Considering hopping between Indonesian islands or exploring the depths of Asia? Dive into our comprehensive 12Go Asia review where we break down its user experience, transparent pricing, and unique offerings. We’ll also pit it against giants like Traveloka and Tiket.com in a price face-off. Whether you’re a frequent traveler or planning your first adventure, discover why 12Go Asia could be your next favorite travel companion. 🌏🛥️🚆🚌
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Quick Summary:
Benefits:
- 👍 Recommended by me; no issues encountered.
- 🌐 Comprehensive coverage across Asia, and worldwide.
- 🚐 Perfect for van transport, especially in places like Bali.
- 🛥️ Ideal for boat, bus, and train bookings in Indonesia.
- 💡 User-friendly interface.
- 💲 Transparent pricing with no hidden costs.
- 📲 Convenient all-in-one booking platform.
- 🔒 Secure payment methods.
- 🌱 Digital boarding passes for eco-friendly travel.
- 💼 Specialization: Unlike platforms that blend hotel bookings with travel, 12Go Asia nails its niche in transportation. So, no hotel bookings here.
Criticisms:
- ✈️ May not be the first choice for flight bookings.
- 📜 Some reviews point to issues with end service providers, not 12Go Asia itself.
- 🕰️ Delays or changes might occur, typical with third-party booking platforms.
Introduction to 12Go Asia
12Go Asia is more than just another online booking platform; it’s an essential travel companion for many travelers across Asia. Launched in 2013 in Thailand, it has quickly become a go-to platform for booking transport across several Asian countries, including Indonesia. Its rapid rise to popularity can be attributed to its vast network, user-friendly interface, and commitment to customer satisfaction.
From my personal experience, and that of many fellow travelers, the platform offers a seamless booking experience. It eliminates the hassle of browsing multiple websites, standing in long queues, or negotiating with local transport providers.
Why Consider 12Go Asia for Your Indonesian Travels?
Ease of Use
Navigating the 12Go Asia platform is straightforward. With its user-friendly interface, even those new to online bookings will find it easy to use. Simply input your travel details, and you’ll get a range of options tailored to your needs.
Diverse Transport Options: Indonesia, an archipelago of over 17,000 islands, requires diverse transport options. Whether you’re taking a ferry from Bali to Lombok or a bus ride through Java, 12Go Asia ensures you have a plethora of choices. You can easily compare timings, prices, and operators to make the best decision for your journey. Easily compare prices of flights, buses, vans or ferries.
Transparent Pricing:
One aspect of 12Go Asia that stands out in this review is the platform’s transparency. No hidden fees, no last-minute price hikes. The price you see is what you pay. This level of transparency is especially refreshing in a market where prices can often be inflated for tourists. Furthermore, the platform’s simple menu navigation facilitates easy comparison between different operators, ensuring you always get value for your money.
No Printing Needed
Gone are the days of frantic searches for a printer before your journey. With the 12Go Asia app, your boarding pass is digital. Simply show the pass on your phone, and you’re good to go—saving both time and trees!
All-in-One Platform
Imagine having to scour multiple websites to book a bus, then a van, and finally a ferry for one trip. With 12Go Asia, you don’t have to. Their platform consolidates all these options, offering you a seamless booking experience. Whether by land or sea, 12Go Asia ensures your travels are hassle-free.
Secure Payment Methods
Safety first! When making online transactions, ensuring your details are secure is paramount. 12Go Asia uses trusted payment gateways, giving users peace of mind with each booking.
Impressive Coverage
Beyond Indonesia, 12Go Asia has extensive coverage across Asia but also in countries in Europe like the UK. This is perfect for those looking to explore beyond the Indonesian archipelago, from the bustling streets of Bangkok to the serene landscapes of Vietnam.
No need to wait in line
Booking a fast boat online from Sanuar to Nusa Penida has helped me many times to find the right information and prices. There was no need to wait in line to get a ticket or negotiate the price.
How to Book Tickets Using 12Go Asia?
Booking tickets with 12Go Asia is simpler than you might think. This 12Go Asia review breaks down the process step-by-step, ensuring you’re ready for your Indonesian journey in a snap!
🔍 12Go Asia Review: Search the Journey:
- Head to the 12Go Asia website and begin your ticket search.
- As you input your locations, the platform suggests destinations. Make sure to select the right one from the dropdown.
- Decide on your travel and return dates. For one-way trips, simply select ‘One Way’.
- Input the number of passengers.
- Finally, click on the ‘Find Tickets’ button to delve deeper into our 12Go Asia review.
🚌 12Go Asia Review: Transportation options
- The subsequent page showcases all available journeys, sorted by factors like departure time and mode of transport.
- The 12Go Asia review features:
- A list of available operators.
- Detailed trip schedules (but remember, these can change).
- Departure and arrival stations, with a handy map view.
- Customer ratings, offering insights into other travelers’ 12Go Asia reviews.
- Transport class details.
- Transparent ticket prices, including fares for children.
- Extra info about the trip – a must-read in our 12Go Asia review.
