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Thang Long Water Puppets: Hanoi's Cultural Gem
3.2
33 Ratings
Hanoi
Discover Vietnam’s ancient art at Thang Long Water Puppet Show. Experience captivating storytelling and tradition in Hanoi’s historic theater.
Discover Vietnam’s ancient art at Thang Long Water Puppet Show. Experience captivating storytelling and tradition in Hanoi’s historic theater.
Duration:
1 hour, 20 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
-
Thang Long Water Puppet - Bypass the lines at the Water Puppet Theater with a service that provides your show ticket, available for various showtimes.
Delight in a mesmerizing 50-minute live performance that highlights one of Vietnam’s most renowned and traditional art forms.
Water puppetry is a distinct Vietnamese tradition that began over a…
- Thang Long Water Puppet - Bypass the lines at the Water Puppet Theater with a service that provides your show ticket, available for various showtimes.
Delight in a mesmerizing 50-minute live performance that highlights one of Vietnam’s most renowned and traditional art forms.
Water puppetry is a distinct Vietnamese tradition that began over a thousand years ago in the Red River Delta.
Initially, these performances illustrated everyday village life, such as farming, fishing, children’s games, and romance.
Nowadays, the shows also feature ancient legends and mythical tales, bringing Vietnam’s cultural heritage to life.
What's Included
- Skip-the-line Thang Long Water Puppet Theater ticket
- Multilingual Audio Guide (if you choose Multilingual Audio Guide tickets)
- Show program
- All taxes, fees, and handling charges
- Skip-the-line Thang Long Water Puppet Theater ticket
- Multilingual Audio Guide (if you choose Multilingual Audio Guide tickets)
- Show program
- All taxes, fees, and handling charges
What's Not Included
- Personal Expenses
- Personal Expenses
Additional Information
The famous Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi has its roots in an ancient art form from the 11th century. This distinctive tradition started when villagers used flooded rice fields as stages for entertainment, with performers standing in waist-deep water to maneuver puppets above the surface. The puppeteers, concealed behind a screen, used long…
The famous Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi has its roots in an ancient art form from the 11th century. This distinctive tradition started when villagers used flooded rice fields as stages for entertainment, with performers standing in waist-deep water to maneuver puppets above the surface. The puppeteers, concealed behind a screen, used long rods to give the impression that the puppets were smoothly gliding over the water.
- Confirmation will be received at the time of booking.
- A Viator/TripAdvisor confirmation booking will be sent at the time of confirmation is not the official ticket.
- The service provider will send you a separate email with your actual ticket 24 hours before your travel date. This ticket will be the one recognized by the attraction. If you haven’t received it 24 hours before your visit, please reach out to GLOBALTIX on WhatsApp Message.
- Same price applies to all ages
- Re-entry is not allowed after exit
- Show times are subject to change based on availability
- Seating categories include VIP: A/B/C/D/E (Row 1-5), Deluxe: G/H/I/K/L/M/N/O (Row 6-13), and Standard: P/Q/R (Row 14-16)
- Available showtimes are 16.10 17.20 18.30 and 20.00
- Collect physical tickets at least 30 minutes before showtime
- Arrive 10 minutes early and meet staff for audio guide assistance
- Arrive early to secure better seating
- No flash photography and no commercial filming or live streaming
- Smoking and drinking are strictly prohibited inside the venue
- The theatre is near Hoan Kiem Lake and easily accessible
- Wear neat and respectful clothing suitable for indoor seating
- Bring a light jacket as the theatre may be air-conditioned
- No luggage storage and pets are not allowed inside
Location
Thang Long Water Puppet
57B Dinh Tien Hoang - Hoan Kiem - Ha Noi,
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
3.2
(33 Ratings)
5 stars
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1 star
Andywilson2610
Feb 21, 2026
Great puppet water puppet show. - Very good, and expertly delivered
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fyingkiwi
Jan 11, 2026
Unique Entertainment - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Harel
Dec 17, 2025
Wonderful.... - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Probal_r
Dec 4, 2025
Brilliant show - 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
Review provided by Viator
Margaret_m
Feb 12, 2026
Allow yourself plenty of time to get to the show. It's worth it. - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Warren_f
Jan 2, 2026
No audio guide - The puppet show would be enjoyable with an audio guide which we booked but on arrival were told that they had run out.
Review provided by Viator
Css2026
Jan 4, 2026
Chaotic entry for a unique puppet show - 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.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Brooke_s
Feb 17, 2026
Do not buy from Viator. - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Christelle_k
Feb 14, 2026
I waited until last... - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Esmeemaaike
Dec 4, 2025
Totally avoidable this operator - 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
Review provided by Tripadvisor
