Thang Long Water Puppets: Hanoi's Cultural Gem

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 queues at the Water Puppet Theater with this handy service that provides show tickets and flexible timing options. Delight in a live 50-minute performance that highlights one of Vietnam’s most renowned art forms, water puppetry, which began over a millennium ago in the Red River Delta. Originally illustrating…
What's Included
  • Skip-the-line Thang Long Water Puppet Theater ticket
  • Multilingual Audio Guide (if selected)
  • All taxes, fees, and handling charges
  • Show program
Additional Information

Explore the captivating history of the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre in Hanoi, where an ancient art form from the 11th century is brought to life. Originating in the waterlogged rice fields of rural Vietnam, villagers once stood waist-deep in water, animating stories with puppets that seemed to glide effortlessly across the surface. Concealed behind…

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.

Customer Ratings
4.2
(13 Ratings)
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Lorna_n
Oct 2, 2025
I have been to Puppet... - 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.?
Review provided by Viator
Jo
Sep 24, 2025
Traditional Vietnamese Art - This is a must see in Hanoi. Yes it's kitsch but that's the point. Buy the translation if you really want to know what's going on but it's actually more fun without it.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tropics-876
Sep 11, 2025
Don’t miss this! - A must-see if you are truly interested in local culture. The scenes were colourful, humorous, and non-stop action. I chose not to use the audio phones as I wanted to hear the show in the original language. Next time I want to use audio as I think it would be interesting to get an even clearer picture of this fascinating aspect of local Vietnamese culture. The hour passed too quickly for me.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Compass32785198184
Aug 31, 2025
A great little piece of Vietnamese culture! - It was a wonderful experience for the whole family. But make sure to book with Audio Guide, otherwise you only understand half!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Annen421
Aug 21, 2025
Beautiful discovery - We had a great time. The paintings follow one another with humor and poetry. All accompanied by music and songs.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Julien_a
Jun 8, 2025
What to do - Very nice visual but especially auditory show. Good time. What to do if you're on hanoi. I recommend!
Review provided by Viator
Urszula_l
Apr 15, 2025
Great experience - 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
Review provided by Viator
Gideon_l
Sep 20, 2025
Albeit it’s my fault that... - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Robert_m
Aug 14, 2025
Good but... - 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.
Review provided by Viator
Marc_y
Aug 13, 2025
Very poor delivery - 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.
Review provided by Viator
From $6
up to 15 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).