Visiting Oktoberfest tents without reservations

Hi all,

I will be part of a group of 6/7 people (half British, half Austrian) at the Oktoberfest on Friday 26 & Saturday 27 September 2008. We really would like to try a couple of different tents and we are happy to queue to get in. Please could I have some tips? Such as which are the best tents to queue at, what time etc.

(I've read numerous blogs and the oktoberfest site itself but would find personal opinions very helpful).

Thanks,
westminstergirl

For a group of 8 people (i.e. almost a whole table) you'll want to be there by midday on the Friday and in time for breakfast on the Saturday. The tents open at 10am but you can start queuing earlier. They start serving at 11am I believe. Once you are in a tent and have a table, I would strongly advise against leaving – you're unlikely to get in anywhere else.

On the Saturday, forget going into other tents, that isn't going to happen. You'll have to get there real early, get into one and stay there. If the weather is nice, there might be a chance to swap tents before, say, 10am. If it's not nice, then get there at 8am and grab a seat as quick as you can.

On the Friday, you'll be able to try a number of tents until about 1pm, at which point it'll start to get hard to get in.

All the big tents are pretty similar. I wouldn't bother trying to visit them all.

why not just book a couple of tables and avoid all the agro of standing in line for hours, Whitney Events books them and is on here

@STB

The tents open at 9am, sometimes a little earlier depending, and beer is served straight away, except on the first Saturday.

Re: Whitney Events

Vested interest surely?

Don't you mean 'my girlfriend books them'.

@ Scogs + Kommentarlos, wmg and I have been in contact over the last few days, lovely person for sure.

Thanks for this. Any suggestions on which tents might be best to try for. I'd ideally prefer a medium-sized tent quite traditional tent but am aware beggars can't be choosers!

yes It is a side line Business for her, which she has been doing for 3 years, she advertises on here and has booked a quite a few tables for this years fest, which is a considerable amount of work, 1-3 hours most evenings each work day and has spent the last few years building relationships with the tents.

For a minute I thought you really were the first person to ask a board with a significant affiliation to Munich for Oktoberfest advice. But you're not! Amazing but true, I know it surprised me too, and you can find a whole world of questions, even yours, and answers here.

Nevertheless, you are still plugging away aren't you?

So nobody I know is allowed to draw attention to my business. All that networking for nowt.

Westminstergirl, you should drop a PM or mail to Whitney Events (dunno if it's been mentioned already), tell them what you're looking for and see what can be arranged.

I was just wondering how appropriate it was to recommend a service without noting any 'vested interests' in the business?

I second Keydeck's recommendation.

Well although Westminstergirl doesn't know, it's hardly a secret, if you click on the user profile that's Sarabryds face smiling back at you! She's fairly well known on here.

And unfortunately she wasn't able to help! I assume I'm just going to have to get there early and hope I queue at tents which let people in on the day.

Yeah, I remember reading it was all booked up a long time ago.

Just get to a tent by 9 a.m. and pace yourself.

Unfortunately that seems like the only option

Do you know which tents are likely to have spaces for people who queue?

Why the unhappy face? Drinking beer at 9am is the start of the perfect day...

It's not so much queuing - it's being at the right door at the right time. You might wait out the front all day and never get it. You might wait around the side for 10 minutes and be lucky and get in. Unfortunately, it's not like in England where if you wait patiently and in a nice ordered line you'll eventually get served.

The fact is, you have to give up your idea of trying different tents on a weekend. It's really no big deal, they are all the same basically. Getting there early and getting a good seat is far more important. You'll be able to stick your head in to a few tents on the Friday morning, and then really drink at two tents on the Friday afternoon and the Saturday.

I went with 7 French female nurses on a Saturday night (all tents full), the nurses got their boobs at a back door in front of the security guard, we were in the tent within seconds and security chucked out a table of guys to make room for us
1 guy 7 young french nurses on the piss...bliss

Forget Oktoberfest... can anyone help me get a reservation with Scogs and co.?

It was 6 nurses and 1 stewardess.[/pedant]

Has anyone been to Oktoberfest on the last Sunday? Any tips?

What are the chances of getting a table in one tent for the whole day if we get there early??

Been there done that, more than once, may the force be with you.

I'll be arriving in Munich on the 19th and would like to see Oktoberfest on the 20th, and we're out of there on the 21st. So really I only have one day to see what I can. It's just me and my wife, so no reservations. But, I can get there at 4am if i have too.

