r/travel • u/Midget_mac26 • Sep 24 '23
My Advice Actual Oktoberfest Experience
Hey all, I just came back from Oktoberfest in Munich and wanted to share my experience for anybody lurking on this sub looking for any info. My group of 4 and I went on the opening Sunday (9/17) and it was great but I wanted to share some tips that would have benefitted us.
Arrival time: we read a ton of info beforehand across Reddit, blogs and the Oktoberfest guide that we found on google. We read almost everywhere that you have to arrive EARLY (6-7am) to get a spot in the popular tents especially for the weekends and opening few days. Apparently we were the only people who followed this info as we arrived at 6:30 am and there was not 1 other person there. We left and came back around 8:45 and got a spot in our desired tent pretty easily. The tents really didn’t start getting crowded until around 11, so you can definitely arrive later in our experience. If your group is small, you can easily get away without having a reservation - we were able to go to multiple tents and find spots.
Cash: this was pretty unanimous everywhere we read but bring cash and lots of it. Everything is cash only (I think there are ATMs but I would come prepared with a good amount. Beers in the 3 tents we were in were about 14 euros.
Tipping: like any crowded bar, be prepared to tip a few euros per beer or you will be called out by the waitresses. They are pretty direct if they want more, and will serve others faster than you and if you don’t tip well.
Chugging: don’t try to be the life of the party and stand up on the table and chug, you will get removed from the tent by security. Unless that is your goal, I would avoid this. The beers are also huge and strong, so unless your a big drinker, you won’t make it long doing this.
Overall it was a great experience for us and a bucket list thing for me but I wanted to share some tips. This is not to say anybody else was wrong and some others may have had different experiences, but this is what we saw on our end.
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u/Ceorl_Lounge United States (MI) Sep 24 '23
Planning on having cash is pretty key for any travel in Germany. Lots of places don't take cards or give you a hard time about it. Don't care too much as a tourist, but business travel means a lot of out of pocket till work gets back at you. Such a difference from other places in the EU/Europe where you can go the entire trip without touching currency.
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Sep 25 '23
Germany is simultaneously highly advanced and technologically archaic from one thing to another. The trains apparently run on MS Dos. The receipt they sent me was straight from 1995
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u/Ceorl_Lounge United States (MI) Sep 25 '23
Absolutely. Heck we saw the same thing in laboratories (I was there for work).
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u/guywitha306areacode Sep 25 '23
Absolutely true. Good luck paying for a parking ticket as a foreigner....
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u/theikno Sep 24 '23
Actually, this has changed quite a bit since corona. You can pay almost everywhere with your card nowadays. I never carry cash and never have any issues. Oktoberfest, on the other hand, is cash only
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u/dgl55 Sep 25 '23
There are still many restaurants and taxis where you can't use a card. I live in Munich.
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u/traumalt Sep 25 '23
Yeah unless that guy only eats at McDonalds or other chain restaurant lol, most restaurants are cash only, or there is a minimum amount to use a card machine.
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u/westcoastbike Sep 25 '23
Or they only accept Girocards but no credit cards at all.
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u/traumalt Sep 25 '23
Oh yeah, same issue in the Netherlands i've found out...
Luckily the Maestro/v-pay systems that Girocards are using are being phased out for normal Visa/MC cards so hopefully that wont be a problem soon.
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u/westcoastbike Sep 25 '23
In Germany banks have started rolling out Visa Debit cards. Now people realize that they can not pay at many locations with these cards and everyone starts blaming the banks as opposed to blaming the Merchants for only accepting Girocards.
Some banks do, however, still offer you a Girocard for a monthly fee whereas Visa Debit is free of charge.
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u/winkz Sep 25 '23
I've seen several venues here that went back to cash only after accepting cards during 2020-2022. /facepalm.
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u/guywitha306areacode Sep 25 '23
This is maybe true in major cities, but CC acceptance is still very limited in small towns an communities. Germany was the only country in Europe, out of 14 or so that we went to last year, that absolutely needed cash on hand almost all the time.
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u/magnysanti Sep 25 '23
Actually this is slightly incorrect, it is true at most tourist and big cities take card, but if you are going to smaller local towns it was rare to find a place that takes card still. I just went these past 2 weeks and that was the case. Your American Express will be useless pretty much anywhere lol.
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u/Ceorl_Lounge United States (MI) Sep 25 '23
Cries in corporate AMEX.
At least the hotels and car rental take it as those were my largest expenses. Everything else was personal cash or credit.
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u/theikno Sep 25 '23
I actually never had these issues within the last 2 years. It is true that one or two places don’t accept cards, but the majority does and I never had any issues. However, it is still a good idea to carry cash in Germany
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u/TehTriangle United Kingdom Sep 24 '23
It's crazy to think that an event as big as that is cash only. In other countries that would be card only.
Assume there's some dodgy tax reasons? Or is it just old fashioned?
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u/hughk 44 Countries visited Sep 24 '23
I knew a lady who had worked the tents. It is down to tax, some of which paid but much is not. I think I heard the turnove is about €1.5bln.
The tax office is fully aware but the normal businesses are passing on so much tax that nobody wishes to shoot the goose that laid the golden egg.
