Top Tips to Attending and Surviving Your First Oktoberfest
After moving to Europe in January 2020, we figured we’d certainly get to cross Oktoberfest off our bucket list that first year. Then, Covid happened, and the event was canceled for two years. Finally, this September, we got our chance – and now we’re hooked.
The energy is unlike anything we’ve ever felt before. Truly, there’s nothing like standing on benches, inside a packed tent of smiling faces, holding a liter of beer, singing and cheering like there’s no tomorrow.
We didn’t initially plan much for this trip, but we did learn quite a bit along the way, so we decided to compile some tips that might be helpful for a future visit to the Wiesn.
On Reserving A Table
If you’re going to Oktoberfest with a big group of friends on Friday or Saturday and want the leisure of showing up comfortably at any time, we would recommend booking a table. This needs to be done early in the year and you can sign up here to get notified when slots become available. Just note that you will need to pay for the whole table to make the reservation – regardless of the number of people in your party.
If you’re like us (it was just three of us), there’s no need to reserve one. But we would highly recommend arriving early to make sure you get a seat. The field opened up at 9am since we were there on a Saturday. We got in line at 8am and there was already quite a crowd. We were able to find a seat easily, but it did fill up quickly in those initial two hours.
On Choosing A Tent
There are 17 large and 21 small tents to choose from at Oktoberfest. And don’t let the word tent fool you – they are large, impressive wooden establishments. The decision on which one to choose can be quite intimidating, especially if like us, you only have one day to enjoy. Plus, once you’re lucky enough to find a table, you won’t really want to give it up.
The tents vary in size, music and atmosphere. We took the advice of a couple of locals standing in line with us and went with Augustiner Festhalle, one of the largest tents. We loved it. Great atmosphere and traditional band. We really don’t think you can go wrong here but check out this site for a detailed description of each of the tents. We also recommend walking through the grounds themselves, since they are filled with rides and yummy food as well.
On Selecting An Outfit
One of the biggest questions is on whether to go all out and buy the lederhosen and dirndls for your Oktoberfest debut. You certainly don’t have to, and we saw a few people in regular clothes, but it’s so much more fun if you do. They aren’t cheap; we each spent about $150 on our outfits and could have certainly gone much higher. But the problem with going a lot cheaper than that is that you risk looking too much like a Halloween costume.
You can buy them online beforehand, but we recommend buying them in person so you can make sure they fit. We had no idea what we were looking for so having someone help us was incredibly helpful. Almost everywhere in Munich was selling them, including department stores, but we’d recommend checking out Almwelt or Angermaier Trachten. On that note, if you do go with the whole outfit, do make sure to snap photos early before the day gets a bit too wild!
On Taking Out Money
Admission to all Oktoberfest tents is free. Drinks are food are quite expensive – but worth it. Know that you’ll need to bring cash as nowhere takes cards. And honestly, bring double what you’ll think you’ll need, just in case. Trust us, you’ll want (and need) to splurge on the food as well.
On Finding A Hotel
One of the toughest parts of visiting Oktoberfest is finding accommodation since everything is either booked or highly expensive. We stayed in Harry’s Home Hotel & Apartments and it was just what we needed. The price was reasonable (for the time), and most importantly, it was right next to the S1 station, which was just four stops from the Oktoberfest fields and a quick ride to get to the city center as well.
If you plan ahead, you might be able to find something within walking distance of the field, but if you’re like us who decided to visit last minute, you’ll have to rely on public transportation. And trust us, the last thing you’ll feel like doing after a day of drinking is walking long distances to your hotel.