Have you ever seen videos and pictures from the Oktoberfest festival in Munich, Germany and wondered “how can I make this my reality?” We’re here to tell you how.
After years of wanting to go and seeing various pages post videos and pictures of large beer halls full of people singing classic songs like “Sweet Caroline” and “Country Roads”, prosting with large liters of beer, and plates of full roasted chickens, Taylor looked at me and said “you know if we actually want to go to Oktoberfest one day we just need to do it!” and that was the birth of our Oktoberfest trip.
One thing that a lot of people do not realize is that Oktoberfest is a HUGE event that requires a great amount of pre-planning. Accommodations will sell out nearly a year in advance so you need to secure them ASAP. Once we decided we were actually committing to Oktoberfest in October 2022 we immediately booked rooms at a hotel about a 15-20 minute walk from the fest grounds in Munich for Oktoberfest 2023. We then started following various Oktoberfest Facebook groups and pages about how to secure a table or reservation once you’re there and other various tips and tricks. This Facebook group is very popular and taught us a lot like how you need to carry euros because none of the places take credit card!
Tent Reservations and TAbles
One must-do in my opinion is reserving a table if you’re going with a group, or buying seats from people to join their reservation. The table reservations usually offer options for 8-10 people and will likely include 2 liters of beer per person, an appetizer spread to share, an entree (we each got half a roasted chicken), and dessert! When you use your beer tickets you will have to pay a service fee with each beer plus a tip for your server so each time it’s approximately €5 vs the €16 you would normally pay. One thing of note – the pretzel tower on our table was not included for some reason so we had to pay an extra maybe €20 for that so just make sure everything is included on your table when you sit down. One thing to know is tip your bier maiden well or they literally won’t come back to bring you more beer.
Reservations for Oktoberfest come out in the spring via the different breweries. We signed up for email notifications through this website and were notified when reservations were released for different tents. Some websites also post when their reservations will be open for new guests as previous guests are offered tables first. So, if you’re dead set on going to the Hofbräu tent and want a table make sure you are following the release dates for reservations.
We had a reservation at the Schutzen-festzelt tent and it was amazing! We originally booked for 8 people but sadly 2 of our friends couldn’t come and we ended up selling their portion of the reservation to a couple from the Facebook group above! Oktoberfest is all about making new friends 🙂 When you book a reservation you are sent an invoice via email and if you’re international you have to pay via wire transfer. Do not let that scare you! Use google translate to translate the emails so you understand how to send the money. Once the money is sent and the reservation is secure you will receive everything you need for the reservation by mail. You will get hard copies of your receipt, which menu you ordered, and the most important part, THE BEER TICKETS.
If you are traveling in a small group, finding a table without a reservation is not hard, especially on a week day. You can easily squeeze 2 into a table and make new friends enjoying singing and the various prost’s to come. We had a group of 6 and wandered into the Paulaner tent around 5/6pm and squeezed in with 3 guys from Chicago. It was a lot of fun! After the dinner rush they turn off the lights and make it feel like a real party – electric accordion and all.
Bier gartens are also areas you can sit and order beer outside/in front of the tents and are easier to get sat at. We enjoyed a nice couple of beers in the cool evening air and met a few new people there as well.
Should I wear Traditional German Attire? Absolutely!
Now that you’ve got your accommodations, tent reservations, and flights booked what’s next? Finding traditional lederhosen and dirndl of course! My friends asked where we bought Taylor’s lederhosen and I said “the lederhosen store”, to which she thought I was being a smart ass, when actually that is the name of the website! We both got our traditional garb from this website and I highly recommend sizing up. Taylor’s first pair were very tight and he end up going from a 52 to 56 in European sizing to get the right fit as the legs were VERY tight (he normally wears a 32-34 in US sizing). My dirndl was also very tight in the chest area. I think it’s supposed to be that way but I ended up ripping the stitching and we had to do emergency sewing before heading to the fest! Thank goodness Taylor always keeps the little freebies hotels leave you and a sewing kit was one of them ha ha 🙂
What if i don't like beer?
If you don’t like beer that is okay, I wasn’t a big fan of beer before we went but it has definitely grown on me. We ordered radlers which are beer and sparkling lemonade mixed together so it’s nice and refreshing! Tents may sell nips or airplane bottles of schnapps and jäeger which are very strong but also pricey. There are also food stands when you walk through the fest grounds that sell wine and other alcoholic beverages. You do have to stand in front of the vendor though to enjoy your beverage as you are not allowed to wander the grounds with alcoholic beverages
What else is there to do in Munich?
There are so many things you could do if you don’t want to spend your entire time at Oktoberfest. We took a half day guided tour to the Dachau concentration camp which was really informative and a humbling experience. If you get the chance I highly recommend you take a tour to Dachau and maybe even spend time after to explore the small Bavarian city around it. We also explored the different squares (Odensplatz/Marienplatz), walked through markets, saw the old palace Residenz München that had a beautiful garden, and of course drank a beer in the original Hofbräu. We even did a ghost tour that discussed the hauntings and folklore of Munich that made our skin crawl! If you get the chance you can take the train to see Neuschwanstein castle or take a bus to the Eagles Nest, we did not do these excursions this time because we didn’t have enough time but they are so worth it!
Any other questions about Munich or Oktoberfest? Comment below and let us know!
