BUVA Review

Awful. The website stated that it was a 30-minute journey but it ended up taking closer to two hours and included a trip from Coconut Beach to Sok San in the back of a truck. We couldn't use our return tickets as the journey time would have meant we'd miss our connecting bus, so we ended up travelling back with the Sok San Beach Resort ferry which was a far more pleasant experience. I've been repeatedly asking for a refund for these return tickets since November but, bar one reply at the beginning, the company has been ignoring all of my attempts to contact them.

With the criticisms we read, we thought it would be hell. But the truth is that we went very well. In 30 min we went from Sihanokville to Coconut beach (Koh Rong). And on the way back from Koh Rong Sanloem to Sihanokville on a smaller boat but it took us 45min. All good.

Great company who went out of their way to get us onto the ferry that we were supposed to be on at 2pm, but our transport was late. Good skippers even on a choppy sea.

In short: A very very poor experience. Avoid Buva Sea. It was almost a con.

If you'd like the longer version, read on:
Buva is apparently the "new" ferry company and I'd strongly recommend avoiding them and going with one of the two more established companies (Speed Ferry Cambodia or Cambodia Island Speed Ferry).

On the way to the island we were delayed by 3 hours, lied to when we asked when the next ferry would be (so that we wouldn't get on another boat with another company), and they tried to con us into taking a slower ferry via Koh Rong on our way to Koh Rong Saloem (we'd paid for the fast ferry direct to Saloem). Indeed, they even took us to another pier and it was only there that some honest employee told us that it was not in fact a direct ferry and that it would take over 2 hours (it was supposed to take 30 minutes). We had to literally block the driver from driving away and leaving us there, and force him to take us back to the main pier (Serendipity) and the boat office.

On the way back, we were delayed by "only" 40 minutes, but another couple on our boat had been waiting for an earlier boat that had never showed up despite the fact that they confirmed the day before. They were therefore three hours late.

I realise it's a ferry service in Cambodia, so you need to cut it a bit of slack on timeliness, but the real failing was the service of the staff: They flat out lied to us, would not give us a refund because we'd bought our tickets in a different office (told us to take a tuk tuk to the other office to get our money back), tried to put us on an indirect slow ferry, wasted our time, messed us around.

All in all, very close to a con. Do yourself a favour and go with a different company.

Ok, so I have to admit I hadn't read into anything before booking with this company We had two completely different experiences: the ferry on the way there was absolutely hell; it was a tiny, tiny boat with NO life jackets - yes, I repeat no life jackets - and the driver drove so crazily. I feared for my life as we bounced through the waves and the boat rocking like mad. It was extremely fast though. I think we were there in 40 minutes. Safety was the issue here.

On the contrary, on the way back, the service was great: the boat was huge, had life jackets, and an inside area if you wished to stay below deck. It was still a rough ride at times (can't be helped due to the sea) but it was a more normal experience. This trip took 1.5 hours and was quite enjoyable.

At no point were we informed about travelling on different boats with different durations!

This is a very Cambodian style transport in my opinion. Times need to be taken with a pinch of salt in Asia in general so that wasnt the issue!

Worst travel company ever. Book somewhere else if possible!!

Avoid. I needed to change the date/time on my tickets, they responded to one email and then stopped. There are other options available.

Booked us on the wrong boat, came way too late. Use another company if you can; if you have to use them (we had to because of times) get everything in writing.

If you want your ferry trip to turn into an exhilarating, roller coaster ride then this is the ride for you. If not, then steer well clear.
A small boat will arrive to pick you up with at most 20 seats, there is no process for boarding just a free for all to get in the queue which defines 'first come first served' so I suggest sprinting to make sure you're at the front otherwise you'll be standing for the journey!
Once on the 'captain' will go as fast as he can push the boat regardless of sea conditions so pick your seat wisely because choose badly and you will get wet!
When you reach your destination you have to guess which beach is which to determine whether you should get off. Top Tip : if you see your bag getting off then follow it, you have arrived.
In terms of a service that gets you from a to b this works but expect no frills along the way and the stress to age you about a year. That said the prize of Koh Rong at the end of it all is 100% worth it.

