My wife and I, along with another couple are just beginning the planning stages for our first Southern Germany and Oktoberfest trip.
Our dates our very flexible, and we're looking for ideas for itinerary, as well what reservations, tickets, etc we should be taking care of right now, or very soon.
Assuming two weeks is too long for that area, where nearby would you suggest? (We've been to Salzburg in the past).
Thank you in advance!!
Ken
I could easily spend 2 weeks in most areas of Germany and come back for more.
What do you have in mind when you say "Southern" Germany. Which states (Land)? Just Bayern or other areas?
Before we can give you advice on anything beyond your expressed desire to join the madhouse that is Oktoberfest, you haven't given us very much (well actually anything) to help us understand what you have in mind, what you like, what you don't like, how you would like to get around, you age brackets, level of fitness, or any disabilities.
Without a bit of that I can tell you what I like but I have no way of knowing if that would match you, or any of the 4.
If you can give us some more information we can have a better shot of matching your needs, wants, and desires.
The only thing on your hotlist now is nailing down hotel reservations in Munich during your visit to the Wiesen. The town fills up quickly and the hotels get premium prices. You'll be able to start shopping for flights soon.
You do not have to limit yourself to southern Germany. Even Paris is only 6 hours away on the TGV. So put together your wish list. Prague, Rothenburg (or other less touristy villages), Alsace, Nuremberg all in reach (and hotel rates much less than Munich during the Oktoberfest). Stuttgart has a less noted (or notorious) festival at the same time.
We'll be going back this fall for our 6th time. Love it there! If it's just four of you I'd skip tent reservations (they're very pricy) and try to go during the week, sharing a table and getting around the tents is much easier rather than the weekend. I'd reserve a hotel room pretty soon if you're wanting to stay in Munich...but it may come with a price. Otherwise, it'll be cheaper to stay outside of Munich and take the train in each day (such as Augsburg).
Munich is a great place to start out of. There are many directions to go from there. In the past we've been to Prague, Berlin; Bruges, Amsterdam; Rothenberg and the Rhine Valley; Vienna,Hallstat; Southern Bavaria for the castles and Zugspitze; Switzerland. Depends on what interests you.
Prost!
We're relatively fit, late 40s, and like wine. My daughter and son-in-law are the other couple, and he loves beer. I don't think we're much off from your average traveler. The crowds are something we plan on, and the only "anchor" of our trip will Munich on the 20th.
As for what we've enjoyed on past tourist trips: We loved the great cities of Paris and Rome, but a week renting a place in Tuscany and Provence were nearly as enjoyable to us - becoming a part of the community for a short time.
At first blush, I was thinking adding wine area of Northern France and Brussels on top of 4 days in Munich and 3 in Bavaria.
I don't know much else about Germany, and couldn't even begin to name what "State" we'll be in, sorry.
Thank you for the tips so far, I really appreciate it.
Southern Germany = Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfaltz, Saarland and part of Hessen. Most travelers' from the US use Hessen as a port of entry (Frankfurt), then head to Munich and the deep south (Bavaria), sometimes skirting through Stuttgart, Heidelberg or the Black Forest (Baden-Württemberg) on the way. Some also check out the Mittelrhein, Mosel and Deutsche Weinstraße (Rheinland-Pfaltz, small part of Hessen). Saarland gets mostly ignored.
Not to try to dissuade you from visiting the increasingly international fratboy-ized madness that Oktoberfest has gradually morphed into, but if you're looking for something a little less packed and rowdy, realize that Oktoberfest is just one of the traditional harvest festivals held in Germany. It just happens to be the best known internationally. I prefer Stuttgart's Canstatter Volksfest, mainly because it doesn't attact all the idiot fratboy Schweinhündchen that, at times, have taken over Oktoberfest. I also like Bad Dürkheim's (spa town near Mannheim) Würstfest, although the main tipple here is wine, not beer.