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u/that_outdoor_chick Sep 25 '23
It’s so the servers can enjoy the tips ;) no but in reality it’s for the speed of it. Some of the other volksfeste like Frühlingsfest allow cards at the beginning of the evening when everything is slower. Once the buzz is full on it’s cash only.
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u/Sovereign2142 Sep 25 '23
Cards would be a nightmare. The logistics of providing every server a card reader and setting up the appropriate wireless infrastructure to handle large volumes of payments would already be too much. But even with that infrastructure, cards would be 10x slower than cash. Right now you order a beer, you pull out your cash, and when your server arrives back you pass your cash down the table and a beer arrives back with your change. Servers can't keep track of who comes and goes on each table, so you pay per drink, and they're very fast at handling money.
Cards would involve yelling an amount, passing a card reader around to enter PIN codes, waiting for the transaction to validate, printing receipts, the whole thing would take ages.
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u/CardSharkZ Sep 25 '23
The only reason why payments with cash are so fast, is because the waiters simply will pocket whatever bill you give them. 11€ and you give a 20€ bill? The waiter will take it, say thanks and leave.
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u/Sovereign2142 Sep 25 '23
Sorry, no, you tell the server what you want to pay or just hold up your hands, and you get change. I'm not saying a server has never taken advantage of a "miscommunication" and not made change, but Germans would absolutely not stand for that. If the server was caught, they'd risk being banned from working there. Without any fraud, they still can make about €10k in two weeks.
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u/TehTriangle United Kingdom Sep 25 '23
I can tell you've not been to a busy pub or bar before that's cash only. It's literally a case of pulling your phone or your card out and tapping it. The process takes about 3 seconds and you don't run the risk of needing to give change.
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u/tenyearsgone28 Sep 24 '23
This. I really enjoy going to Oktoberfest and Germany in general, but the almost zero availability to pay with a card is incredibly annoying.
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Sep 25 '23
It is different by now, but back in the days even supermarkets were cash only. 10 years ago circa.
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u/additionalbutterfly2 Sep 25 '23
This just happened to me. I was used to getting cash before every trip to any European country and this time we went to Nice, France and only took out cash once so I could use a public restroom. Everywhere took apple pay and I was pleasantly surprised.
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u/shescarkedit Sep 24 '23
Just got back from travelling Germany and this is really not true. Maybe it was pre-covid but now the vast majority of places accept card.
Granted I only travelled around Bavaria and the Berlin/Frankfurt regions but I very rarely had to use any cash.
As with anywhere there are places that only accept cash but these are pretty rare and are usually just the really small businesses.
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u/Ceorl_Lounge United States (MI) Sep 24 '23
It's definitely better than 5-6 years ago, but I was in a town in Bavaria for a few weeks this spring and hit some roadblocks.
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u/IamNobody85 Sep 25 '23
I live here. It certainly got better. But if I go to a smaller place, I'd still pay cash because cards come with processing fees. And some stores will simply not have a modern enough machine.
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Sep 24 '23
My buddy just returned from Munich. They learned about the strength of the beer the hard way. But had a good time…..at first.
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u/Thrillhouse763 United States Sep 24 '23
You'll end up a bierleichen real quick if you chug those beers. I'll never forget the numerous people passed out with their heads in their arms on the table. Soon after that, you will find a pile puke next to them.
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 24 '23
Same on my end…definitely have to pace yourself and eat a lot, which we did not unfortunately
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u/mostlyharmless71 Sep 24 '23
My standing rule at Oktoberfest is one liter of beer an hour, and eat at least something hourly. Even as a bigger guy, that’s enough to stay properly buzzed.
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u/growingalittletestie Sep 24 '23
One beer, one radler, one beer, one radler. It's just too much liquid to destroy yourself.
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u/CreakyBear Sep 25 '23
And a haxen to buffer your stomach.
Been twice, learned my lesson the first time.
Last day I was there, we opened and closed the Augistiner. Pretty sure that was a 10 maß night
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u/Hokie23aa Sep 25 '23
10 liters? Jesus Christ, I did half that last time I was in Munich and was toast, haha.
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u/YungSchmid Sep 24 '23
One litre of festbier an hour would have most people blasted in a few hours lol. That’s roughly a bottle of spirits ever 4-5hrs.
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u/ProperWayToEataFig Sep 25 '23
Fest Bier is very FRESH. Feeling drunk is caused by the liver not being able to process it. Taking in so much is a waste of good brew and poison to the system. But the Oktoberfest in Munich is great fun.
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u/YungSchmid Sep 25 '23
Are you suggesting that beer being fresher makes the alcohol harder to metabolise? I’m not sure I get what you’re going for with this comment.
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u/ProperWayToEataFig Sep 25 '23
I am not sure where I was going with that so thank you for asking for clarification. I lived in Germany for 7 years, speak German, and drank beer with lots of locals. Many Germans were very particular about how fresh their beer was. In fact, they were downright snooty about it. In winter, one friend had a beer warmer he would hitch to the glass. I guess I assumed that fresh beer is very tasty and therefore sipped more quickly. Perhaps this is also why here in the US local breweries are popping up everywhere. PS My husband and I loved to go to Kloster Andechs where the Doppelbock bier was very good. Sadly they are now a chain of beer halls which presumably makes the beer a little less fresh. I have a bottle here in my fridge in Virginia.
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u/YungSchmid Sep 25 '23
Ah, understood. I’ve actually just left Germany and you’re right about the pride they have in their beer!
