First Visit to Munich Sept/Oct 2026

Be sure to get a reservation at a Beer Hall as they are not just walk-in.

Dachau is well worth a half day trip. It still stays with me and my daughter two years later. Fussen is also worth a day although i would skip Neuschwanstein in favor of Hohenschwangau.

We also loved the BMW Museum.

I agree with Jason. Do a tour of Hohenschwangau where you learn more about the family and its furnished. Just walk around Neuschwanstein.

What is the best more of transport to Hohenschwangau?

if you don't already have reservations for lodging you may be shocked. You're behind the curve. I'd look north of the altstadt.

3-4 days is a good amount of time for a first visit. There are entire books on what to do, buy a couple, figure out what you want to see, and plan on rain at least once in 4 days. I'd pass on the Bavarian castles, go visit Nymphenburg Palace instead. Tour the Residence. And the Deutsches Museum. Hang out in the English Garden. Find a beer hall or two. Walk the victual market in the morning, before 0930. Eat Weiss Wurst before noon. Take a spa day at Therme Erding. Walk the altstadt after sundown. Munich is a great city, vastly underrated.

I do agree Nymphenburg is quite nice. We like the Residenz, but it does go on and on. . .

We lived in Augsburg from 1987 until 1991 and did the big fest three times. It was only 50 miles by trains that ran every hour.
I had a friend that wanted to do the Oktoberfest and we couldn't put him up, he couldn't find lodging in Munich, so he stayed in a hotel in Augsburg, that was 1/3 the cost of what the hotels in Munich were asking.

Dachau is interesting, but don't recommend taking kids there.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187309-Activities-Munich_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html

Garmish and the Zugspitze (highest mountain in Germany) is great, take the cog train or cable car. Do the castles. You can't do the Zugspitze and both castles in one day. If you decide to stay in Garmish, consider the Fraundorfer Hotel.

Salzburg is great, recommend staying 3 days and doing the Eagles Nest in nearby Berchtesgaden. It is amazing.
In Salzburg, do the Basilica, the Mozart house and the citadel/castle on the hill. IF you have time do the Sound of Music Tour.

Vienna is great, consider a concert.

If you go to Oktoberfest on a weekday afternoon, you do not need a reservation. You say "we", how many? Normally you must reserve a whole table, seating 8-10 people and pay a minimum for food and at least 1 liter mug of beer, and you have to do it now. But like I say, unnecessary if there are just 2 of you and you don't stay past 5 or 6 when most of the tables have been reserved.

Best transportation to Hohenschwangau? Train and local bus with a Bayern Ticket. For Neuschwanstein you need to make a timed entry reservation to take a tour inside.

It will be only my wife and I on this trip, and we do plan to make a reservation for the Oktoberfest event if possible.

Be sure to get a reservation at a Beer Hall as they are not just walk-in.

I am not sure what this means. The tents at the fest? Beer Halls in the city?

But generally, for both, a group of two would not need reservations and for the fest tents, two cannot make a reservation, except maybe by overpaying for a "tour" that includes a seat in a tent.

The traditional beer halls in the city can get crowded, but I have often been able to find a seat, there are enough of them that you can easily find one that has room, do not be afraid to share a table.

For the fest tents, you are free to enter any tent, unless they have halted entry due to capacity. You can enter, walk around (well worth just walking through a few) and if there are seats available, that are not reserved for that time period, you can sit. Ask the staff in charge of each section, they know where the free seats are. Generally in the afternoon, during the week, you will have your pick of seats and tents. Evenings may be tougher, as more seats are reserved, and more people show up for the unreserved seats (All tents are required to have unreserved seats.) The weekend after you arrive will be a zoo, as it is closing weekend.

For places to stay, Freising is a nice town near the airport and on the S-Bahn line into Munich, 30 to 40 minutes to the heart of Munich. Erding is another nearby town on the S2 line, about the same time in. Just a bit further, but on a main line, is Augsburg, a pleasant city in it's own right, is 40 to 50 minutes by train. Each of these cities still have several places for $150 to $200/night. Hotels in Munich proper are very high cost.

I like to use Booking.com, they show a range of accommodations: chain hotels, small hotels, hostels, and apartments.

Great info, thank you all!

I'll refer you to my suggestions from the thread you began last year for your intended trip last fall:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/munich-salzburg-vienna-in-sept-oct-2025

Many people choose to stay outside Munich during O'fest (Augsburg is a good choice sometimes) and I think that might be your only way of thwarting unreasonable prices. In the above thread I suggested the pleasant town of Landshut, which is actually CLOSER to the airport than Munich's main train station is. If you have not already looked into Landshut, I suggest you do. It's a better "couples" place than Munich is during O'fest, that I'm certain of. I also suggested outings to REGENSBURG and to NUREMBERG and of course a trip into MUNICH for sightseeing and your O'fest. But that was when you had FIVE days, not just 3-4. So maybe you drop the NUREMBERG outing in favor of Regensburg (Germany's best-preserved medieval city, very simple to navigate on foot.)

I do not endorse the outings to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau which others have suggested. Munich has plenty to do if you decide against Landshut, etc. I am guessing you still haven't done much research on Munich might offer you - the only specific thing you mention is Oktoberfest. So right now I don't see the value of 4 nights there. If you are eager to see palaces, make time for Nymphenburg while in Munich, whether you have just a day there or 4 days there. But rather than going with random suggestions from the forum, you really need to decide on your own what's important to see and do while there and plan how to get around. It's a big place, and without a plan, you may not see much at all.

That is a fantastic reminder, Russ!

We can do 5 days, and I am going to revisit your itinerary.

Alte Pinakothek for its art and the Egyptian museum are on my list..and the Dachau memorial especially since my grandfather was one of its liberators. I do have hotels already for September.
I hope you have a great trip!