Theatre, Dance & Music from Lune at 3 Locations in Vietnam and Traditional Vietnamese Water Puppets.

Something I have to add, because we saw a show in Hoi An and thought it was wonderful, are the Lune Theatre productions. You can catch these in Saigon, Hanoi and now, new for 2018, in a purpose-built performance space in Hoi An.

These shows are magical and beautiful, featuring traditional music and instruments, dance, drama and more. The show we saw in Hoi An, “The Mist” beautifully illustrates the life of rice farmers in the Mekong Delta. If you get a chance, go.

You can book Lune tickets in advance for the Saigon/Ho Chi Minh Opera House show here. These shows do sell out so reserve your place.

Find out more on Lune’s own website.. There are 4 different shows that rotate through Lune’s current 3 theatres in Vietnam.

I’ll also mention Vietnamese water puppet shows. We’ve seen shows in Hanoi and Hoi An, great for kids and a lot of fun. These short performances are traditional and well worth seeing. Buy tickets to Hanoi’s water puppet show (discounted and skip-the-line).
Vietnam Travel Blog – Visas
2 Week, E-Visa, 3 Month, Multiple Entry and More

Please double check all information in this section for 2021 and onward. There were no Vietnam tourist visas available last time we checked. They are due to return soon, we hope.

Vietnam isn’t as easy as other countries in South East Asia when it comes to visas. It’s also one of the more expensive countries to enter. You can’t just turn up at the borders empty-handed and expect a visa on arrival unless you’re on a two-week holiday.

Vietnam requires a little forward planning for long-term travellers.  Please read the information below and do your own research for your country. We’re as current as we can be, but for Vietnam the regulations seem to change by the hour.

You’ll find a search box below ( an affiliate) for what we think is a trustworthy visa company.

Visitors to Vietnam can visit a Vietnamese embassy to buy their Visa. Or arrange an e-visa approval online which they must then produce on arrival.

We were going to visit the Vietnamese embassy in London when we discovered that using a visa agency was actually cheaper and potentially easier. The embassy in London would charge $100 US for each 3 month visa. That was significantly more expensive than using the agency.

We took the agency route (letter of pre-approval) for our 3 month Vietnam visa and had no problems whatsoever on arrival in Vietnam as UK passport holders.

The agencies don’t actually issue the visas but give you an authorization letter from the Vietnamese immigration department. This allows you to receive a visa on arrival.

Airlines are strict and usually won’t let you on the plane without either a full visa or authorization letter, ours was checked at Heathrow.

You pay a small fee to the agency to get the letter emailed to you. The agency will apply for multiple travellers so when you get your letter don’t be surprised that it contains other people’s details such as name, date of birth and passport number.

You can ask for a private letter with just your details for approximately $10 US more per person.

The costs are normally between $20 and $25 US for the authorization letter. You then need to pay the stamping fee on arrival in Vietnam where the actual visa is stuck into your passport.

This ranges from $20 for a single month to about $25 for a three-month single entry visa. The multiple entry visas attract a higher stamping fee approximately $50 US. All the stamping fees need to be paid in cash in US $.

The authorization letter only works if you are flying into an international airport. It will not work at land crossings. For that you’ll need to have a visa in your passport from an embassy or you will only be entitled to the free 15 day visa on arrival ( certain counties only)

We’ve consulted with the visa company below ( Sherpa, they are based in Canada) and they had the following to say:

We have uncovered a number of recent disclaimers/warnings from various Vietnamese Embassies about travellers getting a Letter for Visa On Arrival.

In short, the VoA route isn’t recommended by the embassies themselves. With a variety of third-party sites mimicking the official embassies. We recognize that this visa is usually the cheapest option, and widely used to this day, but we’ve decided that we are not going to offer Visa on Arrival as an option to travellers through Sherpa.

We will certainly do the eVisa, and we will also process the Loose Leaf Visa, which we are able to do for Canadians and Americans who need more than the eVisa. Overall, we will provide information to travellers in the widget, and we hope that this is helpful. “

Americans’ visa regulations for Vietnam are different again. Visa requirement change constantly, please double-check information with Sherpa or another reputable visa company.