- Tags indicating policies like refunds or instant bookings.
- Once you’ve pinpointed your ride, click ‘Book now ‘ to move forward in this 12Go Asia review.
📱 The Booking Process:
- A prompt will ask if you wish to add another journey or proceed to checkout.
- Some service providers offer seat selection. If you skip this, 12Go Asia automatically selects the best spot for you.
- Make sure your contact details are correct. 12Go Asia might send important updates.
- Fill in passenger details, remembering passport numbers and gender for trains or flights.
- Additional Information like departure and arrival port are shown. If needed enter passenger details and head to the payment section.
✈ Tips & Extras:
- Select backup trips if your primary choice is booked out.
- Choose where you’ll pick up your ticket. Options differ based on location and travel timeline.
- Mull over adding travel insurance for peace of mind.
- Before proceeding, check out the Terms & Conditions, understand the cancellation policy, and confirm your departure details.
- If you foresee needing help, opt for ‘First-Class Support’.
- The ‘Flexible Date’ choice allows for ticket adjustments, though availability isn’t always guaranteed.
💳 Payment:
- Decide between a credit card or PayPal for payment.
- Enter your payment information and finalize. Note: The displayed fee is a banking charge, not a 12Go Asia fee.
- After payment, you’ll receive a confirmation email. If it’s missing, check your spam or consider re-booking.
That’s it! This 12Go Asia review hopes to have made your booking process clearer. Safe travels and enjoy your journey! 🌍🛫
Boarding Ticket:
Make sure to read the fingerprint of your ticket before traveling. 12go Asia recommends arriving a minimum 1 hour before the departure at the arrival area. Be aware: You might need to show your 12go booking confirmation to the office of the transportation provider to get the final boarding pass. Just the booking confirmation of 12go Asia might not be enough. In our case of traveling from Bali (Sanur) to Nusa Penida, this was the case.
Comparing Top Indonesian Online Travel Platforms: Tiket.com vs. Traveloka vs. 12Go Asia
When you want to book a trip online in Indonesia, you’ve got a few big websites to choose from. Let’s take a closer look at Tiket.com, Traveloka, and 12Go Asia to see which one’s the best.
Tiket.com is one of Indonesia’s leading online travel agents, boasting a comprehensive range of services from hotel bookings to flights and train reservations. The platform is particularly popular among domestic travelers due to its user-friendly interface, exclusive deals, and frequent promotions. One unique feature of Tiket.com is its “Tix Point” loyalty program, where users can accumulate points with every purchase and redeem them for discounts on future bookings.
Traveloka Established in 2012, Traveloka has grown rapidly to become one of Southeast Asia’s top online travel platforms. While it started primarily as a flight booking platform, it has since expanded its offerings to include hotels, trains, buses, and even activities and attractions. Traveloka’s edge lies in its “Price Alerts” feature, allowing users to set a desired price for a particular route or accommodation. Once the price drops to that level, users are notified immediately. Another highlight is the “Easy Reschedule” feature, offering hassle-free changes to flight or hotel bookings.
Now, for our comparison: Example One-Way Routes for 1 passenger where the booking date is 7 days ahead (24.10.2023). Prices are all in Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) to allow for comparison.
From Jakarta to Yogyakarta
| Platform | Bus | Train | Flight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12Go Asia | 173.250 IDR (~10-11€) | 273.000 IDR (~16€) | 1.132.485 IDR (~68€) |
| Tiket.com | No bus information | 270.000 IDR (~16€) | 849.000 IDR (~51€) |
| Traveloka | 161.000 IDR (~9-10€) | 370.000 IDR (~22€) | 834.000 IDR (~50€) |
From Bali: Bali to Lombok
| Journey | Platform | Ferry | Bus | Flight | Taxi and Ferry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bali to Lombok | 12Go Asia | 249.999 IDR (~15€) | 288.750 IDR (~17€) | 1.185.155 IDR (~71€) | 425.000 IDR (~25€) |
| Bali to Lombok | Tiket.com | No option available | No option available | 1.067.400 IDR (~64€) | No option available |
| Bali to Lombok | Traveloka | No option available | No option available | 1.067.400 IDR (~64€) | No option available |
In my 12Go Asia review, I discovered that 12Go Asia stands out for its user-friendly comparison of different transportation options. While platforms like Tiket.com and Traveloka require users to navigate through various tabs to compare prices, 12Go Asia streamlines this process, making it much simpler and quicker. A significant advantage of 12Go Asia is the breadth of choices it offers, especially when planning journeys that involve crossing the ocean to another island.
12go Asia is the only platform with boat and taxi options
Notably, only 12go Asia provides information on ferry services and even combines taxi and ferry options, which I found to be a unique and handy feature. However, if I’m specifically searching for flights, I might lean towards Tiket.com or Traveloka, though my ultimate go-to remains Kayak.com. Overall, for comprehensive travel planning in the region, 12Go Asia offers a convenient and inclusive platform.