For reservations, you could probably try to book your room in Munich now, although not all hotels will likely accept reservations this early. That's about all I would even consider booking right now. If you're planning on traveling by high-speed intercity rail at all, you can save quite a bit of money by purchasing your tickets up to 90 days in advanced, but this is not necessary for securing a seat. If your group is fairly small, you will likely not need reservations for a seat in a tent during Oktoberfest, and these probably won't even accept reservation for several months anyway.
Hi Neighbor! I helped my brother with Oktoberfest planning last year so I learned some things I will pass on to you. Hotel Uhland is a nice family-run hotel, much favored here, that is close to the Octoberfest grounds. Like all Munich hotels they raise their rates during this time, so be prepared to pay higher prices. You can take a look at their website and the location to see if it will work for you. They want full payment in advance to confirm a reservation, and wouldn't take a credit card for that. You have to do a wire transfer direct to them. My brother did not like that, so he tried other places. Many were already booked, but he found rooms at a hotel near the Marienplatz called Hotel Victuelmarkeet or something close. He booked directly on their website and they asked for his credit card number but did not charge the card until they departed. He says the location is great and they knew it was a good choice because a Rick Steves group was departing the day they arrived!
After Munich you could go to Alsace for your wine tasting. It is much closer to Munich than northern France.
If you have not booked your flights yet, you might want to arrange to be in Munich for the first weekend of Oktoberfest. There's a grand entry parade and opening ceremony on the first Saturday, and a wonderful parade on the first Sunday morning. We really enjoyed this Sunday parade; there were groups of people in colorful regional costumes, military groups in historical uniforms with antique weapons, bands, and even animals (horses, oxen, goats). It started around 10 am and lasted a couple of hours.
We were at Oktoberfest by accident shortly after 9/11 ... our rescheduled flight from the US put us in Munich on opening weekend. I suspect the crowds were much smaller than normal (we were able to get a last-minute hotel just down the street from Oktoberfest grounds). But still, even with crowds, I think the pageantry of opening weekend would make it worthwhile.
Hi Ken,
My husband and I were in Munich just before the madness of Oktoberfest began this past September. We stayed at the Hotel Viktualienmarkt near Marienplatz. It was very conveniently located, which I think is pretty important when you combine touring a large city and the tendency to over-imbibe during Oktoberfest. If you get tired (or a bit tipsy), you're going to want a hotel that isn't a far distance. Since we wanted to spend most of our time near Marienplatz and the Viktualienmarkt (a heavenly food market that is worth spending some time at), Hotel Viktualienmarkt fit the bill. It was a little pricey (about 140 Euro/night - I'd chalk that up to the fact that we were there just days before Oktoberfest), but we could walk out the front door and head to many museums, restaurants and historical sights. The free breakfast was pretty decent; the rooms were on the small side. It was renovated in the past couple of years, so if you're looking for kitschy, traditional German decor, this is not the place. It was decorated in a European modern style, but if you're like us and just use your hotel room as a base and to crash at night, then I'd recommend this hotel. I think we used Booking.com for our reservation, although I ended up directly e-mailing the hotel to see about adding an extra night (they immediately accommodated that request).
Enjoy your trip planning!
Thank you for all the help so far, I knew I could count on it!
Ken
We went to Octoberfest with 2 other couples a few years ago and had a blast! We flew into Frankfurt, took a train to Bararach, Germany where we spent the night (we took a day trip to visit the castle in St.Goar), took the KD boat up to Cologne, were we caught a boat to Cochem (we stayed the night - took a day trip to Burg Eltz). From there, we traveled by train to Rothenburg, Germany (where we spent two nights). From there we traveled to and spend a night in Heidelberg, Germany (overlooked by Rick - but a great place to visit). From there we were off to Munich for Octoberfest - where we spent 3 days and flew home from.
Ken,
If some of your group is interested in wine, I would suggest visiting some of the wine regions in Germany. I think you will find the wineries in Germany much more approachable and eaiser than some of the areas in France. My husband and I just did a trip to Germany at the end of October/beginning of November. We spent 5 days in Munich, and then went on a river cruise along the Main/Danube Canal, the Rhine River, and the Mosel River. Along the Rhine and the Mosel specifically, you will find a bunch of really lovely little wine towns. A lot of them have wine festivals around harvest time as well, so you may luck out and get to experience some of those.
