2 weeks in Europe - flying in to Munich for Octoberfest

"we are a beer loving crew"

So, why don't you just buy a couple of cases, sit on the couch, drink yourselves into oblivion and dream you were in Munich?

Seriously, though, although I doubt I drink a case of beer a year in this country, I probably drink 1½ l per day in Germany. German beer is the best. And, you don't have to go anywhere extra to enjoy it. Every small town, it seems, has their own brewery and there own special kind of beer.

Outside of Munich, near the airport, in Freising, is Weihenstephen, the world's oldest brewery.

"take the train back to Munich via Nürnberg."

There are a few sub-six hour connections from Prague to Munich using a non-stop bus to Nürnberg and an ICE from there to Munich. The advance (3 day) purchase Europe-Spezial Tchechien ticket (as low as €29) might apply to these connections. Otherwise the fare is about €90.

The best all-rail connection is a still a 6 hour regional train that crosses the border at Furth im Wald and goes from there directly to Munich with a possible change of trains in Schwandorf. It does not go through Nürnberg. On this route you can use an €8 Czech Rail ticket to the border and a Bayern-Ticket (€28 for up to 5 people) from there to Munich. For two people it is almost as fast, less expensive (€22 pP) than the Nürnberg option, and always available at that price.

You know, there is plenty of beer to be enjoyed in Germany even if it's not Oktoberfest. In fact, I think you might have a better time enjoying the beers without a mega-gaggle of tourists -- not to mention save a ton of money!

We pushed our Eurotrip back by a couple of weeks specifically so we could avoid the high prices to be expected along with a huge festival like that.

That said, the Munich area itself houses a lot of famous breweries: Paulaner, Spaten, Hofbrauhaus. Erdinger is one of my favourite breweries, and they are based in Erding, which isn't too far away. If you make a trip to Prague, I hear the beer is also good and dirt cheap compared go Germany. We are certainly planning to check it out.

You will pay dearly if you overnight in Munich during Oktoberfest. If rooms are still available, that is.

I would stay in Landshut, Ingolstadt, or even Augsburg, and take the train into the heart of Munich for a day. That would cost you very little and iinvolve less than an hour's travel time. A full day is a lot of time at Oktoberfest, IMO.

For Andechs: A nice place to stay is Dießen, across Ammersee Lake from Herrsching. You take a ferry to Herrsching and walk up to Andechs from there. Nice views along the way.

If you like beer, why not visit the Beer Road to the north? There's a group of small breweries in the area surrounded by Nuremberg, Ansbach, Würzburg, and Bamberg (famous for its Rauchbier.) Here are the brewery names:

Beer Road Breweries

And here's a map:

Beer Road area

(train lines are shown by the dotted black lines.)

"(train lines are shown by the dotted black lines.)"

There should be more dotted black lines. Bamberg is connected to both Würzburg and Nürnberg by rail.

Oktoberfest is wonderful. Some of my favorite memories of our trips tie right back to those fairgrounds. My husband's eyes light up like a kid at Disney World when we reminisce. Do get your hotel figured out ASAP and if you haven't already figured out that the lodging will be a healthy chunk of money. Both times we went we stayed at places for 160E (roughly $225) a night. And that is about what you will find I expect.

And as for Prague, I was there in October and it is a really unique city with fabulous (and CHEAP) beer. Last night on the travel channel - Anthony Bordain did a show just on Prague and I thought it was wonderful. He captured exactly what Prague is as fas I what I experienced. If you get a chance, I highly recommend finding that show.

A couple of years ago, on the last Saturday night of Oktoberfest, I stayed in Landsberg am Lech. The single room cost me €42, their published year-round price (no Oktoberfest increase). Looks like their prices are still the same, maybe a slight increase. A double room is about €70 ÜF.

There are two trains/hr from Landsberg to Munich Hbf and it takes about 50 minutes with a 5 minute change of trains in Kaufering. The one way fare is €10,50 pP, but up to five can do the ROUND trip for €28 total with a Bayern-Ticket.

The rates for Uhland for Oktoberfest 2010 are here.

Remember, if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

Have you booked everything for Oktoberfest yet? If not DO SO NOW!!!! It gets crazy expensive and hard to find rooms.

Personally, I like the area between Munich and Salzburg - Hit Oktoberfest, and go crazy, then have a couple relaxing stress free days in the Lake District, then on to Salzburg, Vienna, then Prague.

It's a good trip to do by car if you have 3+, and many of the train tickets will let you take stopovers for free. (Example, buy Munich to Salzburg ticket, and take two days in Prien on the way, etc).

Hope you have fun! =)

Thanks for all the information. We have set the dates arriving in Munich September 28th and departing October 11th. We will do Octoberfest when we get in to Munich and it will be over by the time we come back around from Salzburg, Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Hotel Uhland has no rooms left on the 29th but I think I will try to book for the 28th and stay only one night.

Any tips or favorites in any of the above cities let me know! Cheers!!

Just an FYI, be prepared to pay for your accomodations up-front. When I was booking my stay in Munich (we're coming in a few weeks after), every place I looked at stated that reservations during Oktoberfest were non-refundable, and the entire payment was due at booking rather than at check-in.

Good news- I got 3 nights at the Courtyard Marriott Munich City Center for $465 USD. I'm relieved to have the accomodations during Octoberfest taken care of!

Go to Oktoberfest. You won't regret it! Definitely go to Kloster Andechs but make sure not to miss the small town of Aying, outside of Munich. Some of the best beer in all of Germany!!

Go to Oktoberfest. You won't regret it! Definitely go to Kloster Andechs but make sure not to miss the small town of Aying, outside of Munich. Some of the best beer in all of Germany!!