Very quality speed boat comfortable fast it take only 25mn to koh rong very new boat and got enough schedule every day to island

Horrible experience. Bad customer service. No info was given. left everyone confused. The staff were super rude and unhelpful at all, and scream at customer for no reasons. They arrived 1 hour late and people ended up missing their Van and flight. Would not recommend at all

What a shambles... Booked through Camboticket, Buvasea is, to be honest, a joke, the boat didn't leave till 1 hour after the scheduled departure time and I missed my tour, I'd allowed 30 minutes leeway incase the boat would leave late, but an hour?! It was the first boat leaving at 8am so it's not like it was delayed from elsewhere. They offered no explanation as to why it was late and only laughed when I said I'd missed the tour. To make matters worse my bag that they stored was soaking wet when I got to the shore, they must have a leak, so make sure your luggage has a rain cover on. I'd advise to just book elsewhere, it's not worth the hassle. The boat driver is about 13 years old and there was no safety briefing at all. You've been warned.

Boat went 1.5 later than we were told and we missed our flight! Never again!

Had bad experience with it. I bought the ticket the day before, at Virak Butham and yes they would pick me up if I were there at 7 a.m. I be there at 7 a.m. And she told me that I would be picked up that way. At 8:30 AM and 8:45 AM ask again at what time I will be picked up. Their answer was, because of the bad weather it takes a little longer. And the boat would wait for me. Not picked up at 8 a.m. They said they are really coming like this. At 8:10 they came with the story that the bus was broken and would not come to pick me up again. And that I had to take a taxi to the pier at my own expense or take the 11 o'clock boat and then they would arrange the transportation. I saw it before the bus was 'broken' and the taxi was taken. Once I arrived at the pier I said that I wanted to go to M'Pai Bei. They said yes this is the good boat. Where but now I am on the Koh Rong Sanloem Pier. Entire story explained here, no it wasn't their fault that I was on the wrong boat. Even though someone came to the boat with me and said that it would go to M'pai. If I want to go to the other pier, I have to take a boat taxi at my own expense. Or back to the mainland and buy another ticket at your own expense. Because yes it was really my own fault ..
Conclusion: absolutely no interest in customers only want money. And it is very hard to deny that it is their fault and they do not come with a conscience.
This week I have to go back by boat (because you buy a return ticket) I know that I am not buying my bus ticket here.

Professional ferry service- sold the tickets at same cost as any other retailer for the fast ferry.

The boat is ok. Staff is very good and helpful but communication is all over the place.

While going to Saracen Bay the boat departed from a different ferry and there was no prior information

We lost our wallet with our driver who dropped us - but the buva staff was very helpful and guided us. That doesn t forgive the absolute hotch potch timings

Then the ferry had 5 stops before we reached Saracen Bay. The tickets bought from camboticket said 45 mins, the ride was 1.5 hours

While coming back, the night before we were told that our 7 o clock boat is cancelled owing to bad weather forecast. Next day morning since skies were clearer I called the boat number and in a patchy connection I heard 7:20 am. We asked hotel staff for help, who called and were told that there was no 7 o clock boat. However at the pier the 7:20 boat did come

The next boat came 15mins late at 9 am and and we reached back at 11am. We had to spend 500$ to change flight tickets. Our whole holiday Budget was twice the amount

Wish they communicated well. Staff good and helpful but no operations manager makes this the worst experience

It was an ok ride and they started (more or less) on time. But it took around 1,5h (Sihanoukville-Koh Rong Samloem and also back), not 30-45 min as they say. Don't forget to check in their Office at Sihanoukville pier before the ride!

Good service. Reactivity. Understanding of needs The boat is very fast and comfortable. No problem.

Apparently they take you to the island in half and hour but it takes one hour and a half. Morever, you are asked to be one hour un advance un Serendipity Road but ten minutes before departure they tell you: "WoW, we are changing pier" surprise! They take you to the port and you go to the island. When coming back, nobody picks you up in the port and you have to pay 10$ for a tuktuk. I wish i knew this before buying the ticket!

2 hours late on the return journey, rude staff and there was confusion about where we needed to go (we were supposed to meet at the buva sea building but no one told us this, so we ended up nearly being late). If you are a masochistic person and enjoy feeling anxious and annoyed, then feel free to book with this company. If not, then choose ANY other company.

Boat transportation is fine, as long as you arrive early enough and make sure you have a sit. Overbooking is common. Other then that, do NOT book bus tickets with them or with agencies on the island - they might sell you the ticket for a non-existent time or say it's booked out, and they will not refund you, so you end up stranded in Sihanoukville.

After reading all the comments I expected some disaster :-) But there was absolutely no problem on both ways to/from Koh Rong Samloem....

Horrible. The employee who sells the tickets in Sihanoukville treats customers badly. It informs them fatal. On the web there are some schedules but they are different. It gives you a return ticket that doesn't work. We lost our flight to Ho Chi Minh because of a company that does not know how to do its job. Do not travel with them!