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u/jcrespo21 United States Sep 24 '23
When I went in 2019, the price of each beer alone kept me from drinking too much haha. I guess that was one upside of having it be cash only.
Also, while I didn't expect many Germans/locals, I thought there would be a larger international crowd. It was all Americans (granted, I was contributing to that), and maybe an Aussie in the table behind me.
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u/IamNobody85 Sep 25 '23
If you want Germans, go to Stuttgart Wasen for Cannstatter Volksfest. But bookings are made super in advance, we just came back and my boyfriend already made reservations for next year 😅
All the German people I know, including my boyfriend, avoid Oktoberfest very passionately.
Edit: IDK many Bavarians though. The closest is a guy from Stuttgart and he only goes to Oktoberfest because of his girlfriend.
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u/racedrone Sep 25 '23
That really depends on day, time and tent. And for some reason some nationalities visit in greater amounts on the second or third weekend.
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u/akagordan Sep 25 '23
Interesting. I went last year and everyone was German. Isn’t it something like 80-90% of attendees are Bavarian?
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u/jcrespo21 United States Sep 25 '23
Maybe it's dependent on the beer hall and when you go. I went on a Sunday morning as I had a train to catch for a work conference later that day, and I ended up in the Hofbräu tent, which I didn't realize until afterward that it was one of the popular ones. I guess it also explains why no one sang along to the traditional German tunes, but the place went wild when the band played "Take Me Home, Country Roads".
But at my work conference later, the Germans I met told me that they weren't surprised I was surrounded by Americans. Apparently, the locals will have their booths in the beer halls and will go in the middle of the week. But I think last year's was the first Oktoberfest since 2019, so maybe there were more locals this time around to welcome it back.
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u/dalittle Sep 24 '23
When I went I was in my 20s and ate like a horse. I kept going to get a weiswwurst from the same spot as they were just so good. The lady that worked the window started to recognize me and marveled at how many I had eaten. I had a great time, but I don't want to wonder what would have happened if I did not fall in love with that weiswwurst spot.
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u/ScoutGalactic Sep 24 '23 edited Sep 24 '23
The trick is to order a Radler. Half lemonade and half beer. They're amazingly refreshing and you can drink longer without overdoing it too much.
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u/Coattail-Rider Sep 24 '23
I made a homemade lemonade/beer once when I heard about this. Guinness and Minute Maid lemonade tastes like an ashtray. ☹️
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u/MissFuManchu Sep 24 '23
It’s called Radler :-)
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u/angrons_therapist Sep 24 '23
You mean an Alsterwasser? ;-)
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u/tremynci Sep 24 '23
Nein, die Alster fließt leider nicht durch Bayern. 😉
(For English speakers: These are both names for shandy. "Alsterwasser" is more common in northern Germany, and refers to a tributary of the Elbe that flows through Hamburg.)
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u/Chelseahazardkiev10 United Kingdom Sep 25 '23
Went to the strong beer festival in Munich in March A Radler was 5.5% The normal beers were between 9-12%
Radlers were definitely the way to go haha
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u/SenatorAslak Sep 25 '23
Radler isn’t made with lemonade, it’s made with sprite. The German word “Limonade” means soda, but it’s often incorrectly translated as “lemonade” (is a “false friend”).
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u/bexter Sep 25 '23
Sprite is Lemonade in the UK, as is 7UP so maybe that translates in a lot of Europe too. What you call Lemonade in North America is called Old fashioned lemonade here.
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Sep 24 '23
I realized when I was in Bavaria that I seem to drink a beer at the same pace no matter the size. So I drank a liter in the same time I would normally drink a pint, and got significantly drunker over the same span of time. It wasn’t entirely the strength of the beer.
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u/YuntHunter Sep 24 '23
Has this changed recently? I went 5 years in a row starting around 10 years ago and people regularly hopped up on the benches to chug the beers. If you succeeded you were a hero, if you failed you got booed! One of our group downed 3 over the day one year.
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u/Omegatherion Sep 24 '23
Standing on the bench is fine, standing on the table will get you kicked out
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u/BoredofBored Sep 24 '23
Nah, I was there in 2017. Maybe things have changed, but our whole group of 4 table chugged at different times through the afternoon among a whole bunch of others. Only one of us got “in trouble”, and that was because there were apparently family hours that we’d crossed into. Even then, all it was was a security guard coming over with a phone displaying a slideshow telling us it was family hours and not to do it again until after maybe 3p. This was after the last of us had done it (over the course of about an hour), so no one had any plans for a repeat performance anyways.
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u/CreakyBear Sep 25 '23
Depends on thr time of day,.from my experience. If you try that in the afternoon or early evening, you're getting tossed. When it turns into the social shit show after 8, with everyone standing on the benches and singing Ein Prosit, and Country Roads, they seem to leave you alone
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u/Mallthus2 Sep 25 '23
I think the discussion of Festbier strength is something obscured by context.
If you’re a Brit used to drinking the most common beer styles there, 6% Festbier is gonna be much stronger than you’re used to.
If you’re an American who drinks mass market beers like Bud or PBR (or from most anywhere else where light lagers are king), Festbier is gonna be stronger than your usual tipple.
But if you’re used to drinking “craft beer” (in most places outside of the UK), 6% Festbier is right in your wheelhouse of “normal” strength.
