Is it possible to stay in a nearby town to Munich (like Augsburg) in order to experience Oktoberfest, but not pay outrageous prices for lodging? How far in advance would this need to be booked? Is it at all possible to show up and find budget lodging somewhere? Thanks!
Pretty much anything with 100mph is going to overcharge you, anything within 30 miles is really going to overcharge you.
If you're looking to go in 2010, your timing is perfect. If asking about 2009... best of luck, finding something affordable.
As for getting a room when you get there, that depends on how many rounds you buy, and how charming you are. For about 2 weeks before Oktoberfest, and throughout, the city is booked.
last year we stayed in Garmish and took the train in for one day to Munich for Oktoberfest. We stayed at hotel Mercure. It wasn't anything special, but there was free parking, it was a 10-15 minute walk to the train station, and the restraunt was pretty good. There are other hotels closer to the train station. They were running special trains for Oktoberfest, so don't worry too much about that. Many other people were doing the same thing as us. You would be looking at 100 euro a night for a double in Garmish. Try www.booking.com for hotels.
OP: Garmisch (above post) is about 60 miles south of Munich, about 1 and 1/2 hours by train, each way; that's station to station time, add for the time to get to the Garmisch train station, wait for the train, and the same thing on the Munich end.
Augsburg would work well. It's about 45 min. on the RE trains into Munich on the RE trains. Cost is about 11 Euros each way - so you might opt for a Bayern ticket instead - it's 28 Euros for an all-day (after 9 am weekdays) pass for 5 throughout Bavaria.
I have stayed in Freising at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof that was adequate (nice write up at Trip Advisor site) and about 1/2 hour by train.
Erding is another small town and has a number of hotels (Mayr-Wirt, Parkhotel, hotel Kastanienhof to name a few). good luck
MJ on another thread here is looking for the same thing and gave up, is sleeping at the Munich airport, here's the link to that parallel thread; Oktoberfest is tough getting this late a start, some things end up being so difficult a rational strategy is to do something else.
Check on expedia.com for hotels in Nurnberg, that's where my wife and I stayed in Dec 08 and we will be there Sept 09 and go to Munich by train. There are plenty of rooms available. I believe it's too late to book a seat in the bier tents though. Have fun and maybe we'll see you there! Lee from CA.