12Go
12Go is a Bangkok-headquartered ground-transport booking platform covering trains, buses, ferries, minivans, and shared taxis across Southeast and South Asia. For overland and inter-island travel in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia, it is the default tool.
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What it does well
- Inter-island ferry coverage. Lombok, Gili Islands, Phi Phi, Koh Tao, Boracay, Cebu — routes the global OTAs don't index at all are bookable here with realistic departure times and capacity.
- Multi-segment combos. Bangkok to Koh Samui as a single bus + ferry ticket; Hanoi to Sapa as overnight train + transfer. The transfers are pre-coordinated between operators.
- Real seat-class detail. Sleeper-train classes, VIP-bus seat configurations, and ferry seating zones are documented up-front. Fewer surprises on arrival.
- English-language support. Most local operator sites are in Thai, Vietnamese, or Indonesian only. 12Go's interface, support, and confirmations are in English.
Best for
Backpacker and independent-travel trips through SEA, especially anything involving ferries, sleeper trains, or remote bus routes. Less competitive for major-city flights where AirAsia and Traveloka beat the price.
Watch out for
- Booking fees. 12Go marks up the operator's price by a booking fee disclosed at checkout. For local routes (under $10), the markup can be 20%+ — sometimes worth paying for the convenience, sometimes not.
- Operator no-shows. Smaller minivan and ferry operators occasionally skip pickups or run on different schedules than published. 12Go's customer service can rebook, but expect friction.
- Schedule reliability. SEA inter-city travel times are nominal — a 6-hour bus is often 8 hours. Book with a buffer for onward connections.
- Refund policies vary. Most tickets are non-refundable once issued. Cancellation up to 24h before departure is sometimes allowed with a partial refund. Read the rate rules.
How we verify this page
Coverage and fee structure are checked quarterly against 12Go's official help pages. Operator-reliability observations are general guidance from public review aggregation, not 12Go's data.
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