Try the towns of Cochem and Zell. We were particularly impressed with both of them, and they had some very nice wines.
I've been to Oktoberfest a couple of times. The second time because others wanted to go. In a way, it's like Neuschwanstein - something to be seen once, then visit better places. My first time to Oktoberfest was after going first to Bonnfest. The locals told me Bonnfest was better (but I couldn't judge until going to both). Bonnfest was a mostly local event, three generations of families sharing beer and song at community tables. It went all night (vs. closing early), people stood on tables/benches (but not in a rowdy way) without getting in trouble, you could order a beer without first finding a seat, and there weren't emergency crews carting people to emergency rooms by the dozens (maybe hundreds?). Oktoberfest is a zoo, a frat party, you should at least try the Stuttgart fest also so you can judge them both yourselves. I'd bet the one you will want to visit again won't be Oktoberfest.
As far as wine is concerned, the Rhine and Mosel river valleys are both famous for their wines - and they have activities around the harvest season. Try the "new wine", it's like drinking fresh grape juice with pulp. It's not exported and doesn't store, so you can only get it there at that time of year. The dry white wines from the region are very good, and not widely available here. I think the Rhine uses brown stemmed glasses and the Mosel green stemmed (or the other way around) so you know exactly what wine you are drinking.
As was said, your first priority is nailing down lodging reservations. Everything fills up. I normally travel happily without reservations. My first time at Oktoberfest, I showed up on opening day sans reservations. It was the only time I seriously thought I'd spend the night on the street. I made some calls to my list with no luck, then tried the TI. It was full of tourists scrambling for lodging - it looked like the floor of the Chicago mercantile. I left and used a pay phone to call every place listed in my guidebook (can't recall if it was Rough Guide or Lonely Planet). Eventually I found a well located and nice pension (at a normal/non-Oktoberfest price).
I also think visiting on a weekday is your better option. A strategy that worked for me was getting an early dinner (don't eat light) from one of the food vendors about 3pm - then head to the tents. It seems to me there is a morning shift (the people who show up first thing) and an evening shift. By late afternoon, the morning shift either leaves for dinner or escorts their friends to the emergency room - either way there seems to be a little lull where you can get a seat (and order a beer) quickly. By nightfall, the tents are full up again and you will wait in a long line for a seat. Last I heard, reservations are only for groups of ten or more.
Regarding tents, they are essentially the same experience - each offering a different beer - some are considered more or less touristy. Read up on the different tents and decide which one you would like most to visit. Get a seat and stay put until you are ready to go home. Tent-hopping will result in spending the night in lines - even on weekdays.
Book your hotel room ASAP. 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 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 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 along the U5.
For table reservations there is no need to try and book early as you can only book by the table and not by the seat (a table is 10 ppl). We typically buy extra seats from an Oktoberfest tour operator (they always have extras they can't fill and will give them near cost in the month before the fest). You can also check the community at Http://www.toytowngermany.com for seating/tent/Oktoberfest advice.
Munich itself can easily fill 4-5 days: Deutsches Museum, BMW Museum, Neue/Alte Pinakothek, Rent bikes one day and cruise from beer garden to beer garden, city center self guided walking tour, and of course Die Wies'n
Nearby areas to suggest:
2-3 nights in the Tegernsee area would be nice. It's one hour south of Munich, reachable by the BOB train, in the foothills of the Alps and nothing but small town family run B&Bs. There is a very nice half marathon/10km run on Sept 15th if anyone in your group is into that sort of thing (http://www.tegernseelauf.de/). The run will help justify all the beer you will consume! I've stayed here a few times for some relaxation time before heading into Munich for the craziness that is Oktoberfest.
1 night in Füssen to visit the castles (best by car)
If you don't want to rent a car, there are plenty of day trips from Munich using the Bayern Ticket. Here is one example:http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t102834.html
Have fun!
DJ
Brad, Can you tell me when Bonnfest is? I am thinking of taking all of your advise about skipping Oktoberfest and trying a smaller festival.
Thanks,
Shelly
