Nattakan

Like almost everything in Cambodia the good and bad of this ride were in stark contrast to each other. I booked the 8 am - 5 pm bus from Siem Reap. And had another bus to transfer to in Bangkok around 7:30 pm. There was no 8 am bus. I was told it was due to AC but think it was actually due to lack of passengers. Lesson 1 - plan on the bus leaving at 9 or just book for the 9 bus. Once on the bus things were pleasant. Comfortable enough seats and the attendant was very kind and friendly. After a couple hours you arrive at the border crossing. This was enough to convince me that flying would have been the best option, despite cost. It took close to 3 hrs, which the attendant said is very standard. Nattakan does get you very close to the Cambodian immigration building so you don’t have to guess where it is. Petty quick on Cambodian side. Then in a line for 2.5 hours on Thailand side. Very slow moving, jam packed, hot small room. If you haven’t budgeted enough transfer time this wait can be agonizing. And even if you have, it’s a long time to stand more or less still. Lesson 2 - when it comes to Cambodia or border crossings, fly. Once on the other side the driver was there looking for us. We waited for awhile after all but one of our passengers had made it through. But then ended up leaving. Some nationalities do not get through easily at this border crossings. The rest of the drive was pleasant, lots of slow going traffic once we were an hour or so outside Bangkok. The bus finally arrives to the station close to 8 pm. Lesson 3 - a minimum of 11 hrs should be budgeted for this journey. Missed my transfer bus. The Bangkok bus station is huge and primarily used by Thai people. No English counters. We were provided a snack when boarding and a hot lunch, to go type entree after the border. Would take again with more time.

The border crossing between Cambodia-Thailand is HORRIBLE. Well, atleast the Cambodian side. shady, small, and slooowww. Then you have to walk in between a crazy market on train raillings towards the Thai border. Well, its all part of the experience right? However the bus is great!! Its small and normal style but it has a toilet inside. The driver and conductor is nice and friendly. They waited for us even though we took like 1:30hrs to almost 2 trying to go through borders. The bus is fairly fast and they give you lunch, snacks and drinks since it wont be making any stops aside from the border drop off. Oh and exchange money before hand if you’re gonna be arriving in Morchit after 5pm coz the banks/exchange places closes real early. The bus station is not very tourist friendly either but all of the staff is very helpful and friendly.

Xe chạy đúng giờ đi và đến. Phục vụ chu đáo, có nước , cà phê, đồ ăn nhẹ và cả bữa trưa. Chỗ ngồi rộng rãi, thoải mái!

The entire trip was great except for the toilet.. There is no water to flush...

overal a really bad ride, the driver was a maniac on the highway ,at the border they don't tell you were they are going to be after immigration.

bus conductor was obviously/so much in a hurry, he ended up leaving one of the passengers at the cambodia-thailand border, and was rude to that young passenger..

Great experience. The bus is very clean, the departure and arrival time is sharp.

We did not got the seats assigned until last minute of travel and it is not mentioned in 12go website that this will be the case.It was on the "mercy" of Nattakan bus person who is doing it on his own.We have registered with our tickets with Nattakan 4 days before our journey as soon as we got down at Sieam Reap.Still they have no clue on seats, not much choice either. The bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok is of lesser comfort than other way round , but this is not 12goasia issue, rather local transport issue.I did not see any value for priority support (50THB) i have paid for as every thing i had to do myself.By the way Nattakan arranges for free drop to hotel with in town, but does NOT arrange for free pick-up from hotel. i do not understand why 12go asia phone numbers cannot provided even to the customer who paid for extra support..! You must have a local number where journey starts..!!

Bus was late about 4.5 hours. Staff at the station didn't give us any information about true bus arrival. Finally after 14 hours we arrived in Bangkok. So remember to book flight a bit later in case of possibility of quite considerable delay.

The bus was at least an hour late departing Siem Reap. This was, they said, due to problems with air conditioning; I think another bus had to be found. In the end we travelled on a Giant Ibis bus (not Nattakan). Very comfortable bus with plenty leg room and fully reclining seats. There were about 20 passengers. The bus conductor took great care in explaining how to proceed through departure at the Cambodian border (which was reasonably quick) and passport control on the Thailand side (which took over 2 hours of queuing). As a result of these delays we hit Bangkok at rush hour and didn't get off the bus until after 7pm (instead of scheduled 5pm). Also, we were not dropped at Morchit bus station but at Makassan.

