having ur plans upended for a couple days and spending days in the car.

It was a 9 h trip experience in a regular bus. It stop every moment for food, for WC, too pick up people. Although people don't speak english, try to help you in every moment

Time of departure Sunday 03 Aug for 1300 hrs Vientiane ~> Thakhek Received an email update at 9am the same morning of the departure to be in the hotel reception by 1100am. Collected at 11:15 for a car transfer. on board the bus 1200 hrs. The two of us were first on board. Bus eventually 95% full. Seats comfortable, partial inclining seats like a plane. Tiny overhead storage. Standard under seat storage. Main hold storage was dry and reasonably clean. You may get the odd inconsiderate passenger who has their phone volume up load whilst flipping though annoying reels and clips ! Take ear plugs or covers. Arrived an hour early, probably due to it being Sunday low traffic density. Overall very pleased with the 12Go purchased $18 seat tickets. trip

The bus was one hour to late, a bith risky to get our flight…

For the price wise, the trip were acceptable because we arrived our destination without any accident. But there was too much vehicle changes ,which we needed to carry around our luggage and there was only one break time for lunch. I mean there was no time for toilet and few minutes break to stop by local shop on our way. I respect their hard work of the driver and passengers ,our patient.

Great journey. I was picked up by the driver on time. Plenty of room in the van for my suitcase. Stop along the way to buy food. Chilled, relaxed journey. Thank you.

I have never expected to have 5 people sleep together

Firstly they said pickup was 1 o’clock however I didn’t get picked up until 2:15. They didn’t drop me off at the location it said. Instead I had to pay for a tuk tuk to take me there. Driver was very rude and not helpful even when I used google translate to make him understand better

No sleep because not enough place in the sleeping bus, and I had tonwait 2h30 for the tranfer to come

They didn't pick me up to go to the station as advertised in the PDF and ticket purchase. I had another company offer me a ride since they were already at my hostel and they were WAY more helpful

We booked this (more expensive) option because the website said we would arrive at 9AM in stead of 4AM (the other options) and we didn’t want to arrive in the middle of the night. To our surprise, we arrived in Thakhek at 2AM in stead, resulting in a short sleep, still having to find a guesthouse in the middle of the night and spending more money than needed!

The

We were picked up on time from our pick up point and taken to the bus station. We then got on the sleeper bus which stopped at Pakse station, the drivers were rude waved us away to the incorrect bus, whereby the driver of said bus also waved us away. Felt quite stranded for some time until a nice gentleman who didn’t even work for the station communicated on our behalf and we eventually got picked up. Just felt like a unnecessarily complicated journey that needed some more communication or instruction from the transport team.

Easy ride, picked up from location and taken to a bus station for a overnight journey.

Good communication, Soutchai emailed to say when the taxi bus would arrive. They took us to the bus station where we boarded the bus - the overnight double bed is small. Hubby is over 6 ft and it was really made for a 5ft person. The people guided us through the whole journey, bus, minibus and ferry - there was always someone making sure we were on the right transport, so all good. Not sure we'd do the overnight bus again but it was all a good experience. Toilet on the bus was basic but clean. Everyone was very kind and friendly. There were no food stops so bring your snacks - there was food at the first bus station though.