Flights tend to be more expensive on 12go Asia
In the examples above, the flights tend to be more expensive on 12go Asia. Of course, these are only two cases but they show a tendency that 12go Asia is predominantly used for ground or water transport. More details follow in the section below. Personally, I like to book my flights directly with the airline or look for the best option on Kayak.com. In some cases though, only ticket.com or traveloka show certain flights within Indonesia. So keep an eye out for them.
My 12Go Asia Review: Analyzing User Feedback
When I plan trips, I always want the best services. So, I looked into “12Go Asia” for my transportation needs. Instead of just my own opinion, I checked Trustpilot reviews too. Using a web scraping tool, I could take a deeper look into the data. I narrowed down my analysis to English reviews, as they’re easier to evaluate. In total, I studied 972 reviews. Here’s what I found:
1. Overall Rating Distribution for 12Go Asia
Observations:
Most users seem to love the platform,with two-thirds of reviewers giving it a 5-star rating!
The overall average rating in my sample analysis of English reviews is 4.1 which is also a great sign. However, there are also 19% of users who only gave 1 star. Let’s break up the analyze by country and transportation mode to generate further insights.
2. Top 10 Countries Using 12Go Asia
The chart below shows the top countries that have penned down their 12Go Asia reviews:
Observations:
- Thailand (TH) tops the list with the most reviews.
- Most top-reviewing countries have an average rating above 3.5, which is a good sign!
- Even though Indonesia is not in the top 10, there are plenty of travel options available!
3. Modes of Transport: Mentions and Ratings
I was curious to know which modes of transport were most popular among 12Go Asia users. Here’s the breakdown:
Observations:
- Trains and buses are the crowd favorites.
- Planes, boats, and vans, though less mentioned, still get thumbs up from users.
Why Group Certain Transport Modes?
In this 12Go Asia review analysis, I’ve grouped certain transportation modes together to provide a clearer picture. By combining “Ferry & Boat”, I wanted to encapsulate all water-based transportation. Similarly, “Flight & Plane” were merged to represent all air travel, and “Van & Taxi” were grouped to represent more personal road-based transportation.
- Clarity & Understanding: Grouping similar transportation methods, like “Ferry & Boat”, offers a clearer snapshot of how travelers use 12Go Asia.
🚢 Ferry & Boat:
- Both represent water-based transport.
- Grouping showcases 12Go Asia’s role in water journeys.
✈️ Flight & Plane:
- Both symbolize air travel.
- Reveals the platform’s efficiency in flight bookings.
🚖 Van & Taxi:
- Signify personal, road-based commutes.
- Highlights the versatility of 12Go Asia’s offerings.
The outcome of Grouping:
- Trains & Buses: Remain the most reviewed services.
- Specialized Transport: Grouping unveiled that many also trust 12Go Asia for specific transport needs like Boats or Vans.
- By merging similar transport categories, this 12Go Asia review offers a broader perspective on user preferences and their satisfaction levels.
4. Service Providers vs. 12Go Asia
A critical point to remember is that 12Go Asia is a ticket-selling platform. Any issues with delays or service quality usually come from the end service providers, not 12Go Asia. So, while some reviews might point fingers at 12Go Asia for such issues, it’s essential to differentiate the platform’s service from the actual transport provider’s.
Want More Details? Dive deeper into the analysis! The attached Excel file compiles all the data used in this 12Go Asia review. Feel free to explore and draw your own insights.
Pro Tip:
If you want to travel from Bali to Lombok by ferry, you cannot book that by on 12go Asia or another travel platform. You have to get your tickets offline from the ticket counter at the port of Padangbai.
Popular Destinations in Indonesia from Jakarta, Bali and Lombok
Indonesia is a vast archipelago with plenty of beautiful destinations. If you’re beginning your journey from Jakarta, Bali, or Lombok, here are 10 destinations to consider from each of these major hubs:
For the best deals on these routes, check out this link!
FAQs
12Go Asia Review – FAQ
For more FAQ’s please visit the FAQ section of the 12go Asia homepage.
Conclusion – Should you book your travel with 12go Asia?
After thoroughly analyzing the “12Go Asia review”, I’ve come away with some clear insights. Personally, I’ve used the platform for booking boat tickets and my experience was smooth. The ease of use, especially for transportation bookings, stood out. 😊 It’s evident that 12Go Asia is particularly popular in Thailand, its birthplace, and it’s laser-focused on transportation – so don’t expect to book hotels or accommodations there.
While a majority of the feedback is positive, highlighting transparent pricing and the convenience of a digital boarding pass, there are some mixed reviews. However, it’s crucial to note that many issues seem to stem from the operators, not the 12Go Asia platform itself. This is a distinction worth considering. In my experience, I faced no such hiccups. On the downside, the absence of accommodation bookings might be a letdown for some. But, weighing the pros and cons, if you’re eyeing transportation in Asia, 12Go Asia is certainly worth considering. Safe travels! 🌏🚌🚤👍
After reading my deep dive into the “12Go Asia review”, what’s your take? Will you give it a try for your next Asian adventure? 🌏🤔
We would love to hear your opinions as well :)
