My husband and I are planning to go to Oktoberfest 2010. I'm interested in any tips/advice/helpful info anyone who has been to the festival can provide.
For example, best areas to stay (should we consider traveling into Munich by train for a day at a time and staying outside the city?), info on tents & things to see, etc.
Please, no comments advising against visiting due to crowds and raised prices on everything--we are going, no matter what! We love Bavaria.
I have the most luck finding space at the tables around 3-4pm.
Also try to avoid the weekends.
Munich has an awesome transit system so you can stay a little further out if you wish.
I agree - get your hotel figured out. I have always stayed in Munich, but if you don't have hotel reservations yet...you might have to hunt for a hotel. Other than that:
in my opinion, the Hacker Pschorr and the Lowenbrau tents are the best.
go early. we have arrived at noon and had no problem getting a table in the main tents.
you must have a reservation for most tables at the festival. for the "no reservation" tables - look at the paper on the end of the table, if it has one, it is not a place you can sit. If it doesn't then you can sit. (again, most are reserved - sometimes only later in the day however).
go on a weekday if at all possible. On weekends the lines to get into tents can start as soon as the grounds open.
dress the part. get a dirndl and lederhosen. the pics are priceless. you won't be out of place, half the people there are dressed in traditional wear. check out ebay.
the small tents can be equally as fun as the large ones and tend to be the places that we met and chatted the night away with new found friends.
pace yourself or you will end up on "drunk hill". This is where people get dumped to dry out.
go hungry. there is a stand that sells nothing but french fries (kartoffel) with mayo (or ketchup if you prefer) but get the mayo. Sauages galore! Pork Knuckle. Spaetzle. Pretzels and yummy mustard. Roasted Chicken. omg, I am now hungry!
talk to whoever you are sitting next too. That will be your best experience.
don't miss the Tuefel Rad tent. It is not a drinking tent. You pay 6E to get in and worth every penny.
ALWAYS have a coin in your pocket when you use the bathroom. 20 cents should do it. There is an attendent there keeping those heavily used facilities clean and stocked. It is expected that you would pay them.
That's it. Be social, be safe, pace yourself and have fun!
Have fun! We went in 2009 and here are my practical tips.
Try to stay in Munich. We stayed at Hotel Munchner Kindl and loved it. It is within walking distance of the fair grounds. Walking to and from the event was part of the fun.
If you'll be there the 1st day, get tent reservations (that being said - good luck, as tried unsuccessfully to get reservations before we went for our group of 8 people). If you are going any other day, seating is less of a problem (the 2nd day, we had no problem finding seating when we arrived aroung 10am).
It you go the 1st day and you don't have tent reservations, you have 3 options (wander around in the tents trying to find a spot, sit outside the tent at the tent beer garden or line up outside the Hippodrome-sorry for the incorrect spelling-but that tent has a different seating procedure).
If going the 1st day - pick up some beer on the way to the event - you must go early and no beer is served until noon. The other 2 guys in our group did this and they seemed to have more fun waiting from 9 to 12 for the party to start).
About the traditional German clothing -its true that alot of Germans wear it but we took a different approach. Rather than paying out the --- for it, our large group bought faux German clothing tee shirts - it was great watching the looks of amusement and disgust.
Go to Oktoberfest during the day and at night -its 2 different experiences.
Bring earplugs (just in case, there are any loud or sick fellow hotel guests coming back from the party).
Take the time to enjoy the experience, it came and went before we knew it!
I prefer to stay in the city center to save time. Try Hotel Seibel. It's literally right across the street from the festival grounds. Then I can walk or use public transit if need be. If you have to stay out of the center check a public transport map for trams and buses that run close to your hotel. As far as I know, a railpass is good for the S-Bahn trains (no U-Bahn).
If you still haven't had your fill of beer try one of the many biergartens around Munich. The one buy the Pagoda in Englischer Garden is a great place to relax.
Also, there are wine stands outside on the festival grounds. It's looks like a wine cooler but tastes better. Try it.
Prost!
Spectacular, thank you so much! The tip about paying restroom attendants is much appreciated.
We don't have a room reserved but plan to by the end of the week. We've been to Munich before (just not during Oktoberfest) and will check our favorite haunts.
Drink Radlers! Half beer-half sprite. It sounds weird but they are really good and allow you to drink more without getting too drunk....unless that's how you want to feel. Bring lots of cash. If you sit at a table the wait-staff will normally make you get a beer and then something to eat, then repeat the process until you leave. The food is great in the big tents. As many people have already suggested, go during the week and not on a weekend. The chances of getting a table on a weekend without a reservation depend on how early you get there.