The staff in the ticket office was extremely friendly! While I was looking for a working ATM several of the employees wanted to share their lunch with my waiting girlfriend. Really very warm and nice staff there. The ferry itself left a little late, but the sea was also very rough. The ride in the small speedboat was correspondingly violent, water entered from all sides and we crashed violently on the waves a few times. Nevertheless, we arrived quickly and safely in Mpai Bay, that's the main thing! We would go with Buva Sea again.

Travel from the Serendipity harbor in Sihanoukville on Koh Rong - more than twice as long as in the information on the website, but it's hard - it's Asia, you know. Return must be booked the day before, the time we were interested in - sometimes, so we took another available, everything as planned, the boat almost on time, of course we reach Sihanoukville instead of 30 min again in 1h 10 'but we also reach another port, about which nobody informed earlier, we are assured that, of course, a bus will come for us and leave us for free to the right marina. After 20 minutes of course, no one still arrives so forced by the fleeing time we take Tuktuka for $ 4 which takes us to the previously booked bus. We arrived on time because we planned a large margin for a change, as if it cost us only an extra $ 4, but in a civilized world it simply does not treat the people from which it lives. Boats like boats, one better and smaller, the other bigger and worse, no security standards. Also, the only thing to greet :) It's worth adding that in the second marina, the possibilities of negotiating the price of tuktuka are very limited by their small amount, with Serendipity almost everywhere can be reached for 1-2 $

Do not use this company. They sold us a ticket for 8am, requested us to be at the pier at 7:30am and now it is 8:20am and we are still waiting on the boat for them to sell extra tickets and they refuse to go before they do so. It is the same price as others (our ticket to Koh Rong was 22USD roundtrip).

The man who works for Buva Sea on Koh Rong Sanloem is a scam artist.

When we confirmed our tickets with him he told us the wrong time for the Buva Sea ferry. Then, when we inevitably missed it, he had some other guy in the office charge us $12 to take the next ferry with a different company.

We complained in Sinhoukville and they told us that when someone misses a Buva Sea ferry, they are put on a different ferry with a different company for free.

The manager at Buva Sea paid us back and said that he would look into his rogue employee. We are grateful he understood our situation.

I m not sure if the guy on Sanloem has been fired, but I wouldn t trust him If he s still there. He s using the company to scam Buva Sea s customers and he s clearly working with other people.

We were very wary of using Buva Sea because of all the bad reviews, but our experience was ok.

This seems to be the only practical option to get to Coconut Beach from Sihanoukville anyway, if that's your destination. I think it was the 3rd stop once reaching Koh Rong, after a 20min stop at the first main jetty.

We had a delayed start of 40min or so because a group of tourists had got on the wrong boat. Our tickets were inspected apon boarding and our boat was the only Buva Sea vessel so the staff really should have noticed the tickets weren't for their company. But after spending enough time traveling SE Asia, simply incompetent transport staff is actually a nice change from blatantly rude, dismissive, arrogant drivers frequently encountered.

There were a few people left standing and this bothers me immensely because everyone has paid the same price for their tickets and there is no indication given when booking if the boat is full already. Forcing some passengers to stand to make a few extra dollars is disgusting. But again, this is nothing compared to some of our experiences of ridiculously overcrowded buses, mini vans or boats where we truly learnt the meaning of discomfort. Even if you have to stand on the Buva Sea trip, it's not a long journey and it's a pleasant ride on a good quality boat.

I would recommend using your luggage rain covers. If you have a large bag, it will be stored below and it was slightly wet down there.

Also, if you're not sure where to stay on Koh Rong, we would highly recommend the Coconut Beach Bungalows on Coconut Beach. It's very relaxed, with super friendly staff on a beautiful quiet beach. The tents are fun to stay in!

We used the office on Koh Rong. The initial customer service was terrible but later we learned we had been lied to in order for them to cheat more money out of us than necessary.
Our boat driver took 20 min to get off of the dock, badly damaging his and other boats in the process and then insisted on driving at just over idle speed to save fuel despite us having paid well over premium price for a private boat. This resulted in our 20 minute trip taking well over an hour. We heard similar bad review stories from others guests at our hotel later that day.
Save the hassle and opt for the locals and their long boats.

DO NOT TRAVEL WITH THEM. They left us in another port many kilometers from the site where they were to leave us. They do it because that way you have no choice but to take a tuk tuk, and they stay commission of that trip too. It's a scam that does a lot in Cambodia, but I didn't expect this company to do it with the boats.

