Vietnam: Thang Long Water Puppet Show

It was a short but interesting and enjoyable experience. Especially the different "strange" music instruments and their sounds were special. Also the unique way in which a story was told in the water was special for us. I recommend this show for a relaxing "break" from the busy streets and noise of Hanoi.

I bought ticket online through Viator. The online ticket said de luxe category and I should sit anywhere between row 6 and 13. I was given a ticket by the agent on arrival at theatre and was shown a seat on row 15 which is a general category. I made a complaint to the travel co no reply yet. Not to take anything away from a unique event and performed by a globally recognised troop of performers. Definitely a must when visiting Hanoi.

These tickets are sold at locations for $3, Viator hikes up the price saying that you don’t have to stand in line and are secured a row 6-10. We were in the last row from the top after paying 4x the price.

I waited until last minute to get my actual tickets. We were 5 but were not seated together as a family and our seats were not placed well. I recommend to buy the tickets directly on the spot from the cashier of the puppet show . it is much MUCH cheaper ( 100,000-150,000 and 200,000VND) but you need to go in advance to secure your ticket as i can be fully booked.

I really enjoyed the puppet show, the singing and music. We made sure to buy audio guides so we could understand what was being depicted. It was easy to find the theatre, but a bit of a run around to get the actual tickets in exchange for the Viator voucher. Still, we had plenty of time to find the ticket office and then return for the show. Hanoi is very far from the cruise port, so getting to the city was the biggest challenge because we could only find one limousine from the port in the morning and only one option to return (by a different tour provider) after the show.

Apparently, a Hanoi specialty, a water puppet show is an exceedingly entertaining must see. Not only is it incredibly entertaining, but it also offers those attending an opportunity to learn something about Asian culture and folk stories.

Chaos! We purchased the tickets online more than 24 hours before the scheduled show. We reached the venue 1 hour before schedule and we were told by the theater stafff at the door that we had nothing to worry since we had already purchased our tickets and we could skip the line. We asked for seat assignment (online purchase doesn't allow seat selection just section or tier reservation) and we were told that we would be assigned seats for our tier once we're inside the theater. When we arrived 45 minutes later, expecting to be seated inside the theater in the tier 1 seating area (closest to the water stage), there was a line of people with tickets in hand. We tried to find the same staff we had spoken to earlier, but there seemed to have been a shift change. The new staff were busy ushering out guests from the earlier show and were unable or unwilling to help us with our reservation. It was unprofessional and total mismanagement. We were asked to stand in line and handed tier 2 tickets instead after waiting for another 30 minutes as utter chaos unfolded around us (the line morphed into a stream of people entering the theater). Once inside, we located our seats in the middle of the theater, which wasn't too far from the stage (the space is small compared to standard theaters), although our original tier had closer seating. By the way, the show is in Vietnamese without any translation, but it is quite unique and represents an integral part of Vietnamese folklore. Language is a huge hindrance for non-Vietnamese and the staff don't seem to want to change that despite the record number of expats that flock the theater.

The puppet show would be enjoyable with an audio guide which we booked but on arrival were told that they had run out.

Wonderful! What interested me most was the curiosity of what happens behind the scenes and how it is done with such precision, more than the plot, which is unnecessary to take the audio for it. Warmly recommend but check the prices because even thru viator the same activity has different prices.

Exceptional show, one of a kind. It is a must do, when visiting Vietnam. Foreigners should take an audio guide as the entire show is in Vietnamese language

Please avoid unless into cultural show. You don’t undertaand anything as it’s in local language. Totally avoidable. My kids left from between We paid for the VIP tickets and upon arrival they put us in the middle of the regular rows. The difference in price between our seating and the amount paid was alot money

Tourist spot at very busy time and location with crowd of tourists queuing up. This show is overrated as such i have high expectations but unfortunately it quite boring.

The puppets didn‘t look as great as there were discribed. The movements were absolutly disapointing. I could also have done this. If I were you I would not spend your time and watch it. There are better atractives to do in Hanoi. We had been booked on by our tour Which I hadn't noticed until the last minute otherwise would have asked not to attend. It is literally puppets in a small pond with traditional singing for an hour !

