Lotus Water Puppet Theater
Lotus Water Puppet Theater
4
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Monday
8:30 AM - 7:15 PM
Tuesday
8:30 AM - 7:15 PM
Wednesday
8:30 AM - 7:15 PM
Thursday
8:30 AM - 7:15 PM
Friday
8:30 AM - 7:15 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 7:15 PM
About
Water Puppetry is a traditional art form with distinctive culture identity of Vietnam. It came into existence, developed and diversified over a thousand years ago in the Red River Delta. Thanks to unique performances on the water, this puppetry art is famous and highly appreciated all over the world. In early days, water puppetry showed the daily life of villagers such as farming, fishing, romance and children playing. Now, the topics of the plays are also picked from ancient legends, myths and historic stages.
Duration: < 1 hour
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  • Travel-future-ahoy
    Sydney, Australia1,968 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Awesome insight into Vietnam
    Got our tickets the day before (around 2:30pm) for the 6:30pm show and scored front row seats in the Centre for 150K VND each person. The schedule for the week had at least one show at 5:15 everyday. Awesome performance. It’s really a must do in my opinion. Had a really informative display board in English on the right (and I think French on the left) describing each story/scene.
    Visited August 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 28 September 2023
  • Cole K
    3 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Enjoyable show
    I enjoyed the show here, a good deal at 80,000 VND cash for a balcony seat. The impressive puppetry and music, and the special effects (those dragons!) were delightful. I couldn’t find the show calendar online, but when I was there in Oct 2023 the performances were generally at 17:15 most days. Tip for those who don’t speak Vietnamese: I was sitting on the right side of the theater (facing the stage) and wish I’d been sitting on the left side since I couldn’t fully see the English scene descriptions, only the French ones. There were seats on the left but, by the time I realized it was an issue, it seemed too late to move so I stayed for the 50 minute duration and still enjoyed myself.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 26 October 2023
  • HMKaren
    Los Angeles, California1,348 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun and creative -- and inexpensive!
    This was so much fun! The puppetry was really great, and musicians provided live music. We only paid $11 each for our tickets for the 50 minute show. If you're traveling with kids I bet they'd love it.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 25 November 2023
  • Alex H
    Kilmore, Australia85 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    🦊 v 🦆
    So far the highlight of the three year olds trip. He loved the fox eating the duck. 🦊 eats 🦆. Nice and clean. Very well priced. Hint. Get in early, tickets sell fast.
    Visited December 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 22 December 2023
  • Winnall01
    40 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Lotus Water Puppet Theatre
    We were all completely mesmerised by this charming show. Such skill and atristry evident in the handling of the puppets themselves and a delightful little series of short tales highlighting the variety of puppets. The fire-breathing dragon was a particlar favourite! Considerable good humour in the final sketch with great interaction between full size adult performers and a range of puppets, including a fox that manages to run up a tree to hide! Terrific fun for all ages.
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 January 2024
  • Trevor N
    Jersey, United Kingdom805 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A fun experience
    We were taken to this as part of our tour so can’t comment on price, but was certainly something quite different and generally entertaining. The show is a series of short stories performed by puppets in the water to live music and song. There is a short narrative or description of each story projected onto a screen in a corner above the stage which makes it easier to follow what is happening. Unfortunately the residual smoke from fire breathing dragons makes taking pictures very difficult as it lingers in the air. One of our party suffered from asthma and found it irritated her for quite some time after. All in all a fun short experience, even if the seats were extremely uncomfortable
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 7 February 2024
  • LastMinuteLarry
    447 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Another Puppet Show
    Think we have overdosed on puppet theatres, that said I think the Lotus theatre was slightly better. The traditional stories were the same as we've seen before, but the puppets seemed slightly larger and more dramatic. A screen either side of the stage summarised each story, which is useful for the tourist. Again the show lasts less than one hour, but nevertheless enjoyable - especially as we don't have anything like this back home. We bought our tickets from the box office the day before to avoid any confusion with online ticketing, as some people appeared to struggle getting in with e-tickets.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 21 April 2024
  • Howard L
    Park Ridge, Illinois1,057 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Fun and entertaining!
    It was delightful and enjoyable to see this 50 minute water puppet show. The puppeteers were quite talented and we finally saw them at the end of the show as they took their bows. The music was provided by live musicians and singers also. The 10 short stories all had some humor in them and made the audience chuckle. There was one story that involved fire breathing dragons simulated by live fireworks which were quite smoky so that was a small bit of annoyance for some of the audience. Otherwise, a very entertaining show and great exposure to this delightful North Vietnamese art form.
    Visited April 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 23 April 2024
  • PaddyKar
    Brisbane, Australia112 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Interesting and informative
    Like a number of others, we found the various story depictions a little hard to follow, given the show is in Vietnamese. There are storylines at the start of each sketch so you get the general idea. Nonetheless, it was entertaining and the performers skillful. The sets are very well done and the musicians are great: the volume could be lower especially for those with hearing aids. There were lots of little insects flying around so maybe that could be fixed. There is the ever present problem of people in front videoing the show with their cameras held high, obscuring your view (sigh). Well worth the effort and money.
    Visited August 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 20 August 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles554 reviews
Excellent
203
Very good
213
Average
88
Poor
32
Terrible
18