The first half of the trip was fine, the bus was a little run down but staff was friendly and we departed on time. However the bus broke down at the border and we had a 6 hour delay until a new bus arrived. During the delay we were told that it would be “just another hour,” if we were told anything at all. We arrived in Bangkok very late but less than a mile from the Morchit station, the driver stopped to pick up a bunch of boxes which were then stacked up in the aisles, causing yet another delay. None of us dared to ask to exit because the employees of the bus company seemed very angry with the passengers. Additionally we were given only a single bottle of water at the beginning of the trip, no breakfast or lunch for what became a 16 hour day. I would never use this company again, book early so you can use Giant Ibis, we had a wonderful experience with them.

Would definitely recommend this service, the drivers are absolutely lovely and they provide support for getting you through the border and fresh bottles of cold water throughout the trip. We also got a big muffin for breakfast and later a ready meal of rice and meat from the 7-11 store. Bus had air con and was pretty comfortable. For $20 I can’t complain!!

Best part of the trip was that we arrived early in Bangkok, mainly because only total 4 people on bus. At the border, make sure to have extra copies of e-visa (I am American so they charged me extra for not having hard copy). The bus is relatively new, clean, and driver and helper/bus attendant were both great. No place to plug in phone chargers some make sure to have extra battery bank. Food/snacks were ok but I made to pack extra snacks/drinks.

Service was honest and professional. Bus guide waited for us and provided updates when there was trouble and a delay fueling the bus. Even after a two hour fueling delay and a long time with getting across the border we still only arrived two hours later than expected. The bus wasn’t clean when we arrived is the only complaint

The trip was great. We arrived on time at our destination. We didn't expect that there was food. The seats were comfortable and more leg room than other buses, it was tidy as well. The only hard part was walking going to the immigration because it was raining.

dirty bus seats

Great experience . Nice trip, super driver , super service.

We experienced a very positive experience on our trip. Although the bus should be updated to a newer model, there was air condition and a toilet. The staff was friendly, spoke good English, and we received food and water on our trip. I will definitely recommend Nattakan when travelling from Siem Reap to Bangkok!

Very nice staff and delicious food

Our trip is so smooth! Very convenient.

The bus was broken in middle of the trip, so the driver moved us to the new bus. But it seemed like they didn’t take into account our subsequent trip. The new bus was so crowded and we were almost unable to sit. The new bus driver dropped us too far away from immigration without clear direction of what to do. The worst thing was, we needed to bring all of our luggage through immigration since we need to change the bus. After the immigration, we waited for like 2 hours to get into a van and we didn’t have the free lunch which has been promised by the travel agency. Our trip to Bangkok using that van was so long like eons, the driver stopped by rest areas so many times. Finally they didn’t drop us to exact location that made us figuring out where to stop to our nearest place.

Have used before and will use again.

Not much of a help crossing the border. Passengers are almost clueless where to go to next.

It's very hard experience.... Travel as well as immigration process at border towns... I wont advise any foreigner to travel by this route... its almost 4 hours took to clear our visa... Both governments has improve the system of immigration....

Very good!

Driver and bus ok. Departure was one hour too late and long break at the border. We arrived 3 hours later than scheduled.

We left late. the bus was uncomfortable. There was no Wi-Fi. We only stopped at the border. The snacks were nice.

It’s hot inside the van. Expecting to have a wifi as indicated but there’s none. The driving is good tho

All went well except for 3 mid-directed Chinese tourists that were not stamped out of Cambodia then sent to Visa applications by mistake! Arrive i3 hours plus later than schedule)

Good service! Water, snack and even hot rice dish! But it was late (i thought it will leave at 8 but when beeing there before 8 they said it leaves 8.40. And the reality was 9. We arrived also 3h late than scheduled.

Efficient trip. Could have used information about the border process.

Booked for 8am departure, but clearly they didn't have enough customers so they cancelled that and we went in the 9am. Of course non of this was explained. Bus journey was fine, but the border crossing was a nightmare. The bus company could have have given clear instructions but they didn't. However the real problem with this route is the shambles of a process the two countries have for leaving and entering. I would never recommend a bus crossing at this border

Value for money safe trip for solo female traveller

Suggested to change the trip duration to around 11 hours, as that was the true time both ways.

I was at the agency 30 min before the departure time (as supposedly required), 7:30 am. The bus departed at 9... There should be a guide, who keeps an eye on the passengers as they cross the border, we “lost” two older gentlemen and waited for them for more than an hour (I have no idea what happened to them, we left without them...they were probably fine and just made some other arrangement, but still...)

Very friendly and flexible crew. Congratulations !

