Oktoberfest in Munich, 2020

Hi sue -
While I can't offer up specifics on the festival, I can recommend a very nice little hotel that's a mere block from Theresienwiese (the festival grounds). Here it is:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/de/bavaria.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g187309-d217912-Reviews-Bavaria_Boutique_Hotel-Munich_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html

We stayed here in the spring a couple of years ago and I see it's still getting excellent reviews. Our room was clean, comfortable, roomy enough and quiet, and we had a balcony. Breakfast was terrific and they have a bar and nice outdoor terrace. It's a bit of a hike on foot from there to Marienplatz/Old Town but we enjoyed the walk and you can easily take public transit or a cab if wanting to save the shoe leather. There were some good casual restaurants in the area (ask the desk) so all-in-all we had a nice stay. Because of the location+rating, I would imagine tariffs are very steep during Oktoberfest but that's to be expected!

If you're asking for Oktobefest but more laid back and less touristy, Stuttgarter Volksfest (also known as the Canstatter Wasen) is exactly what you want. It's the world's 2nd largest bierfest (after Oktoberfest) and it's functionally the same of Oktoberfest, nearly as old (over 200 years), and not a copycat but started independently by King Wilhelm of Wuerttemberg as a harvest festival for farmers in Germany's breadbasket (and to highlight modern farming techniques after a bad famine).

There are international visitors but they're usually from northern Italy or Switzerland, within a 2 hour drive, as opposed to a massive influx of tourists from around the world. There's also plenty of other Americans due to the military bases here, which gives a good opportunity to join a group (via Facebook) of other revelers in a tent on a weekend night if you want to have the full experience, which is rather intense. Stuttgart is also a mere 1 hour 15 minute train ride from Frankfurt's airport so it's also more convenient. Hotel prices in Stuttgart are always high as it's a business traveler destination, but there are decently priced AirBnBs, or you could stay in a more charming city on the S1 train line that gets you to the fest within 10 minutes (Esslingen in particular is a good choice and worthy of a full day's visit in it's own right.

Erfurt also has an Oktoberfest. I'll be there this year so can't comment yet on whether it is less touristy.

I am copying a previous reply, but this is my standard advice - go on a weekday. Weekends are so crowded you may not even get into a tent or in some cases I have heard that police turn people away from even entering the fairgrounds. Dress up! Get a dirndl or lederhosen. So much fun. Get there early! 11am or before and go to a tent. Most tables are reserved but typically towards the center of the tent are the no-reservation spots. Signs are posted. You cannot reserve a table unless you are a group of 10 or more. Put your most outgoing/friendly foot forward and ask people to join their table if they have any room at all. I have always had tremendous luck with fantastic people who squeeze in to make room. The rule is - if you don't have a seat - you won't be served. The best tents (in my opinion) are the Hacker (himmel) Tent and the Lowenbrau tent. love love love those two. Pace yourself. One Liter of beer is equal to 3 cans of beer. That sneaks up on you. I do fine...my husband gets a little "caught up in the moment" and that's a whole other thread. Have a plan on where to meet if you get separated from your group. We usually spend the first day dedicated to the big tents. When we go back the next day (a little road worn) we spend time in the little tents that are very easy to get in and out of. The food at the fairgrounds is off the hook! Get ready to learn the "gemuetlichkeit" song. You will hear it when you sleep when you get home. Book your hotel room a year in advance. We stayed at Motel One last year. Convenient, but bring ear plugs. We have also stayed at Hotel Munchner Kindl - but they may have closed. Hope that helps - it was down and dirty advice.

Here is some advice copy and pasted from other posts I've made on this subject:

I've taken a few groups to Oktoberfest in recent years and we usually book our rooms a year in advance. Lately we've been using the Motel One chain. Sure it's a chain and not very "Rick Steves"-y but it has what you need for Oktoberfest: a new, clean, safe, reasonably priced basic bed and bath. They have a great online booking system and you can cancel you booking with no penalty up to a few weeks before your arrival date.

I would also recommend staying along one of the main S or U-bahn lines that lead to the fest grounds instead of within walking distance. The main reason being price (its cheaper to not be within walking distance), the S or U-bahn is just as convenient especially if you don't have to change trains, and finally sometimes its better to not be near the fest grounds (less crowds, noise, spew, etc). We usually stay near Ostbahnhof (nicer neighborhood compared with near the Hauptbahnhof) and can take the U or S-Bahn lines to the fest (U5 goes right to the fest grounds).

To guarantee getting into a tent on opening day you will need a reservation. Each tent has their own reservation system and you have to purchase reservations for a whole table. But for opening weekend you are not likely to get a reservation as they are handled similar to season ticket holders where the previous reservation holders get priority. What we do is call a few travel agents who specialize in Oktoberfest and purchase their leftover reservations at a modest mark up. Also, check the toytowngermany.com Munich forums as people buy and sell table reservations there. Alternatively you can try to squeeze in opening weekend and with just two you might have some luck but no guarantee. The following Monday onward should be no problem.

An alternative to Oktoberfest is Munich Fruehlingsfest in the spring. It's like a mini Oktoberfest but without the high prices and crowds.

DJ

For anyone who thinks Oktoberfest in Munich might be too much for them, check out Erfurt's Oktoberfest. I declined attending Mardi Gras last year because I'm crowd averse. This was totally manageable. I might have been the only American tourist. (The guy at the gas station wondered what the heck I was doing there!) I surely was one of very few tent goers who didn't know the songs, though I gave them a try after a fruity drink and the 5th or 8th repetition.

From what I saw, there is just one big happy tent. And a biergarten. Evening only. No daytime party. Didn't look terribly difficult to find a table to sit at ... or a bench to dance on. The tiny parade, new this year, rolled right in front of me. I could have petted the horses.

My hotel (the Mercure Erfurt Alstadt, which I booked in June) is 1 minute from the main town center and about a 10 minute walk from Octoberfest, just far enough that I can kinda barely hear the crowds from my room.

Ssssshhhhhhhh don't tell Rick!!

I would suggest searching for "Oktoberfest" as well as "Octoberfest" in the search bar on this site. Lots of good advice, I am just a bit lazy right now to retype it all.

As for other fests, the natural alternative would be Stuttgart's Cannstatter Volksfest (you can hit them both) that runs about the same time frame as Munich's fest. While it is nearly as well attended, it is somewhat more laid back, probably much higher ratio of Germans to tourists, and to me, it seemed easier to get into a tent in the evening (though I was there on a weeknight a week or more into the fest.).

Erfurt's fest sounds nice, it starts about a week later than Munich, so if the timing works...but it is closer to Berlin than Munich.

We lived in Augsburg, 50 miles west of Munich from 1989-91. The state of Bavaria and nearby states in southern Germany have beer fests starting in Spring and running until the Oktoberfest time period.

When we lived there the one in Stuttgart was considered the second largest in Germany. If you go to southern Germany during the warmer months, you can find a fest. Of course, not all will have thousands of people there.

We always took the train down to Munich. It was a 45 minute train ride each way. Accommodations are hard to come by unless you book early.

The parade is at the beginning of the fest and nice to see all the old fashioned horse drawn wagons with traditional costumes of the people. However, to see the parade well, you must get on the route very early and you wind up standing for hours.

We always like going to the fest early when it was less crowded and by dinner time we were ready to sing and party.