If you need to Sok San Beach, Koh Rong - DO NOT use this company !!! They bring to the beach on the other side of the island and drive along the broken sandy road for 30-40 minutes on this dead car! After the trip, we were all in red sand, and the driver just laughed!

I asked if it was direct to Sanloem, they said it was at ticketing. Instead they stopped 3 times on Koh Rong. Took 2 hours instead of the advertised 45.

Take GTVC instead, much better and direct.

DON'T BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY!! It deserves zero stars. We booked a return trip Sihanoukville-Koh Rong Samloem. On the first trip they were 'only' 1 hour late, letting us wait at the pier in the sun in front of the boat without anyone telling us what we were waiting for. And while on our way we founf a SNAKE on the boat! The return trip through was the worst. We arrived at 8.30 at the pier for our 8.45 boat. We waited for hours and everyone we asked information to were giving us different answers (it's cvoming in 10 minutes, in 30 minutes, it's just left Sihanoukville, the boat cannot leave because of the high waves, etc.). Waited 6 HOURS on the pier in the sun before our boat arrived We missed out flight to Siem Reap as well as the hotel reservation we'd already paid for. Do yourself a favout and do not give a dollar to this company!

Not punctual guys at all. On the way back, there was a joke at all. We are standing on the pier waiting for the boat, the boat is 25-30 minutes late, a small boat arrives, and we are 3 times more people than this boat can accommodate. The employees scratched their turnips and said that they would send us another boat in 25 minutes. A new boat is sailing, people understand that we, too, can hardly fit into this boat. As a result, someone rode while standing, someone in the bow of the boat jumped. It s generally not clear what for the day to confirm your departure, if in the end such garbage happens.

Well, the time indicated on the site is a complete lie. The boat sailed not 30 minutes, but an hour and a half.

Not that great - typical Cambodian style! They have no communication between each other, and no coordination.

1 star is still too much. Even though we booked the ferry 2 days before we were left at the pier because the boat was full. Unfortunately, there are often not many other alternatives for a transfer.

Bad, so bad. The employee treats clients poorly, when the film came straight to hit me. The video shows

Don t book with this company!!!
They canceled a scheduled transfer for economic reasons so that we missed our flight.

Very unreliable! Heard many bad stories in the hotel as well

After horror stories I have to say that our double trip was without problems. Online booked, confirmed before departure, small delay but this is normal in SE Asia, we really enjoyed till Coconut beach and back. Would use them again.

They overbooked our travel from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh and we traveled like caws.. in the middle of nowhere after 2 hours of travel they tried to leave us because the bus was overbooked... I hired 2 boat travels and one bus, and All of them where 2 hours late... sucks... Do not buy anything in here if you have other options...

Sold us tickets to Koh Rong including return, and then refused our return claiming boats were full, so we had to pay another company to take us back, so we had to pay twice basically.

More people than seats on the boat. I was forced to sit in the front viewing area which should not be used in rough sea conditions. The result for me was several days of pain to my spine,back and legs.

I would recommend anyone finding themselves in this situation to refuse to stay on the boat.

On arriving at Sihanoukville the boat was not securely tied to the jetty. This resulted in my finding myself with my hands on the jetty and my feet on the boat with the boat moving away from the jetty. Unlike the crew I did not find this amusing.

I am a qualified and experienced boat cox.

The staff in koh Rong will behave very very rude to customers, guys please don't prefer this ferry travels - worst experience with these stupid Cambodian guy

Buva Sea was the worst experience we have had in Cambodia.

We booked tickets to go from Sihanoukville to Koh Rong with them without reading comments ... what a mistake!

First we had to move to another pier and the shuttle trip to get there was horrible. We arrived at a pier next to the port like 30mn after the supposed departure and had no information about what was going on.



After long minutes on that pier with my 2 children, a smaller boat (!) came to pick us up: that was too much for us, we jumped into a bigger boat from another company ( Speed Ferry Cambodia ) and the trip went perfectly well.

To be fair, sea conditions were not good and they couldn t do anything about it... but what a lack of professionalism! No communication, zero safety information and even the boat drivers were totally incompetent ( the boats maneuvers they made showed it )

Really, avoid them if safety is important for you.

Overbooked boat (around 20% of additional passenger without seats and life jacket)
No respect of schedules
To avoid

Booked a return trip online, neither departure time actually existed. We booked for the large boat and selected seats, however, both ways we were jammed into a tiny boat with not enough seats and no life jackets.