betteskid
Boston, MA1,326 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2019
I went to a water puppet show at this theater during my recent visit to Hanoi and really enjoyed it. I had never seen anything like this before and was impressed with the way the puppets were manipulated. Taking in a water puppet show is a great thing to include on your visit and this show was a lot of fun.
Written 8 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

ValMacCalgary
Calgary, Canada118 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2019 • Couples
Show was unique compared to anything else we had seen around the world. Entertaining and humorous.
The puppeteers were very talented and it was great to have live singers and musicians.
The short 45 minute show was the right length to entertain.
Highly recommended!!!
Written 24 February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Travel-future-ahoy
Sydney, Australia1,968 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Family
Got our tickets the day before (around 2:30pm) for the 6:30pm show and scored front row seats in the Centre for 150K VND each person.

The schedule for the week had at least one show at 5:15 everyday.

Awesome performance. It’s really a must do in my opinion.

Had a really informative display board in English on the right (and I think French on the left) describing each story/scene.
Written 28 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

HMKaren
Los Angeles, CA1,348 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
This was so much fun! The puppetry was really great, and musicians provided live music. We only paid $11 each for our tickets for the 50 minute show. If you're traveling with kids I bet they'd love it.
Written 25 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Cole K
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Solo
I enjoyed the show here, a good deal at 80,000 VND cash for a balcony seat. The impressive puppetry and music, and the special effects (those dragons!) were delightful. I couldn’t find the show calendar online, but when I was there in Oct 2023 the performances were generally at 17:15 most days.

Tip for those who don’t speak Vietnamese: I was sitting on the right side of the theater (facing the stage) and wish I’d been sitting on the left side since I couldn’t fully see the English scene descriptions, only the French ones. There were seats on the left but, by the time I realized it was an issue, it seemed too late to move so I stayed for the 50 minute duration and still enjoyed myself.
Written 26 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Patric D
Sandbach, UK968 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2023 • Couples
There well be other Water Puppet theatres available, but this was certainly a great experience. We really did not know what to expect, but it was quite easy to follow the sory line and the puppetry was so skilful. There live music is also good, and it is certainly a great place to visit in Hanoi
Written 25 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mathilde L
17 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
Gorgeous authentic water puppet show. A great way to learn more about Vietnamese culture and traditions. Beautiful live music and singing. Show is in Vietnamese, but has minimal dialogue, so it remains easy to follow and understand. It is for all ages, I noticed adults and children enjoying it alike. My friend and I were stunned, had never seen anything like it before! We heard that the show was decreasing in popularity among locals, so buying a ticket it a great way to promote and encourage traditional arts! (extra: quite affordable and lasted less than an hour)
Written 20 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wood77
Los Angeles, CA3,285 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
Didn’t have high expectations going in, but surprisingly enjoyed the show due to it’s uniqueness. Only Vietnam has water puppets. Kudos to the puppeteers who manipulated the puppets with such skilled and precisions. The puppets emerges from the water and choreograph story telling. The show also included singers and musical instruments accompaniments of traditional music and songs.
Written 28 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Liesel
51 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2022 • Friends
This was such a wonderful surprise. An absolute must do in Hanoi. Had never seen anything like it before. Was not hard to follow the little acts. The musicians as well as the puppeteers are incredibly talented. Support this art form before it's lost forever. English and French explanations on the screen. There was no need to try and skip the line...there was no line.
Written 28 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Theodore N
3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022
Never experienced this show since I was in primary school. We always wonder how to improve and advertise this kind of traditional show. I feel a little bit sad for the puppet artist if there are not many people buying tickets. It really hurts my feeling. Hope it can reach young people in the near future
Written 5 January 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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LOTUS WATER PUPPET THEATER (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

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