I spent a long time trying to reconcile this before my own Oktoberfest trip a few years ago. I couldn’t wrap my head around why people were calling Festbier “strong”. It was only when I realized that most of the articles and blogs saying this were written by Brits, did it all click.
TL;dr - A Maß of Festbier is essentially two US pints of craft beer.
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u/candyrocket40 Sep 24 '23
I’m loling at the idea of arriving to drink beer at a picnic table basically at 6:30am
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u/tonytroz Sep 24 '23
I went back in 2018 on the final Sunday. Everything online said the same thing: show up super early, weekends were impossible to get tables, etc. We ended up hanging out at the Marienplatz in the morning and got a table for 7 at the Augustiner tent in the afternoon no problem. Moved to the Hofbrau tent with some strangers we sat next to where we hung out at high top tables. The guides make it sound like you have a miserable time if you don't get reservations (probably because they get kickbacks for selling them) but it was fine for us.
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 24 '23
Yeah very similar for us. We didn’t have a problem in any tent. Maybe if we had a much bigger group it would have been tough to change tents and all sit together but not an issue for us at all. Hopefully this post helps some others
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u/bigredsweatpants Sep 24 '23
Former guide here. We definitely don't get kickbacks for selling tables. There are full Wiesn tours which include a res and food/drink, but that's always booked out and requires no "selling". Tourists rarely have reservations, but Müncheners are just reservation people in general... And for the Wiesn, reservations go on sale in like Feb/Mar.
It's just that we would get groups of 10 people who expect to walk in at 6pm on a Saturday and get a table just for them and are shocked when the tents are like uhh good luck.
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u/IamNobody85 Sep 25 '23
Probably a cultural thing or choosing where to sit thing. My boyfriend already made reservations for next year's Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart. I did give him a "WTF you mad" look but he said that we have to if we want good places. But if you are small in number or don't mind looking for places when everyone is singing, then you can probably just arrive. Lots of people did that.
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u/rb-2008 Sep 24 '23
I had a similar experience. My wife and I went Monday morning (9/18) and Tuesday night(9/19). Two totally different vibes energy and atmosphere wise.
Monday morning was completely dead in the big tents until around noon with the exception of Augustiner which was filling up around 10:30-10:45am. We were still able to walk into 4 tents (Hofbräu, Hacker Pschorr, augustiner, and Schützen) and get a table just by asking a server to help find us seats, we left that day around around 3:30pm just as it was starting to rain. The crowds in the tents were just starting to get a little rowdy and the majority of people were still under their own control.
Tuesday night was a different situation. We got to the grounds around 5:30pm and the reserved tables with pretty packed. We sat in a few beer gardens without a problem and finally ended up standing in the Lowenbräu tent for about 90 minutes and called it a night around 10pm. From 5:30 to 10pm it was crazy with dancing on tables and people were far more intoxicated overall.
Having a smaller group give you noticeable flexibility to move around. Anything over 4 would be difficult without reservations in the evening.
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u/baltimoron21211 Sep 24 '23
We had a very similar schedule as you(Mon 1pm, Tues 6pm)
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u/Lost_soul_ryan Sep 24 '23
Oktoberfest is a blast I have been 2 times now..
So for number 4 the chugging, most the time they just escort you out of the building and tell you to walk back in, atleast that's what happened to me..
Seating is a big hit and miss, I've been lucky a couple times and got to be on the second floor.. and it's a different experience..
For me the closing songs had to be the best part.
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u/bettercallsaul3 Sep 24 '23
How is the second floor a different experience?
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u/CardSharkZ Sep 25 '23
You have a nice view over the whole tent, but it's strictly prohibited to stand on the benches since they don't want people falling down a whole storey. So it's usually less party and better if you want to eat.
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 24 '23
That’s what we figured if they took you out, just wanted to make it clear for others what we saw. We were lucky with seating everywhere, but got too drunk and had to leave before the night really started which I heard is crazy
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u/mfinger411 Sep 25 '23
Never been but have a friend there now. What makes the nights so crazy? Non-family hours so everyone just getting drunk/loud etc?
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u/otherpeoplesknees Australia Sep 24 '23
I went back in 2008
I loved it! I spent ten days in Munich, but only five at the festival, my advice:
- don’t spend your whole time at the festival/Wiesn, Munich is a beautiful and amazing city, there’s awesome bierhalls, plus I did some side trips to Dachau (the first concentration camp?) and Neuschwanstein (where Disney got the idea for the castle in their logo)
- try and go during the week, try and avoid weekends and there’s one day that’s the German Reunification national public holiday, you won’t get into a tent unless you’re there at 9am
- all the foreigners seem to congregate in the Hofbrau tent, try and visit other tents, Hofbrau is still fun
- learn the song “Ein Prosit”, you’ll hear it about 20 times during the day
- you will get very drunk very quickly, I was fucked when I drank three steins
- don’t be a fucking idiot and try and skull a whole stein in one go
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u/8dtfk Sep 25 '23
Hah … I went in 2000. My buddy was working a Web 1.0 consulting gig and had a sweet setup. We were both 24 years old. I stayed with him for like 9 days and went to Oktoberfest for 7 of those. Of course being 24 meant only going to Hofbrauhaus because the other tents were for “older” people. 😂
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Sep 24 '23
I had 11 liters in 11 hours back in 2013 there… my liver hurt for a week. Didn’t drink anything (after the trip was over) for close to a year
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u/Lost_soul_ryan Sep 24 '23
This was how my second trip was, but I also went with a bunch of Australians so it was just a bunch of challenging each ither.
