Oktoberfest 2023

...best time to go?

Since you are going with elderly parents, the best time to go (in my opinion) is early to mid afternoon. Doing that should eliminate the need for reservations, and will give you more flexability with regard to which tent(s) to visit. If you don't stay long, a small beer in a couple of tents should be sufficient to get a feel for the fest.

We went to Oktoberfest last year, the first instance following Covid shutdowns in 2020-21. Being the wandering nomads we are, we visited several tents, and found each had their own personality in terms of scale and vibe. Augustiner was fantastic, but its sheer size and constant activity could be overwhelming for elderly parent demographic. Hacker-Pschorr, on the other hand, was very family-friendly; smaller and more accessible, with mostly locals under the roof. That would be my recommendation, given your group dynamics.

Your planned Thursday visit should be much less crowded than otherwise going on a weekend. If you go around lunchtime, you won't need advanced reservations. Prost!

We went into 3 or 4 tents before we decided. You'll find that it's very much a multi-generation family event, like a state fair, in the afternoon. More than just beer drinking. The elders might like the one area with the oom-pah band.

We lived in Augsburg, Germany 50 miles from Munich and did three Oktoberfests.

I really enjoyed the opening day parade, only problem was you had to get there at least two hours early and stand there until the parade. Still, loved the old beer wagons with people dressed in old costumes.

We did three tents. My favorite was Spatenbrau. Also, liked Hacker-Pschorr and Lowenbrau.

It is best to go for lunch when fewer people are in the tents. Plan to spend the afternoon there. It starts to get more loudly with people singing, etc. close to 5 PM.

If you want a quieter experience check out the "Oide Wiesn".

It's a part of the grounds with a small separate admission charge, and has more old-style tents and rides/games.

I noticed on Trip AdvisorSmall-Group Munich City and Oktoberfest Tour Including Reserved Oktoberfest Tent Table. It's $191 per person and in the am. Wondering if this is worth it.

There is no problem getting seats in tents in the afternoon. All those reserved signs usually start at 5 or 6 pm, so you can sit there before the reservation starts. $191 per person? Sounds like a rip-off to me.

I went there in 2019 with the Germany Austria Switzerland tour and our guide did not make reservations. It was really tough to find a place to sit down in any of the tents...and I think we went fairly early in the day. We all had to split up and fend for ourselves.

Depends, if you are there on a weekend day, yes it will be crowded all day. Thursday I would not foresee a problem.

If it was me, I would definitely make reservations. Check out this page for reservation details:
https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/beer-tents/reservations-at-oktoberfest

I used to live in Munich and my brother and I have been attending Oktoberfest every other year with a group of friends since 2009 (and I'm been there myself a few years in between, most recently in 2022). For a Thursday afternoon and 4 people, you won't need reservations. Almost all tents offer reservations for either lunch (starting at 11 or noon) or evening (starting at 5pm). On a weekday the lunch reservations never sell out as these are mostly just for businesses treating their employees to lunch at Oktoberfest and need a whole table together. I've never not found a free table at lunch on a M-Th weekday. The business lunch groups are usually gone by 2pm and the tables are open until the even groups arrive (we've had to kick people off our tables on Friday and Saturday evening so you can even get on a table for a few hours on busy times if you are willing to vacate them at 5pm).

$191/pp is way to much to pay for a seat on a weekday.

DJ