Opening day of Oktoberfest

First, $250 for a seat is WAY too much (even if it includes the food/beer vouchers). We bought extra seats from a travel agent for closing night in 2022 for $55/person (came with one beer and one food voucher worth about $25). I think the last time we did opening night we paid $90/person.

With that out of the way, if you don't already have a table reserved for opening day with the tent directly then you are out of luck. A lot of the tent reservations (especially opening day and weekends) work like season tickets for a sporting event where people that previously had reservations get first dibs each year. Your best best is to start calling Oktoberfest specific independent travel agents and see if they have any extra seat reservations they can sell you. Depending on the tent expect to pay $70-100/person for opening night. On opening night don't count on getting into a tent without a reservation.

If you strike out on getting seats, there are beer gardens outside every tent and also Weißbier carousels where you can squeeze in for a drink.

DJ

Just read in this Forum about this tour. Still expensive in my eyes but at least including breakfast and opening parade: https://www.the-local-experience.com/tours/the-oktoberfest-opening-day-experience/

As a local knowing some people and the customs it is easy but I understand that someone who comes from abroad doesn't want to end up without a seat.

I will be in Munich for the first few days of Oktoberfest and my group of 4 has tent reservations for during the week. I have done a lot of reading that weekends will involve waiting in line without reservations...I do think the tents have to hold a certain % of the area for non-reservations but it is like a one in, one out situation. Based on research, it does seem like there are lots of beer gardens in the city so I feel like that might be a better bet for that Saturday.

I was at Oktoberfest last year, and although I arrived in Munich on the opening day, I didn't actually go to the fairgrounds until the following Monday. I was more than content to visit the beer halls in Munich on the weekend. I had initially considered using a third-party company such as Viator to guarantee a spot, but I saw the $250 prices which was way too much IMO. However, I was able to visit 7 different tents on the Monday without a problem. My recommendation: for food, the ox-meat sandwich at the Spaten tent is an absolute must!

If visiting on opening day is your only option, as others have said, all the major beer tents have outside beer gardens of varying capacity where you should be able to get a seat if all else fails.

Spaten tent

There are several Spaten tents. The one with the ox sandwich is 'Ochsenbraterei'.

But agree I like it as well.

On weekdays no issue to find a table. Weekend and specially the opening day is a bit different. OK as well is usually the last weekend.

I was there last year. I was concerned about reservations, but we rolled the dice. It was no problem. We went early in the day and could get into any tent. Opening day maybe different, but you shouldn’t have any issues finding a seat. We even got into tents at night but didn’t stay due to not risking COVID prior to our RS tour. The tents at night were packed and very festive. Daytime is a little more tame. We enjoyed it all.

I suggest getting the official Oktoberfest app that is a wealth of information.

I will be passing through. Munich on the first Monday of Oktoberfest, with my party of 4 (counting me) We were planning a few hours at the fairgrounds do we need to do anything in particular?

Here is my advice:

• Go at lunch/early afternoon, I've never had a problem getting a seat in a tent at lunch on the first Monday. Find 4 spots and if there are people sitting there just ask if the seat are "frei" (free=open. available). If the weather is nice the beer gardens outside each tent are also a good option
• Leave bags, back packs at the hotel.
• Leave some time to explore the carnival booths and rides, it's not all just about the beer tents
• Have fun!

DJ

I would suggest to download the Oktoberfest App.

And my recommendation is to visit 'Oide Wiesn' as well: https://www.oktoberfest.de/en/beer-tents/the-oide-wiesn