If you want a easy, stress free way to and from the islands, do not pick buva sea. We were told the ferry was direct from the island to sihanoukville, which we needed to get to our bus on time, and the boat promptly visited every single jetty on koh rong sanloem and also koh rong. We still could have just made it if the boat arrived at the right Jetty, but for some reason it took us to an industrial port about 30 mins away from central sihanoukville. All the other tourists were just as shocked as me, and after being told a car would pick us up in 10 mins, we waited 35 mins before it arrived. Do not pick buva sea!!!

More of the same just a newer review. Hands off from this company!!! And if you do it be aware that when you take the boat back from the island they will take you to a pear on the other side of the city. They will say that there is a free bus but it will take ages to come. You will have thousands of taxi drivers around you trying to steal you money. At the end a win win situation.. just not for you!

One star is generous!!!! Worst travel company I have ever been with in Asia, overcharged, lied and were laughing when I asked for a refund because I didn't want to wait 3 hours for the next ferry as he told us we'd make the one before to get the sale. Use any other company!!!

After reading all of the poor reviews on here I was pretty anxious about going with this company. It actually turned out okay! If you can excuse the fact they were 20 minutes late on both occasions, and the departure platform on the pier was very poorly organised.

Boat itself was ok, except that they didn't stop at the right place(Sandy Beach) and we tried to ask why, but they left us with no explanation on the wrong side of the island Sanloem.Then we found out that it was because of storm,and we had to just wait when it will calm down. Since we didn't know that, we ended up taking an expensive taxi boat.We are disappointed that BuVa Sea don't want to help people or explain anything.

Bottom line: would not wish this experience on my worst enemy, avoid at all costs (unfortunately, I hear the other ferries are just as bad)

Pros: easy to book online, (relatively) fast speed ferry, departures 3+ times per day

Cons: no email support, unbelievably late service, little to no communication on logistics, changes, or anything else, overpriced for what you get, complete uncertainty in service delivery, insufficient chairs/space in waiting areas

The full story:

I'm going to try to be as objective as possible with as little use of hyperbole.

I decided to go to Koh Rong Samloem in order to get as far away as possible from 'civilization' in a new country (this would be my 53rd country). I knew it would be relatively tough to get to a remote island such as Samloem, but I figured it was worth the effort.

After hopping off the overnight bus from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville at 6:30a, I killed 3-4 hours before heading over to the Buva Sea office. Before walking in, I noticed the office (next to the main ferry terminal) was jam-packed full of seemingly confused travelers. I was already concerned.

I showed my reservation on my phone and was given a lanyard with a ferry pass. I was told to return at 10a, one hour before the 11a schedule departure. No other information was given.

After passing time at a nearby cafe, I came back at 10 am. The agent said a bus had already left but that I should wait in the lobby. So I stood there. After about 10 minutes, an agent unstacked some chairs in spread them out in the middle of the waiting area.

One hour passed and suddenly everyone poured outside in the hot sun to wait for the bus. I asked where we were going and the agent stated that there is another terminal that the bus would take everyone to. All of this would be a surprise to anyone not prying this information out of the agents because there are no instructions stating the procedure on the ticket, website, or anywhere else obvious. (I did read some Google reviews alluding to how terrible his company was, but figured they were sensationalized.)

One bus arrived which could only fit about 1/4 of all of the passengers waiting outside. Another two buses came, and while everyone was trying to cram into the next bus, agents were yelling from the other bus asking for more people to get on that bus. It's incredibly confusing because you don't know which bus to get on and everyone was worried about the process getting longer and longer while they got hotter and hotter. Eventually, I piled onto one of the open air buses which drove for 30 minutes to the 'other side of town' (north side of town where there is another ferry pier). Again, no communication was given stating where we were going or how long it would take. We were just being shuttled around as sheep led to the slaughter.

Once we go to the north pier, agents yelled to go 'that way' and we were directed (by hand waving) to herd into a small, unsigned area which was apparently the waiting room. It was now about one hour after the stated departure time. I stood the entire time as there were no seats until the ferry came about 75 minutes after departure time. There were multiple ferries and the destination is not labeled, so you're not really 100% sure if the ferry you are getting on is really the right one unless you double confirm with the agent yelling instructions or by asking the other passengers where they are going to the same place you are going. Remember, there are many, many piers that are end destinations at multiple islands, so it's important to know where you are going to end up!