Good bus, very nice people and the very good service!

Bus was decent - glad it had working AC, toilet on board, snacks & drinks included, and lunch provided. Left almost an hour late, which was a bit disappointing. Very helpful, English speaking staff, which went with the group through the border and make sure no one was left behind. Arrived an hour and a half late. Bus was supposed to have WiFi but didn't. Glad my things were kept safe and I arrived alive - driver was not a maniac, and the trip was direct (no stopping to pick up people along the way).

Clean, airco, arrived in time, free small breakfast and lunch included. But, NO WIFI!

This is not the amount that I paid for!! Bus has no wifi, and no power sockets to charge your phone. The inspector is not that attentive after your TH entry immigration so I was lost in the area at first - then all of a sudden, I saw him there chatting with some drivers then he called my attention to point where the bus was waiting for us. CR has a foul smell and it would circulate all over your bus :(

Old bus, but quite clean. We even got free pick up from our hotel to bus station. They explainded to us all procedure at the border, and after long waiting at the border, they provided, a bottle of water and a lunch, wich was very nice. Good experience.

Departure time is not really 8am, it's 9am actually. Don't come at 8am ???? No wifi in the bus, the conductor waited for me at the immigration when i had a problem passing through the officer. Thank you

In my reservation and ticket from busbuds.com, the bus was supposed to leave Siem Reap at 8am, but we left at 9am instead. I also booked a ticket for a "VIP" class, but while the bus drivers are courteous, the service wasn't really VIP. When we arrived at the border immigration in Poi Pet, we were asked to get off the bus and was pointed out to a building. No explanation as to what's going on, what's gonna happen, or where will we board the bus again. The other foreigners and I were asking among our selves if we are already at the border. We simply followed one of the drivers and it's only when we got inside the building that we confirmed we were indeed already at the border. We lined up for our exit stamp and I was expecting one from the bus company to be waiting for the passengers outside the building. But there was none. Now, the Poi Pet- Aranyaphratet border isn't exactly a well guided border. There are no signs! There was a simple "Walk to Thailand. 200m" sign at the exit of the Cambodian Immigration and that's it. Walking to the direction of the "walk to Thailand, 200m" arrow, you'll come to a space that is entirely unmarked. There's a wide road with big hotels on each side, and an open market after the hotels. Absolutely no idea where the hell is the Thailand border immigration. And signing up for a 'VIP' bus service, I was expecting someone to at least be directing the passengers. I had to walk back to the Cambodian border before meeting up with two other foreigners and decided to walk with them to find where the hell is the Thai immigration. We got lost, of course. Was directed by one passerby and yet again, we were on the wrong side of the road for the entrance. Upon clearance from the Thai Immigration, I went down the building and came out to a road that is completely chaotic. The bus ID that was given to the passenger has a rather not clear instruction on where to find the bus. The listing for this bus says bottled water and snack will be provided but all throughout the trip from Siem Reap to Poi Pet, no bottle of water was given. After passing through the gritty border immigration and walking under the sweltering heat , still no bottled water given. The bus picked up an order of packed food ffrom a 7-11 joint in Aranyapratet and was distributed to the passengers. Well, I would commend the company for a hot food. However, I was expecting that after the packed fried rice with shrimp was given out, they would hand out bottled water next. But nothing. After 10 minutes, I couldn't take it anymore and I got up to ask for a bottle of water. That's when they only seem to remember that they haven't given out any since leaving Cambodia. And again, I was expecting cold water. But lo and behold, we had to momentarily stop to get the bunch of bottled water from the bus compartment. It certainly wasn't a 'VIP', just a usual bus ride.

The guide is very helpful. The toilet is quite small and hot but manageable. We arrive just right on time.

bus is good

The travel was good. We arrived safely in Bangkok. However, the bus left at 9am which was an hour delayed to the scheduled time. As for the drivers, they drove finely.

We arrived ahead of schedule. Snacks, lunch and water were provided. A lot of leg room for a 5'3 woman. But, it was warm the whole trip. AC was not working properly

Overall the service was good. The booking process was great, as usual. The bus itself was a bit tired, leaky air-con and the power socket did not work. Regarding the journey, the bus left on time, there was plenty of room, the driving was good and we arrived ahead of schedule. All good really!

Travel was smooth. Had to stop to the immig for an hour and a half i guess. Had some free meal and snacks. Good and accomodating staff.

Very accommodating and I love the food they serve. They give us instructions with the immigration process. Overall experience was really really good with the price we paid.