Not entertaining, I would say it's a tourist trap just to get you pay for some puppet show. I would not recommend it, save your money and buy ice cream instead .Boring, weird and honestly overpriced. Appreciate it's local art and culture but it's tacky and touristy. No English translation either.

Terrible experience in my traveling in Hanoi. Waste of time and money and never book tickets online.Book directly from the ticket office

Great experience, use the audio guide, you’ll learn some facts about Vietnamese culture. Sound is a little bit too loud in the theatre. I just wish we would have gotten the tickets online and not having to wait for them to be delivered to the theatre right before the show,.

It was amazing to see the puppet water show in person, such a beautiful show. The music was amazing, the singing and the art.

Thang long water puppet show is really nice and a must see when you come to Hanoi but the Globaltix is poor service and not good value for money. I do not recommend

I have been to Puppet Shows before during my travels but your show was by far the best. Firstly, the method and mechanics use to move the puppets is unique and makes the show more realistic than string movements. Secondly, the oratory was clear, audible and humorous. Having live musicians added a theatre atmosphere that made this show’s performance eclipse a simple puppet show. The audio guide gave an introduction to each skit so one could follow the actions. It was wonderful a must see.?

Albeit it’s my fault that the ticket got cancelled since we were trapped in a traffic jam, since the start I have to be the one contacting the seller, so if you did not then they also won’t reach out to you. When we were there slightly late, I dropped him a text and he was online, but purposely only reply me long later to tell me tickets are cancelled and non-refundable. This is fine, but I would have appreciate the sellers to show initiative and also to respond quickly even if the tickets are cancelled, so that I know whether to quickly buy another pair on the spot. And when we entered at the 8pm show after buying tickets on the spot, we saw people entering 30 mins after it begin, so the original tickets could have been given to us and we will just be slightly late. Just buy the ticket on the spot, you won’t save anything from here anyways since the on the spot price is similar.

Show was good but we couldn't get audio guides cos they were "out of stock". Whole thing was nice but gets boring very quickly when you can't understand a word.

The show itself was excellent. The booking on Viator was a complete disaster. I booked a few days before the show. When I arrived at the theatre to pick up my tickets, the representative had no record of it. I missed the show while she was trying to figure out what happened. Finally I got the tickets for the next day.

I got a ticket via viator, it was a voucher that was exchanged 15 minutes before the show for a seated ticket. I booked VIP (1-5th row) and received 4th row - D 13, right in the middle which was a really great spot. Show was great as well, especially if someone admires theatres and art. Recommend

I would not recommend purchasing this “VIP” experience. There was no clear signage and I had to wait in line at the ticket booth. There were plenty of tickets left. The only reason someone knew I was “VIP” was because my phone was out. They waved me down. We all had to sit separately and we were yes in the first rows but in the corner where we saw nothing. The cost of the show is around $3. Dont pay trip advisor. I won’t use TripAdvisor anymore becuase of this. I wish I could get my money back.

Water puppet theatre is a very worth seeing. Takes about 1 hour. The conversion from the voucher is a bit exciting but in the end it worked out 100% at the last push.

very nice show: set, orchestra, characters, costumes, action. I went for the fifth time: it's still beautiful and attractive.

Very nice visual but especially auditory show. Good time. What to do if you're on hanoi. I recommend!

Me encantó, una preciosidad, la audioguía muy buena. El sitio precioso y las historias que cuentan sobre Vietnam muy bonitas. El control de la entrada on line es muy bueno también.

A water puppet show is an attraction you can see at the water puppet theater in central Hanoi, near Hoan Kiem Lake. This attraction originally comes from Vietnamese villages where the theatre was played with puppets in the water. The tradition of water puppet show comes from rice fields being flooded and villagers making entertainment by standing in the deep water.with the dolls above the water. Back then, simple stages were built around flooded rice fields aimed at the puppeteers who entertain their audience. Duration +- 1 hour, animation with vocals and orchestra. Also colorful.