Skip the Line: Thang Long Water Puppet Theater Entrance Tickets

Really enjoyed it! Lovely old theater.

We sat in B17, B18 and B19 (VIP tickets) which is the 2nd row from the stage, with an aisle seat and right under a large fan. Our son is very tall so he had the aisle seat and was not blocking anyone's view. The room has AC but the additional fan was appreciated. The show is much better than we had hoped. It was charming and the live music was beautiful. And the length was just perfect - less than 1 hr. Get the audio translation. I think it was only $2 and explained the folk stories. When you go up the stairs, the translation rentals are to your left in the corner. You do not wait in the ticket line to get into the show. I was in line and my husband noticed a young man by the stairs handing out tickets. That was our guy. We showed him the Viator barcode and he searched his list, found our tickets and we went upstairs to the show.

No advantage with skip the line

The Water Puppet Show was one of the most unique cultural experiences of our trip. It immediately immersed us in the atmosphere of Vietnam through its traditional music, live musicians, and beautifully crafted puppets performing on the water. The performance depicted scenes from everyday Vietnamese life, alongside dragons, mythical creatures, and what were probably traditional legends and folk stories. Although we could not understand every detail of the stories, the visual presentation was so engaging that it hardly mattered. The combination of the live instruments, the skill of the puppeteers, and the magical setting on the water created a truly special experience. It was charming, entertaining, and gave us a wonderful glimpse into Vietnamese culture. We enjoyed it very much and would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Vietnam.

Don't ever book for any show from TripAdvisor as there are.many.more better and honest websites like Klook, trip.com, Agoda, etc who are very fair and reasonable in their charges. I booked for a Water puppet show with TripAdvisor online and the rate shown was USD 9 each but I was charged USD 13 each. The reason it put says "skip the long queue" as we can collect the ticket from one of their representative waiting near the ticket window. I noticed that most of the websites representing Klook or others were also there and their customers had paid only USD 7-8 each ticket, and whereas I was charged USD 39 for the 3 tickets. The actual ticket cost is little then USD 6 or VND 150,000. I feel cheated by TripAdvisor and would never ever use their services.

Organising the show through trip advisor / Viator was easy. They sent me the tickets via email and i asked the hotel to print them out for me. Once i was outside the venue there was a representative waiting to scan the bar code and issue me three tickets.... at no point was i ever asked where i wanted to sit . I bought the most expensive tickets at 8$ each in the hopes i was at the front. I was in row D - which was the 3rd row back from the front.It is tiered seating but i still had to move around to see some of what was happening in the water. I am 5 foot 7 - so not short. They did have bumper cushions for children like you get in the movie theater. The water puppet show was good. Very entertaining in some parts. The puppets themselves looked amazing and i am sure there was an enormous amount of work that went into the production- lights, live musicians and singers. Most of the time i had very little idea about what was going on because the show was solely in Vietnamese with only the intro in English and french. They do offer a service for another fee where you can buy some kind of headphones for it to be translated into your language. In hindsight i should have got those but didn't feel like queuing again. Was it worth going ... yes. Would i go again - probably not.

You do not skip any line. Go directly to the ticket office and get yourself a ticket there instead of buying one online. It is 100,000 dong which is $5 aud.

A Unique Cultural Experience – Highly Recommended We attended the VIP First Class show at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, and it was a fantastic experience. The performance was colourful, engaging, and unlike anything else we’ve seen. The live music added to the atmosphere and made it feel very authentic. I highly recommend getting the audio guide—it provides helpful context for each scene and makes the stories much more meaningful. Learning about the four mythical animals and their role in Vietnamese culture was especially interesting. Overall, a smooth and enjoyable experience, and a great way to experience Vietnam’s traditions.

Dear Sir / Madam, I made a booking for this event (Mon, Apr 6, 2026 / 3 Adults / Confirmation #: 1764535701 / Booking Reference #: 1381871515) I bought 3 VIP tickets for 3 adults, but when we got the entrance they told us that we cannot buy any VIP ticket via Viator and they offered to downgrade our tickets. I had an arguement there with the officer which I dont want to. I had a vacation for relaxation and bought these tickets for having a good time, but I had a very stressed time and arguement with the people which I do not know. I am totally disappointed with your service. Thank you, Seckin.

I booked the vip first class and paid the first class price. When I arrived, I was told that the website had some issues, so my first class seats were cancelled. Instead, I was given the ordinary seats. I was told I would get refunded in 2 days . Hope I will get refunded as promised.