Pre-Tour Explore- Germany/Oktoberfest Questions- so many!

Lisa, partial answers.

1) Train times change twice per year, December and June. June is a minor change, it is safe to assume times will be 90-95% the same as currently. Same applies to prices. Prices only change once per year, if then. There are cheap advance-purchases tickets, and expensive buy-on-the-day tickets. What will happen at busy times is that the cheap tickets sell out earlier, leaving only the expensive ones. Oktoberfest does not generate enough traffic to seriously increase the number of people travelling long distances.

2) Salzburg is easy to get around on foot, and parking is expensive.

5) Munich to Paris is a long way, flying would be a lot faster.

Are you doing any travelling other than Munich - Berlin - Munich - Salzburg - Munich? or stopping off anywhere? What are you going to do with the car when you are in Berlin and Munich? A car is useless for getting around those cities, you will just have to park it somewhere and pay for doing so.
I would recommend you investigate using the train instead. Trains are faster than cars, a lot more comfortable, and with advance-purchase tickets cheaper too.

Thanks, Chris! A rental car between Munich and Berlin was cheaper than flying into Berlin. We also thought it would be faster than the train by a couple of hours and allow us to sightsee along the way. We are planning day trips to Wittenberg and to Mecklenburg/North Sea area and thought the car might be handier than the trains. Once at each city, our plan was to park and then walk or use local transportation. We do not plan to drive in Berlin, only to Berlin. Our hotel doesn't charge for parking, but they do say they have limited parking spots. We haven't yet rented the car, but from the research we've done so far, it seemed like the best option for three people with plenty of luggage and little experience with trains.
Lisa

If Oktoberfest starts on Sept. 16 and your tour starts on the evening of Sept. 18, then you don't have a lot of travel time to play with. On the 18th, I see a noontime direct flight by Air France, currently available for$54 per person (or more flight options the evening before, including Air Berlin). I can't believe that the checked baggage fee is as high as your price quote above.

Here is my 2 cents.

From what you have told us.... it seems you are using the car to only travel from big city to big city. So if this is the case I think the Train would be faster and takes you from downtown to downtown. And you have no parking problems or costs. The public transportation in Berlin, Munich and Salzburg is easy and cheap and will take you where you want to go..

Fly between Munich and Paris. Oh check that. I just looked at bahn.com and found that there is a train that takes just over 5 hours Munich Hauptbahnhof to Paris Est. Again this is city center Munich to the heart of Paris. With easy Paris Metro access. No expense for rides to and from airport and might take less time than flying. Just an option.

Since you are in Nebraska you might consider coming to the KC Area Rick Steves Saturday morning travel talk group this Saturday Jan 21. We have a nice group of well traveled folks that will be happy to answer questions.
I was a member of the first Europe My Way in 14 Days when it was first offered a number of years ago. It is a good one.

Hi Lisa,
I have made two trips to Munich for Oktoberfest, spending a total of five days/nights in the tents, all without any reservations. I'm sure it will be extra busy on opening day, but you won't go thirsty for long. Reserving a table means just that- a whole table. Some tour companies will buy up a few tables and then re-sell places to individuals, but if you're not picky about which tent you drink in, you will find a place eventually. If there's a big lineup to get into one tent, try another. And getting there early is a good idea. Once you get into a tent, ask a server where the non-reserved tables are, and look for some seats. You may need to ask people to squeeze a little closer to make room, but that's the protocol there. These are long tables that seat 8 to 10 people on benches on either side, not your private restaurant-type tables.

As for travel to Salzburg, my son and I did that as a day trip on our Oktoberfest trip in 2011. Take the train! The trains are frequent and fast- around 1:30 to 1:45. And they've cheap, at least if you travel after 9:00 a.m. The regional Bavaria (or Bayern) ticket, available at the station, permits travel for up to 5 people, all day, for a very low price. Check the bahn.com website under "Discover Germany's federal states". From the train station in Salzburg to the old town is an easy 20 to 30 minute walk.

The best way to attend Oktoberfest, in my opinion, is in the early part of the afternoon. Not very crowded, easy to get into any tent, and the food and beer is the same as in the evening.

Laura, it's that's fine print! The cheap prices they quote would be for bare bones, no checked luggage- Economy Light. Your carry on luggage and purse/laptop/camera bag can't weight more than 26 pounds combined weight. The carry on bag has to be smaller than 21" including wheels and handles (mine is 22"). If you go to the AirFrance website, you'll see. All of the discounted airlines seem to use this plan. If you want to check one piece of luggage then you need to upgrade from Light to Standard Economy, which starts at 70E. You can check one bag. To check 2 bags, you need to upgrade yet again to Flex, which starts at 115 Euro with an extra 45 euro for the 2nd checked bag. When I put in a fake flight to check costs today, through airberlin it would cost us $190.04 usd. Through airfrance $172 usd.

You've convinced us NOT to rent the car! We can catch trains to all of our destinations, including Paris, for under $400. I looked up everything in careful detail this afternoon and wrote it all out to directly compare. The flights were too tricky with our luggage situation. While having a car handy is comforting and, at least on paper, faster, the hassels of parking and tollways, plus the costs, made us set aside our desire to drive and be in control. Ridin' the rails it is!

Thanks, everyone for your input!
Lisa

Oh, I see you have two 22" bags per person. I really recommend keeping that to one 22" bag per person, plus a carry-on that meets their requirements. I've traveled for months at a time with this much luggage. The tour will have opportunities to do laundry. If you need to combine a few more carry-on valuables/essentials that don't fit into your preferred camera bag, then consider a light, packable option like Rick's Hide-Away Tote Bag, which you can use on the flight and then find more uses later (such as carrying laundry).

P.S. A 22" backpack probably is crushable down to an airline approved size, when not full, but I don't want you to feel tempted to fill it up. How much luggage did you bring on your last tour?

I brought the same for my last tour, a 22" rolling bag with a detachable daypack (which I checked), a full sized 22" pacsafe backpack minimally packed to save room for souvenirs, and then a pacsafe sling purse. I ended up having to get another piece of luggage to hold all the souvenirs (I was in Europe another 10 days post tour). I'd like to do the same this time- minus the extra suitcase/souvenirs. I did buy the RS Hideaway tote- just in case, and hope to use it more for laundry and/or transporting wet items. Luckily I have time to play around with packing and transportation options. Perhaps I can put my big backpack empty inside the daypack if we decide to fly a couple of those routes. We're still discussing options on the Munich to Berlin route and the Munich to Paris route. Right now the trains are winning for luggage convenience and price, but we keep debating since flying is definitely faster! One of my travel mates is struggling too because he has a 17" laptop AND his camera equipment with multiple lenses. That all takes up more room than his clothes, and he doesn't want to check those valuables. We're definitely overthinking!
Lisa

Getting around Salzburg on foot is easy. Take the bus when you tire of walking or it's just too far.