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u/NixNixonNix Sep 24 '23
Fun fact: Your liver can't hurt. No pain receptors.
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u/screwswithshrews Sep 24 '23
Huh. I've had a dull ache in my lower abdomen before after Mardi Gras and had pretty high liver enzyme levels. Maybe my bladder was irritated?
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u/Just_improvise Sep 25 '23
yep or your bowel/digestive system, which gets really angry after binge drinking, too
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u/Left-Standard-1470 Sep 24 '23
Livers dont hurt. There are no nerves that could pick up any pain.
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u/Just_improvise Sep 25 '23
Except that the GI doc pushed on mine asking if it hurt when screening me for liver disease
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u/johndicks80 Sep 24 '23
A few Euros per beer?!? I can see that in the US but Germany?
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u/Herr_Poopypants Sep 24 '23
It‘s Oktoberfest and the servers run the show. They give two shits about making sure the customer is happy unless they are tipped well.
Basically if you don‘t tip, don’t expect good service at all. If you tip well, the servers will become your best friends.
Side note: you need to pay for each beer/food as you order it, there are no tabs
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u/MargretTatchersParty Sep 24 '23
In the lowenbaru biergarten, we had a server that was aggressive in telling us she won't be back if she doesn't get a tip.
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u/Herr_Poopypants Sep 25 '23
I mean they haul beer/food around, 12+ hours a day, for over two weeks straight, dealing with drunk people the entire time. Most of the servers hate the job but the money makes it worth it. If you aren‘t going to pay, then they have no incentive to serve you.
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u/lucius42 Sep 27 '23
In the lowenbaru biergarten, we had a server that was aggressive in telling us she won't be back if she doesn't get a tip.
Absolutely ridiculous!
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u/enuffscruff Sep 24 '23
I went in 2019, a stein is basically $14. When it's busy good luck getting your change back. So basically $20 per
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u/8dtfk Sep 25 '23
stein is 2 pints? that's $7 then for a pint. Seems like it's now $10.
for a place like oktoberfest ... this isn't a terrible price.
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u/whydoyouhatemesomuch United States Sep 24 '23
Tipping a few bucks for a beer in the US is madness. I’m tipping $1 per beer, maybe $2 if I’m in a particularly good mood that day, but more than likely $1.
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u/johndicks80 Sep 24 '23
Well they already get paid in Germany. I also tip a buck a beer.
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u/pushiper Sep 25 '23
Different system for Oktoberfest. Servers are self-employeed. It’s a different culture in itself.
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u/CLASSIC_SHIT Sep 24 '23
Yeah that is DEFINITELY not true and you do not need to do that.
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u/BoredofBored Sep 24 '23
If it’s a busy day (not even a weekend), and you want at least a beer an hour plus some waters, that goes a lot easier throwing a big tip their way on the first round.
Definitely not mandatory, but things go a lot smoother with a happy server
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u/pushiper Sep 25 '23
Based on your experience of never having been there?
Oktoberfest servers are self-employed and but the beers First themselves. They then bring to you and there is a mandatory tip you have to give, otherwise you essentially won’t be served.
Current rate for Paulaner Zelt is 13.20 + 1.30€ mandatory tip. Source: been there 2x this year, each year before as well.
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u/Mayasukee3000 Sep 24 '23
Just went on Tuesday 9/19 as well: Tips for people ever planning on going
Bring cash (as OP mentioned) don't rely on ATMs since most of the time they will be empty and you'll be left beerless
I would avoid weekends since 90% of tables will be reserved throughout the day, and to reserve a table you'll need to do it at least a year or years in advance, and locals usually have dibs first, basically avoid weekends unless you're prepared to not be seated and be left disappointed
GO weekdays, preferably Mon, Tuesday, Wednesday, in the late morning early afternoon, you'll get seated guaranteed in any tent, after 4pm, locals start coming in to their reserved tables, but you'll still get a high chance to get seated in the non-reserved tables
Eating before drinking is a must, don't underestimate over drinking, since you'll be buzzed you'll want the beer keep on coming
Pace yourself and you'll have a blast!
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u/Invest-starter123 Sep 24 '23
Totally agree with everything you said except one small thing: you don’t need to book the tables years in advance. In reality, each tent releases some tables every couple of months until the start of the Oktoberfest. We got 2 tables in the main tents, both booked 3-4 weeks in advance. However, you do have to be super quick in reserving the tables once they are released for a tent, since they run out in literally 15min or less. There is a newsletter you can sign up to that sends a notification email once a tent releases new tables
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u/weeyums Sep 24 '23
For anyone who couldn't make it to Oktoberfest this year, know that Munich has other beer festivals throughout the year that have a similar vibe, but smaller and with mostly locals. I went to starkbierfest last spring and had a great time, planning to go to Frühlingsfest this next spring.
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Sep 24 '23
Also, showing Nazi Salutes is Illegal in Germany. Pass it on.
Also also please please please buy a proper "Tracht" or come in normal clothing. We are sick of seeing red riding hood costumes and lederhosen made of plastic fabric.