The ride over was smooth as the waters were not choppy. As it was the fast ferry, the ride over was about 45 minutes. Once landed, no one really stated where you were exactly. I would have felt more comfortable if there was an announcement stating "you have arrived at Saracen Bay, please exit if this is your stop".

I decided to use a different ferry on my return trip despite the fact that I already pre-booked and pre-paid for a return leg on Buva Sea.

After the more than mixed reviews, we were puzzled to take this company. On the advice of our guests, we tried the experience. Everything went well from start to finish. They picked us up at the hotel on time and left Sihanoukville also on time. Do not forget to go to their office before taking the boat, they will give you a Pass corresponding to their boat and when you arrive on the island you still have to go to their office to tell them what time you leave. If you respect this, everything should be fine. We left on time. Very satisfied with the services.

2 hours late, no communication, not the right pier. Scam with tuk tuk drivers as tried to make us pay for transfer. Only used this company as recommended by hotel. Trust the reviews below and avoid at all costs!

Absolutely awful. Hands down one of the worst travel experiences of my life. Took a taxi from the airport to the travel office for the ticket. Then suddenly they changed the pier and we had to be transported from this ticket office to a loading doc for container ships? The transportation took 1 hour! It was extremely bumpy and just... very bad.

We arrived at the pier and it was horrible. Tons and tons of trash in the sea.

Every staff member we met was so rude, didn t give us any information and the boat was an hour late. The place you wait for the boat is dirty and gross. The boat itself was so old and just not acceptable, especially when tourists have paid so much for their hotels on the islands.

Please do not take use this company. You will regret it.

Very bad customer service at the Buva Sea koh rong office, the guy there is very rude and doesnt care about his customers. Furthermore the boat was late and of course we had no informations about that. We took GTVC company for the first way and that is much better.

Ok, so from where can I start. The first trip from Serendipity to Koh Rong Samloem I cannot complain, but after that... What a hell I lived this company! My friend and I bought the tickets online but no one told us in the Serendipity office when we went to get out batches that we had to confirm the ticket to come back 24 hours before (even if you already confirm the seats and bd everything). It doesn't makes sense at all.

After 2 days in the amazing island, my friend and I webt to pier quite early around 12 because the boat was at 12:30. Guess wha,t, at 12 the boat was already full and the guy didn't allow us to get in because we hadn't confirm our tickets in the island office (which is a little table inside of a restaurant that no one told us).

Anyway, the problem was we had our bus to come back to Phnom Pehn at 3:30 and they didn't care. We explain the situation because we had to work next day in the capital and kept saying "no boat". At some point the guy from the company started to laugh in my face, what the hel was that?

We had to wait until the bext boat at 3:30 which arrived 30 minutes late, and the same thing happened again but with other people and it doesn't matter if you confirm the ticket or not, if you are not really early at the pier you won't get in, as simple as that.

They can be the fastest one but I will never ever again buy any ticket from this company.

Wrong piers are constantly approached because the waves are too high. The promised pick ups to the bus unfortunately cannot take place. So under no circumstances choose.

No issues, fun fast boat, on time on our return trip.

Sunset island ferry. The only one that goes to sunset side. Thanks

Ok. Boat rides were overbooked, some people left standing. Be wary of the bus to Siem Reap, you can get it cheaper at the hotels up the street, and it is much older than the photos and has no bathroom.

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE

Once you are stuck in the middle of nowhere they ask for MORE money, if you don't pay them they kick you out of the boat on the first pier, even if it is not your destination.
All of the team are mean and show no respect for tourists.

Wij hebben de Virak Buntham Express vip bus van Sihanouk ville naar Phnom Penh genomen. Geboekt op het eiland bij Buva Sea Cambodia (schijnt zelfde organisatie als Virak Buntham te zijn).



De boot en de bus sluiten helaas niet echt op elkaar aan. Bagage konden we wel kwijt in het kantoortje. Voor een retour betaalden wij $20 ($10 heen en $10 terug). Op het eiland zelf werd bij dezelfde organisatie een terugreis voor $8 aangeboden.

Bij bevestigen van onze terugreis met de boot werd ons een minivan richting Phnom Phen aangeboden. Er werd ons verteld dat het een vip bus was met ruime stoelen, wifi en een coster dus niet veel mensen. Klonk goed. Echter een tip vraag welke stoelen men je plaatst! Wij bleken namelijk geen echte stoel maar een verhoogde veredelde achterbank te hebben gekregen. Mocht je toch met deze vip bus gaan zorg er danvoor dat je niet stoel 8,9,10 of 11 hebt.

