It’s the second most wonderful time of year! Fall foliage, college football, less sweltering heat, and of course, Oktoberfest.

This will be my second time frequenting the chaos of Theresenwiese, and after my first trip I have a ton of lessons learned that I applied to round 2.

Flights

Getting to Munich from the USA is actually much easier than you think.

• Book in the summertime for the best flight options. We booked our flights in July and scored a roundtrip on British Airways for $650. If Star Alliance is your preferred network, there were also non-stop flights from DC to Munich for around $800 return.
• Check out *neighboring cities and airports. Trains within Germany or from Austria run all the time! If you can save a bit flying into a nearby airport, do it.
• *Fine line between this and the last point… Not the time to book the cheapest long-haul and hope for a cheap puddle jump. Usually it’s a fantastic idea to find a cheap flight to London or Amsterdam and then book a separate flight to Munich. However, during Oktoberfest, inter-Euro flights are astronomical. In 2015, my roundtrip from Madrid to Munich was around $350, compared to around $100 any other time of year.

Any last minute beer lovers out there? At the time of writing this post, you can still find roundtrip airfare for less than $1000 over opening weekend. Seriously, you can leave in 4 days. Proof below:

Accomodations

• When to book:  SEVERAL MONTHS IN ADVANCE.
  • Yes, there are a few options available 6 days before, but slim pickings.
  • In February, when I booked, I found where we’ll be for around $300 a night. We are only staying 2 nights, and it’s also walking distance from the festival grounds with good reviews.
  • Try to find a spot that will accept packages on your behalf. Easy way to coordinate ticket drop offs or deliveries.
• Recommendations for Every Budget
  • Hostels
    • Wombats Munich. 14 minute walk. I stayed here at Christmas time and it’s walking distance to everything. Comfy stay and I liked the bar area, but I have to warn you that you make your own bed and the fitted sheet is slightly smaller than the mattress. If you’re on the top bunk it’s a frustrating experience haha. Currently they have a private room for 350 Euro for opening weekend still available… yikes. Dorm beds are usually less.
    •  MEININGER Munich City Center. 10 minute walk. 3 years ago I stayed here during Oktoberfest. I shared a dorm with 5 other girlfriends and it worked out well for us, as we stayed 2 nights and I think we spent around $200 per person. I don’t really recommend this now because I think you could still find a hotel room for cheaper than a shared dorm room. Mind you, I was literally stumbling distance from Theresenwiese, the train station, and Augustiner Brewery. Right now they still have a room for 334 Euro on opening weekend.
  • Hotels
    • Sofitel Munich Bayerpost. 12 minute walk. Luxury experience, right now you can get a room for opening weekend for about 650 Euro a night. Bonus is that they probably have table reservations so you don’t have to worry about tickets, but call ahead on that for sure.
    • Courtyard Munich City Center. 12 minute walk. Great if you love Marriott points regardless of cost. I’m sure you need crazy ass status to have these dates not blacked out. Weekday Oktoberfest price is 528 Euro a night.
    • Hotel Metropol Munich. 11 minute walk. 3 star hotel so it’s nice without being astronomically priced. Sold out for opening weekend, but for the second weekend they have availability from about 400 Euro.
    • Cocoon Hauptbahnhof. 11 minute walk. They have availability for opening weekend starting at 540 Euro.
    • Hotel St Paul. 4 minute walk. Basically on top of Theresenwiese. Not sure it’s the nicest but you can’t beat proximity! Looks super sold out for any date I’ve searched.
  • AirBnB
    • There is one cute spot left in old town that looks like a 20 minute walk to Theresenwiese for $189. Several places further out that are affordable. U-Bahn isn’t hard to navigate!

Since hotels are CRAZY expensive, we decided it would be fun to visit surrounding areas in Bavaria to save money. 4 nights can set you back a hell of a lot otherwise.

Tickets and Reservations

Arguably the most difficult part of organizing the trip. Around January, the main Munich breweries start to release reservations for the upcoming Oktoberfest. If you’re early enough, you can book directly with the tents via phone and email.

For everyone else, know that if you can wake up early enough, you don’t need a ticket to enter the tent. Entry is free. There are first come, first serve seats. Just get in line around 7am on the weekends and you should be good. Don’t expect to sit together with a large group. Weekdays are a little easier from what I’ve heard.

If you don’t feel like waking up early and have a lot of money to spend, there are several ticket brokers where you can buy table reservations and single seat reservations:

• Tichreservierung Oktoberfest. Expensive and easy. They offer local pick-up and delivery. I’m curious about the surprise packages where they don’t tell you which tent you’re getting tickets to… but found nothing online. I got an evening Hacker res through them and will provide my thoughts in a later post. They still have reservations available today, but most popular tents are sold out. Can get up to $500 for popular tents.
• Oktoberfest Tickets Munich. Slightly less expensive. Some flexibility in what you can choose, but they also give you the element of surprise if you’re not married to where you’d like to go. I’ll also keep you posted on what I learn! About $225 for a surprise ticket on opening day.
• Stubhub. Had NO idea you could get tickets via Stubhub. They’re delivering to the hotel and I hope it’s legit, prices were about $200 a person for a reservation.

 

What To Wear

Last but not least, the outfits!!!! 3 years ago, I didn’t get to Munich until 9pm the night before. Thinking I would be able to buy an outfit, I hoped to find something in the morning. Unfortunately, most shops are closed when you’re hoping to wait in line at 7am just to get inside the tent. Hoping to never be the awkward girl not dressed up ever again (YES everyone is dressed up), I bought 2 dirndls for the festivities this year.

There are plenty of authentic brands to choose from, but my three favorite brands are Krüger, Stockerpoint, and Bergweiss. Fun tip: If you plan on going to Oktoberfest 2019, buy your dirndl or lederhosen right after Oktoberfest ends. Plenty of stuff is already on sale now.

Online outlets can deliver to the USA, and there is also a substantial selection on Amazon. Stores you can check out include:

• My Dirndl. I purchased one of my dirndls from these very nice people who kept me updated on when they received my dress from Germany. Small re-seller that buys direct from Germany.
• Alpenclassics. I purchased my second dirndl on sale from this site. Went for a completely different look and feel. Beware that prices are in UK pound sterling.
• Ludwig and Therese. Fancy online boutique, easy online interface. Prettyyyyy expensive.
• Amazon. Enough said. Filter for any budget!
• Walmart. Ok I know this is a controversial choice, but from afar (ahem, online only I haven’t seen anything in person) these look both authentic enough and affordable. One way I can legit see Walmart upping its retail game in relation to Amazon.

 

Stay tuned to see my look! So excited to leave in 3 days!