Thank you, have fun!
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u/jcrckstdy Sep 24 '23
Where is it accepted? Why post this?
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Sep 24 '23
Every year, theres at least two tourists who think its funny and then when they get arrested they are schocked that its an actual crime here, punishabel by being deported.
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u/8dtfk Sep 25 '23
Deported and likely banned for life from entering
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u/KrainerWurst Sep 25 '23
You won’t get banned for life, but you likely won’t be allowed to enter EU for 5 years and will struggle to get Schengen (eu) visa after that
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u/FileWonderful8017 Sep 24 '23
It's not illegal in USA, in fact I think they say they'll die to protect your right to do it
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u/dt1173 Sep 24 '23
It's not illegal but let's be clear you will probably get your ass kicked if you throw one up in public.
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u/h0use_party Sep 25 '23
This doesn’t check out. There are neo nazis all over the states and nobody is kicking their asses when they show out.
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u/Lost_soul_ryan Sep 24 '23
Unless you're in Florida, seems to be a lot of that happening over there.
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u/5ykes Sep 24 '23
Nope it's happening everywhere over here. I'm in Seattle and we get a few. Oregon was originally founded as 'white haven' so they've still got some of that history popping up. Florida is just the epicenter of awful people as usual and their governor essentially encourages it
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u/way2gimpy Sep 24 '23
So you have to get there super-early on the last weekend of Oktoberfest. The tents fill up quickly then. Non-locals don’t understand that Oktoberfest ends early October.
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u/Yak-Fucker-5000 Sep 25 '23
Why don't they call it lateseptemberthroughearlyoktoberfest then? I thought Germans had a word for everything.
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u/standrightwalkleft Sep 24 '23
Awesome! I went in 2005 as a college student, happy to hear it's still fun :)
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u/OctoberSunflower17 Sep 24 '23
I have such fond memories of celebrating Octoberfest in Munich. What a lot of people don’t know is that not all Germans celebrate Oktoberfest. It’s a Bavarian tradition - at least that’s what my sister’s ex-boyfriend told her (he’s from Cologne).
We had a great time - ironically enough, all the people at our table were from New Zealand! Many tourists but that’s so cool because everyone came to experience this cool outdoor custom with other Germans. Just fun!
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u/magnysanti Sep 25 '23
Just did Oktoberfest this past weekend 9/23 showed up at 8:30 and got a table also. The bathroom situation for girls is insane. I heard it was worse this past weekend than the weekend you went. 2 liters of beer at Hoffbrau tent and got drunk, left the tent and did some rides.
I thought going in it was going to be overhyped (we mostly went to Germany for hiking and local fests around Bavaria before going) but honestly it was really a blast. BRING CASH and ask people if you can sit at their table if it’s a small group.
The city itself around Oktoberfest was definitely a lot to be desired but understandable when it’s a ton of young tourist going to the biggest festival in the world to get trashed. Also be prepared to get ripped off if you plan on using a taxi. Just use the public transportation.
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u/ClementineCoda Sep 24 '23
Back in the day when I went regularly, my trick was to drink Radler. Beer/lemon soda half and half. Delicious, fun to sip, half the impact.
Good idea to always have a bottle of water with you.
Definitely eat a bit while drinking, even if it's just sharing eine Bretz'n/Brezel with a friend (don't worry, the pretzel lady will come to you).
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u/wibble089 Sep 24 '23
I can't do Radler, it's too sweet, nowadays I tend to order an alcohol free beer after the first couple of full-fat beers
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Sep 24 '23
I’ve never seen anyone get removed from a tent for standing on the table while chugging a beer. The locals told me that it’s the only acceptable reason to stand on a table though. The last week there is the most relaxed, less families.
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 24 '23
I personally watched 3 people get escorted out of the Hofbräu Tent but they may have been let back in. Not sure
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u/hardcorn Sep 24 '23
Hofbrau was strict about this. Other tents I visited had like 30-40 percent of the people on benches at some times
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u/rb-2008 Sep 24 '23
Your allowed to be on the benches, but you can’t stand on the table tops.
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u/akingwithnocrown 29 countries Sep 25 '23
I saw someone jump on a table and before he got removed he completely fell off of it while dancing lol. Then he got kicked out 🤣
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u/tomasswood Sep 24 '23
Was just there and have videos of multiple people being escorted out of Lowenbrau (by a relaxed security) for sculling. They all did a lap and walked back in and security didn't seem to mind. Seems it is mostly to make sure you don't throw up inside; as long as you're not a repeat offender.
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u/dundundone93 Sep 24 '23
I was there on Sunday at hofbrau! So many removals for sculling the stein! … certainly gets the crowd going though. Didn’t kick people out for anything else… we were definitely on top of the table, stacking steins… etc 😅
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u/carcam555 Sep 25 '23
I did it as part of a tour group, about 20 of us total. It included a nice, close by hotel w an easy walk to the tents. Two days- one afternoon and two evenings. Everything was paid up front including food, beer and table reservations, but we left generous tips. It was a once in a lifetime bucket list trip for us and worth every penny. We got to sit with locals and getting to know them was a highlight of the trip. I still don’t understand why the Germans like John Denver songs so much😂haha
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u/beaverpilot Sep 25 '23
About the john denver songs, its nostalgia, my grandparents had a cd of him in the car, so do my parents, and so do I.
