Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

Unclaimed

We stayed in this hotel for four days and three nights with free breakfast. The place is nice and is quite decent for the price. The restaurant and reception area has a good view of the Fansipan summit, giving the guest an idea how high it is. Sung was very helpful and accommodating, and even gave us some idea about the places and what to expect in Sapa. Overall, highly recommended for those that want a decent place to stay and is near to popular tourist spots.

Definitely buy tickets in advance! Awesome show and really skillful art in how the puppets move and tell the story. Great musicians and all the different traditional instruments that are used for the music too. Lasts about 50 minutes and recommend sitting near the front. There are headsets you can get once inside.

This is a must in Hanoi. Doesn't take much time, quite unique and a fun experience. The puppets are very impressive and the music and story telling is simple yet well done. We got tickets a few days in advance to get the front row which seems worthwhile - we were still close to the edge though so you probably need to book at least 4/5 days ahead to get your desired seats. The prices range between 100-200k depending how close to the front you are. Audio guides are available for 50k but not essential as they give a pamphlet which details what stories are taking place (you get some additional insight but not much, and the visuals are self-explanatory).

Checked out the famous water puppet show for the cultural experience—it was definitely unique and visually interesting at first. The traditional music, the puppetry on water, and the overall concept were cool and worth seeing at least once. That said, it kind of dragged partway through. The storytelling wasn’t super engaging (especially without a strong grasp of the language or context), and the pacing made it hard to stay focused—I’ll admit I started dozing off by the middle. Still, it’s a part of Vietnamese heritage, and the craftsmanship deserves respect. Just be prepared: it’s more of a cultural checkbox than an edge-of-your-seat experience. ? Worth seeing once, but maybe go in the early afternoon, not after a big meal.

This was such a beautiful experience. The artists and staff around the theatre do such an amazing job in honoring this wonderful place. The music and singing were magical. Staff was absolutely incredible and full of kindness. The only thing I would recommend the theatre to do is to regulate the tourists photographing and videotaping so much during the performance. I found it pretty distracting and also felt like all these mobile phone held up was disrespectful to the effort the artists put into this wonderful story.