Opvallend was trouwens dat de lokale mensen de beste plekken en ruimste stoelen voor in hadden. Voelt een beetje extra wrang als je dan met je Nederlandse postuur op een klein plekje moet gaan zitten tegen gewoon dezelfde prijs.



Er was nog een stoel vrij op de 1ste rij en ook andere toeristen in de bus hadden door dat wij behoorlijk krap zaten en vroegen aan de chauffeur of 1 van ons op die stoel kon gaan zitten. Maar opeens lukte het Engels niet meer en later stopten we ergens en werd er nog een lokaal iemand opgepikt die wederom de beste en vrije plek kreeg.

Dit wat betrekking tot de stoelen. Houd er verder bij deze maatschappij rekening mee dat de bus zomaar stopt en men zonder tekst en uitleg gaat eten.

Bij de 2de stop, ongeveer 35 min na de 1ste waar we ook al niet wisten hoe en wat, maar in het restauarant naar de chauffeur toegelopen en toelichting gevraagd. Het bleek een stop van 30min.



Al met al voor ons niet voor herhaling vatbaar, zeker niet op de plek achterin.

Even though the journey was quite fast and it felt safe, you can not trust the boarding and landing piers. They randomly choose where to drop you and you end up having to waste money moving to the place you need to be. It happened to us both ways. It also departed later than they said, so be careful if you book buses or any other transport right after the ferry.

We took Buva to Koh Rong longset pier (which is hostel recommended because of direct ferry). The ferry was delayed 30 mins, and as they told us we will arrived in 45 mins, we ended arrived more than 90mins. The ferry go around all the pier from Koh Rong Sanloem to Koh Rong. On the way back was 40 mins delayed, and they dropped everyone at North pier which is far away from Main pier in Sihanoukville. They didn't explain to us why and what time the shuttle bus will come to pick us up. So most of us have to spend $10 to take tuk tuk. It was very bad experience and they totally have no organization. They are other ferry services to longset beach, if you can, pls don't take Buva.

Very late come and pick us.
We wait under the sun for 2 hours

Very bad service! They told us that it lasts 45 min to go from Koh Rong to Sihanoukville. But in the end it took us 1,5h as they went to all beaches to get people. The ride was horrible and half of the passengers got nausea. But the worst was that they let us out at a complete other port of the city like 20-30 min away!!! Very bad service, try to avoid this company!!! And if you have to take it count 2 additional hours in case you have to catch a flight.

Boat was overbooked. Left an hour late. Return trip drops you off at a different pier than you left from. 'Luckily' there are tuktuks who will charge you double or triple a normal rate to get you anywhere. What a coincidence. Bad experience and would not use them again.

When you book this keep in mind that this is Asia and times are fluid, organisation is limited and as with everything you'll get there one way or another, chill out.

The smoothness of the ride depends on the ocean, buva can't control that. If its rough they'll have to Dock at the autonomous port but they'll shuttle you there for free so just get on the shuttle bus (big tuk tuk).

Make sure you wear your beach sticker before you give them your bag and they can arrange your bags according to beach and the whole thing will go much smoother.

Again the timing depends on the ocean.

WARNING !! DONT USE THIS COMPANY !! lazy workers, nothings gets done. Super slow and annoying. We are still standing on the harbour, even though the boat is here. But they are all siting and smoking and making funny noises. We were told that we would arrive on koh rong at 08:00. Now, an hour later, we still havent boarded...... dont use this company !

Little bit late (30minutes) for the first trip - second was on time

It's nice cuz this company will take you right to your hotel.

Hello everyone,

I confirm you must avoid at all costs. No indication of the ferry. It just tells you the time ... and then you have to be very patient. They do not speak English and are not very welcoming ...

$ 25 round trip ...
Experience to do once but not two ...

Booked a ticket for a boat at 11am. Bus arrived after 11am. Now waiting for another boat.

Fast speed to the islands. Efficient and well organised operation.

ABSOLUTE JOKE - pretty much no communication and on return from the islands to Sihanoukville they go to the port not serindipty pier as advertised. Then you are asked to take a bus or pay a tuk tuk back to town - no explanation and no help. Don't give these clowns your $$$

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. On the way back they crammed the ferry and there was no room so I had to stand at the front. Extremely unsafe and the waves came in and I got drenched. Everyone I know who s used this company has regretted it, there are other options so use this company only as a last resort.