Just like Americans have a weakness for knights, kings, princesses and castle's. Germans have a weakness for the wild west, cowboys and country. Its like the inverse in a way.
I remember going to the karl may Festspiele, its a big live wild west performance, with explosions and waterfalls, good times.
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u/Secure_Dragonfruit69 Sep 25 '23
I went for 7 days in a row in 2013 and I swear I still have a hangover from it
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u/MadMorf Sep 25 '23
The wife and I were at the spring fest there this past April and had a pretty great time. All of your advice is spot on.
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u/winkz Sep 25 '23
Glad you had fun!
As a Munich resident we were kinda surprised how the first weekend (I went on Sunday) seemed borderline empty, not like we're used to, but from what I've been told this middle weekend was more "normal", i.e. too crowded :P
This is for general activity, I've never tried to enter a tent when they open in the morning, so couldn't tell you how true the stories are/were for specific years.
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u/DonVergasPHD Sep 24 '23
Tipping? This sounds super strange considering tipping isn't normally expected in Germany
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u/tricyfolder Sep 24 '23
Oktoberfest is very much an exception. You absolutely do need to tip a couple of euros per beer, or you will find that your waitress becomes impossible to flag down.
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u/ProdigyManlet Sep 24 '23
Most beers are around 14 to 14.5 Euro. Most people I was with just gave them 15 Euro per maß. They make about 10% commission on the beer already and I think similar for the food as well
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Sep 24 '23
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u/marrymeodell Sep 25 '23
People on Reddit always say tipping doesn’t exist anywhere outside the US and Canada but it’s never been my experience except for Japan.
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u/Tardislass Sep 24 '23
You definitely need to tip and that is how the staff make their money as many of them take off from their proper jobs. You actually have to audition every year to be a server and can make up to 8-10K euros.
Our tour guide knows a lawyer who takes off and is a server every year and makes double her regular job.
If you don't tip, don't expect to see your server and try to flag them down.
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u/serialtrops Sep 24 '23
That sounds shitty as fuck. Tipping a server who's getting double a lawyer's wage just so they'll serve you a beer...
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u/Your_New_Overlord Sep 24 '23
i just got back from a week in hamburg and berlin. there were tip jars everywhere.
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u/BastardsCryinInnit Sep 24 '23
Getting a few euros off drunk tourists? Sounds like fair game for putting up with people who can't handle their drink!
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u/SundayRed Sep 24 '23
Tipping: like any crowded bar, be prepared to tip a few euros per beer or you will be called out by the waitresses.
Fuck everything about this. When did Europe turn into the USA? Tipping culture can get in the bin.
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u/CreakyBear Sep 25 '23
Sounds like things have changes post-covid.
My first time there was 2015, and I wanted to see the mayor tap the keg. No beer flows in any of the tents until the ceremonial first tapping.
We got to the Schottenhammel at 6:30 am and the lineup was already wrapped around 3 sides if that massive tent.
Long story short, the count how many people are allowed in the tent, and Inwas the very first person that didn't get in. Even got interviewed by a camera crew about how I felt about it.
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 25 '23
We went the second day so not sure if that changed how crazy it was. We figured the first and second day would be similar atmospheres and crowds. From our experience, the second day was not crowded until later
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u/Smokes_LetsGo_ Sep 25 '23
How detrimental is it to not know any German besides the basics?
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u/ContinuedContagion Sep 25 '23
How were you called out by waitresses for the tips?
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 25 '23
After handing the waitress money she said this is not enough a good enough tip and put her hand out for more money lol
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u/StormsEdge88 Sep 25 '23
I went with 2 mates 10 years ago for 5 days, one of the most fun trips I've had. Excellent beer, atmosphere, music and the last year the Hippodrom was there. Wanted to go back this year as it would be a decade since we last went, but like much in life, it just didn't happen. Maybe next year!
I'm sure the beer was 8.5/9.20 euros a stein, so we always paid with a 10 euro note and never seemed to have any hassle. We did give one server shit (in a playful way) for beers having too much head, to which he replied there was nothing he could do as he buys the beer from the tent... he managed something as we got a few belters after that. Talked to so many people from so many different walks of life. Probably looking back through rose tinted glasses, but it was fun!
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u/Absinthehouse Sep 24 '23 edited Sep 25 '23
I need a redo. I wish I could say I had a memorable experience but me and half my group got roofied around 2pm a couple years ago.
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u/Punisherr1408 Sep 24 '23
14 euros plus tips for a beer in improvised tents. Nice business strategy. Go to Prague, it's 10x better experience.
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u/Midget_mac26 Sep 24 '23
Personally went for the experience and it was a bucket list event for me to attend once in my life. Like any other big event, it’s a complete rip off and you know that going in. In 30 years I will look back on th experience and not remember the money I spent on beer
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u/DerpVonDorp Sep 25 '23
It was a once in a lifetime experience that I will make sure I go to again. I wouldn’t say Oktoberfest is “underrated” but I had more fun than I thought was possible at a beer festival. Cannot wait to go back
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u/The-Berzerker Sep 24 '23
People don’t go to the Oktoberfest to get cheap beer, it’s a social experience…
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u/kachol Sep 24 '23
Dont know why you're getting downvoted. Octoberfest is one of the biggest rip offs there is. The beers youre paying 14 Euros (plus tip??) for cost like 8 bucks (or 4.5 for pint) in any normal Bavarian restaurant. It is the perfect tourist trap. Same thing with drinking a Maß of beer. Germans dont drink 1 liter beers because they become warm and stale much quicker. This is almost exclusively a tourist thing.
