On my bucket list is experiencing Octoberfest. My son is joining me. Looking for recommendations on where to stay near the events and which event tickets we should get? I am 74 and looking for convenience too. We only want to stay there 2 days and then head to Paris or Berlin. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8423 posts
No recommendations, but note that the festival grounds are pretty accessible from anywhere, as there is an U-bahn stop right there. Your challenge is finding reasonably priced accommodations anywhere in the city, as prices go up with the fest,
Posted by
Green Bay
20024 posts
Start looking for accomodations now. 13 years ago I took my wife and we staid at Pension Locarno, near the Hauptbahnhof. Kind of place with the bathroom and showers down the hall, no A/C, on the 2nd & 3rd floor of a building. Full of other Fest goers on the young side, but a good breakfast. I'd say this was the kind of place that should go for under 100 EUR per night normally, but it was over 200/nt for Oktoberfest.
Posted by
Munich
556 posts
You don't have to buy tickets. The Oktoberfest takes place on the Theresienwiese and you just go there.
On the opening day the Oktoberfest hosts enter Theresienwiese with a parade in the morning - fantastic to watch. There is no entry fee as well because you just stand on the street and watch the parade. Another beautiful parade on first Sunday morning and same as for the Saturday parade.
If you can still find hotel rooms in Munich at all, they are very expensive at this time.
Posted by
7642 posts
Munich books up early for lodginging during the big fest.
We lived in Augsburg, about 50 miles west of Munich and always took the train into Munich. You can probably find lodgings there. Augsburg is a great city and worth a visit.
Posted by
TX
980 posts
My brother and I have taken several groups of friends and family to Oktoberfest, including my 70 year old father and uncle and here is my advice.
- We usually stay at a Motel One, it is a decent and relatively inexpensive hotel chain based out of Munich (but with locations all over Europe). Expect to pay just under 200€ per night. We usually stay at the Motel One Ost or Haidhausen location so we can take the U5 directly to the fest grounds but are still far enough away to enjoy some quiet evenings.
- If it is just the two of you you should be able to get into a tent and squeeze onto a table on a weekday. If going on a Fri/Sat evening getting a table reservation might be best (but still possible to get lucky and squeeze onto a table). There are several Oktoberfest tour guides who book entire tables (you can only book an entire table) for their groups and then resell the leftover seats for a mark up.
- The fest is like a big state fair so make sure you leave time to explore the games and rides areas.
Have fun!
DJ
Posted by
Germany
450 posts
Go during the week. It is MUCH less crowded. With just two people, getting into a tent, while not easy, is easier. The real time to be in the tent is in the evening, but sometimes you have to be there for quite some time before the "good entertainment" starts in order to get seats.
Posted by
Vancouver, Canada
68 posts
I visited Oktoberfest in 2011. I went on a weekday and it didn't get busy/crowded until late afternoon. I did it as a day trip from Salzburg so it was a long day but it worked out fine.
On the train back to Salzburg the car I was in was full and it seemed like a lot of people had been at Oktoberfest and some of them were singing beer hall songs. The train conductor thought it was amusing and made some comment like "I didn't know this train was part of Oktoberfest" LOL