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
巴士 Van + Bus, Soutchai Travel (ບໍລິສັດ ສຸດໃຈທ່ອງທ່ຽວ ຈໍາກັດຜູ້ດຽວ), 2025年8月9日
D W
David W
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
巴士 Van + Bus, Soutchai Travel (ບໍລິສັດ ສຸດໃຈທ່ອງທ່ຽວ ຈໍາກັດຜູ້ດຽວ), 2025年8月5日
N N
Niels N
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.
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
巴士 Bus + Ferry, Soutchai Travel (ບໍລິສັດ ສຸດໃຈທ່ອງທ່ຽວ ຈໍາກັດຜູ້ດຽວ), 2025年5月29日
D R
Devon R
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