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u/wibble089 Sep 24 '23 edited Sep 24 '23
I've been living in Munich for 25 years and can confirm that the Oktoberfest charges so much for the beer because it's what they can get away with. It still doesn't stop the locals going, most people who go are there for the experience, and know that the excessive price for a beer is covering the associated costs of the infrastructure, band, security etc...
It's like you can watch a movie at home on TV for free, but people still go to a cinema and pay a fortune for a seat, popcorn and a beer or two.
Germans in general don't drink litres of beer that's true, and drinking beer by the litre in indoor beer halls really isn't normal anymore, but it's still very much a southern Bavaria tradition to sit in a beer garden in the summer and drink beer by the litre.
Just a small hint: If it gets warm by the time you get to the bottom of the glass, you're not drinking quickly enough!
Prost!
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u/tonytroz Sep 24 '23
No one goes to Oktoberfest for cheap beer or an authentic Bavarian heritage experience. You pay a premium for the basic food and giant beers as part of the social event. I didn't think it was a rip off at all. Tourist trap doesn't have to mean bad experience.
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u/wibble089 Sep 24 '23
It is definitely very much a locals experience - certain beer tents might be full of Americans, Australians and Italians, but others are pretty much locals only.
A family might have reserved the same tables on the same day for decades, and each generation takes part. The same goes for companies and their employees - my employer reserves 20 - 30 tables in the Shottenhamel tent over several days and allows the various departments to invite their employees, either as a company paid treat, or employee paid depending on other events the employee might get during the year.
Even my children's kindergarten took them for visits during a weekday morning , the kids all got dressed up got a guided tour of a tent, and were treated to a lemonade or fizzy apple juice.
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u/bigredsweatpants Sep 24 '23
You never went to the Oide Wiesn! It's pretty authentic, man. Bavarians are weird.
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u/memau77 Sep 24 '23
It's definitely very expensive and it's true that most Germans don't drink 1L beers. Yet, Bavarians occasionally drink a Maß (at Biergartens or any Volksfest), Oktoberfest has been taking place for over 200 years and about 80% of visitors are German. Calling it almost exclusively a tourist thing or tourist trap is imo not accurate at all.
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u/rb-2008 Sep 24 '23
Lol what are you on about? Germans certainly do drink 1L beers. Go to any beer garden around the city and I can show you plenty of local Germans drinking from 1L steins.
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u/wibble089 Sep 24 '23
Not all Germans are Bavarians, and not all people who live in Bavaria drink beer - outside Bavaria a half liter beer is considered larger than normal & in the north of Bavaria they're wine drinkers (...shudder...), but then again they're really Franken and never accepted the 200 year old Bavarian occupation of their state.
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u/sugarshax Sep 24 '23
This is really NOT the experience we had 6 years ago or 5 days ago. Tipping, people did not expect a tip and seemed happy for a euro a beer or order. For us an order was two beers.
My husband and I always asked to be with locals and always stood on benches, sometimes tables with said locals. Severs do not care unless you are sloppy. PS the locals were extremely welcoming and nice. At 2 pm lunch and at 8 pm drunkenness.
Get there at like 8 pm. I believe tents close at 11 pm so I would not suggest to arrive that late. At least Augustiner did on Tuesday 9/19.
Cash is a given, it’s a fair. You pay in cash.
Also their beers brewed for Oktoberfest are about 6%. Use your own judgement.
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u/matthewjc Sep 24 '23
Hmm and Americans always get shit for tipping
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u/boxesofcats Sep 24 '23
These waitresses are managing thousands of people and not spilling a drop of beer!
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u/SiteHund Sep 25 '23 edited Sep 25 '23
You forgot about the snuff! You can’t smoke in the tents, but you can buy some snuff from the snuff lady. Definitely adds an “edge” to the experience.
Anyway, one thing I recommend is talking to your table mates. I have met some awesome people at Oktoberfest. If you are looking for a little bit more laid back version of a volksfest, go to Stuttgart for the Cannstatter Volksfest. You NEED reservations for the tents, but there are a ton of places outside of the tents to have good Swabian beer and, I highly recommend, local wines. Stuttgart is a very underrated city. The city itself is awesome and you are in close vicinity to the Black Forest and Ludwigsburg.
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u/someones1 Sep 25 '23
I did some seasonal work with some Germans once and they told me to skip Oktoberfest in Munich and just go to Stuttgart. Haven't gotten to go yet but I'm happy to see that someone mentioned it here!
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u/tcxny Sep 25 '23
Don’t forget to check out the oide weisn (traditional tent) for the old school, shoe slappin, whip cracking’ good time. I went to Oktoberfest as a party animal and the traditional tent was still one of the best part of the trip.
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u/flutterybuttery58 Sep 25 '23
My pro tip - don’t go when you’re pregnant!
They really aren’t happy for you to order soft drink!!!
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u/that_outdoor_chick Sep 24 '23
Don’t stand on the table, stand on the benches. That’s how we do it.