Octoberfest arrive Sept 18 for two weeks

I've been in Germany twice at Oktoberfest. Once I arrived in Munich on the last Thursday. The S-Bahn to town was not crowded, not was the station. There was a continuous line from the station to Theresienwiese. Then I went on to Oberammergau and toured Linderhof the next day. Neither place was crowded. I spent the last Saturday night of Oktoberfest in Landsberg am Lech, about an hour west of Munich, and the Gasthof was not packed.

On the other hand, several years ago I went to Hohenschwangau on the last Saturday of Oktoberfest, expecting everyone to be in Munich, but it was crawling with tourists.

So, I think, in Munich, hotels will be booked and restaurants will be packed, but as you get away from Munich, especially in non-touristy places, things will be fine. The Rhein/Mosel area is far from Munich. I wouldn't expect things to be different there.

Oktoberfest has no noticable affect on tourist traffic on the Rhine. But there's many other fall harvest festivals that take place throughout the country, so a local Rhine festival could cause a spike in numbers.

There are wine festivals every weekend in September in the Middle Rhine towns. Think wine stands, abundant food, street music, Sat. night fireworks, and lots of fun. And crowds. Nothing like the craziness of O'fest, very civilized folks. But you should book soon to ensure a room - the neighboring towns fill as well. Boppard hosts a fest from 9/23-26 and another from 9/30-10/2.

Oberwesel wine fest: http://www.oberwesel.de/uploads/pics/P1060485.JPG

Thanks so much for the advice! I will definitely research booking the Rhine area now and look at your earlier posts on this topic for further tips.

Hi Pam-
If you arrive in Munich on Sunday the 18th the 'Fest will really be crowded if the weather is good. So try to get out to the grounds as early as possible. During the week it usually isn't nearly as crowded. I hope you already have hotel reservations unless you are prepared for sticker shock.
Some folks stay in towns outside of Munich to keep the hotel costs down.
The 'Fest does not have much effect on sites outside of Munich. There is some effect on restaurants in Munich but not much else (besides the aforementioned hotels). However, as pointed out above, local festivals will have an impact on hotel availability (and costs) during your time period. For example, I believe Stuttgart and Salzburg both have festivals the last weekend in September.

Have a great trip!!!

Gathering information for Octoberfest 2017. We will travel to Munich for Octoberfest from Amsterdam via the train. After reading about the Rhine/Mosel area during that time, we are now considering visiting towns in that area that can be reached by train in September/October. This will be our preferred method of travel.
Thank you in advanced for any and all suggestions.

Hi Dianne, Why don't you start a new thread, rather than tagging on to one that is 3 months old. That way, the original poster does not get a bunch of notifications, but you do.