Even though they promised us a bed upstairs (and we didn't have it) and wifi (which almost didn't work), the bus was very good. Clean and comfortable. It was 12 hours of travel that ended up being 10, and for the comfort of the bed I slept them all.
100% recommended!

I bought my ticket in Siem Reap. I was told that the transfer from the bus to the port is included in the price. The bus arrived over an hour late and NO ONE from this club was there. Had to take a tuk-tuk for another $ 3. When asked why nobody was there, they told me unfriendly that the taxi would have been there at 7.30. Of course, the $ 3 was not returned from Kolanz! In addition, the employees were more concerned with make-up and smartphone than with work.
NEVER AGAIN ! NOT SERIOUS!

Minivan uncomfortable old and broken, I traveled for 5 hours from phnom phen to sihanoukville with even the ability to stretch the legs, the air conditioning vents were broken and you shoot cold air on the head and to plug them I had to put a package of handkerchiefs ... bad trip

Nice experience to explore the island in Sihanouk Ville.

Good service. Boats were on time. Friendly staff. I traveled with them to Koh Rong Sanloem and I have no complains.

It's an average ferry service. Used it twice - Departure and arrival was more or less on time. Did not feel the return ferry from Koh Rong to Sihanoukville was safe. It was a small one with no trace of any safety jacket, felt the weight on the boat was not balanced properly and it was tilted on one side. They onboarded more people than the capacity and made them sit on small foot stools!

Horrible from the beginning to the end. As many other reviewers wrote, you are not departing from your designated pier but being transported in a cramppacked vehicle at least 30mins through the city to an industrial port. Timing does not mean anything to them and there is zero information. We had to go back and forth on the pier 2 times and the boat departed 1h later than scheduled. The staff was rude to an incredible extent, even shouting at us for questioning the pier change and generally treating travellers like cattle. If you have any other option, do not use this company! The professional booking system over cambodiaticket is a charade, they do not follow any of it.

Don't waste your time or money. Overbooked boat and standing room only. Not enough life jackets. Booked online and selected beach for drop off and pickup but told at checkin would NOT drop off at our reserved location. Told by the manager "Sorry, our ITguys haven't fixed the website to remove that beach as a drop off"!

They claimed my early morning boat from KRS to Sihanoukville came but I never saw it. I had to pay again for Speed Cambodia to take me instead. Worst part was that the man in the Sihanoukville Buva office didn't apologise but instead stonewalled me.

Cant complain. Super fast service. Just be ready 15 minutes before. They dont hang around.

Not even worth 1 star! Bad service, rude people with no empathy at all! We booked a ticket online to Koh Rong Samloem for the ferry of 3pm. We arrived at the pier and had been send back to the office because the ferry of 3pm was cancelled. They said they couldn t change the departure times online and so could not inform the people who booked that way. No e-mail, no text, no nothing... We had to take the 5pm ferry, if it was departing . They told us to come back at 4pm to check this and to get the tickets. We wanted to cancel but this was not an option. No refund in cash neither. In the end they gave us the ticket and said they will come to look for us to give the info about the ferry of 5pm. Please take another service, but certainly not Buva!

Very bad experience, boat overbooked, people had no seat, staff very impolite... They come if they want, if there are not enough passengers, they don't go to the pier, they leave 20 minutes before the time. Or they can be 2 hours late, without any explanation... They take tourists for stupid people... I saw one shouting on a passenger ! They are all except polite !
To avoid...

The service is bad, buying online is $ 35 per boat fast but if you buy it on the spot the same day you pay $ 5 (so big rip-off) arrived on the spot you could not leave for rough seas, they did not warn us and we had to stay in the hotel + tuk-tuk to get to it. The next day they made us arrive around 7:00 and we were waiting 1 hour to take us to the point of boarding. We had to explain to him that we had also purchased the return trip and they gave us the open date ticket to return, but we must call them the day before to confirm the departure and the time. (What balls!) If you do not tell him they are pretending nothing and on the island there is not an office but many partners.
The fast ship went like crazy and splashed all the people forward luckily we were behind.
They gave us no refunds and no help even to find a place to sleep.

Rude staffs!! When on our way to Koh Rong, the staff literally shouted at one of the passenger to ask her to get off the boat. And made us waited for 2 hours under hot sun during our way back from Koh Rong to Sihanoukville. Our hotel staffs already helped us to confirmed one day in advance that our boat is at 12pm and it only arrive at 2pm. We were all waited at the pier uncovered. And when the boat arrived, we still have to wait for another 15mins to let us get in.. if u wanna book this company, think twice.