Should I just get there as early as possible and attempt to get into a tent and ignore everything else to see? Or just give up on the idea of a tent and just walk around and enjoy the outside? If i can't get in a tent, or seating of a tent outside, is there still a way to drink beer?

Do the walk-around bit, take some of the more nausea-inducing rides and end up at one of the beer carousels along the rides street or go into one of the café tents. You won't get a Maß there but you can savour the atmosphere.

Or go to a tent first, have a few Maß, and then when you've had enough head outside and look around the site.

Like Small Town Boy says. Make sure you get to the tents before 8am.

Our hotel is walking distance, apparently a 5 minute walk. Getting there at 8am isn't a problem.

In fact, is it possible to stroll around the area on the 19th to plan my course?

My expectations of getting a seat in a tent are extremely low, but I want to make sure I maximize my trip there. The internet is my only source of information, I don't know anyone who's been to Germany

The Süddeutsche Zeitung has confirmed my impression of this year's booking madness: The amount of reservation requests was extraordinarily high this year. The evening and weekend reservations have all been issued, some tents have waiting lists of over 1000 names and companies. Even the weekday afternoons are full, only the noon to mid-afternoon slots are available.


However, says Gabi Weishäupl, Head of the Munich Tourist Office, one cannot say that the Wiesn is completely full. Of the 1.69 mio seats available over 16 days a total of 770,273 are free from reservation requirements. What she doesn't say: more than half (400,000) of those are outside the tents in the beergardens. Rules are: Monday through Friday one third of the central tent areas must be open to the general public, Saturdays from 5pm on it's two thirds, Sundays and on the holiday (3 October) the whole central area is free from reservations.


Ever consumer-friendly, the SZ is providing its readers with tips on how to get a seat without going through the hassle of reserving:

• Get in line at 6am, earlier on the weekends
• Suck up to a regular, allegedly anyone with a tent-issued bracelet can exit the tent and return with one escort any time
• Find out the last pick-up date for the vouchers connected to the reservations, hot-foot it down to the tent offices and pay cash for non-claimed vouchers (check their websites for dates and locations, www.oktoberfest.eu)
• If the main entrance is closed try the side entrances; once you're in find a lively table and see if they have room for one or two more

Do not, and I cannot repeat this often enough!, buy vouchers and reservations on EBay. The tent managers have once again confirmed that anyone caught with auctioned vouchers will lose the reservation and be banned from at least that one tent and - if I was informed correctly last year - most likely all of them. Their T&C state that only the person who purchased the reservation and his guests are entitled to the table(s).


Before anyone asks: I have a specific agreement with several tents, my business is legal, my customers have never had problems.

I noticed while going past the Wiesn on Sunday, a whole lot of white roofed structures going up around the Southern edge. Are they always part of Oktoberfest and I have forgotten or are they something to do with the farmer´s festival (?) this year?

Yeah, that's the Zentrales Landwirtschaftsfest (ZLF) that takes place every four years. IMHO it should be moved out to the Exhibition Grounds in Riem, that's what they're for. Poor animals being carted into the center of town and subjected to the noise of the rides, the screams of the passengers and the constant stench of beersugarcoatedalmondsroastchickenroastoxenfischsemmelnvomit, in short, the smell of the Wiesn.

Besides, it takes up valuable drinking space.

wouldn't this clause also prevent you from re-selling reservations?

Exactly

Just read the following comment this morning...


Obviously Mario the Muppet. It must be assumed that Mario the student is new to Germany and has never experienced Oktoberfest or the lead up to it before. Otherwise he wouldn't have made such an idiotic comment in July.

Lets hope other Italians also feel they won't get a place and just don't turn up this year.

Ms. West, I still think the whole "you must have a reservation" think is overrated. I read numerous bloggs, and forums before my first Oktoberfest trip in 2007 and that "you must have a reservation" thing almost made me No attend the festival. I got there and realize you spend 10 minutes for the most past and they'll let you in. Normal stuff like trying to get into your favorite night club on a saturday night. When the tents are closed the guards only let there friends and family in.. its funny how they would refuse certain people entry but pick on one particular person on the crowd and let them ahead of you. But everynone eventually gets in unless you're the Italian guy who got up on the table wearing only his birthday suit. Oktoberfest is a wonderful experience go and enjoy.

The last 5 out 8 years I have just gone the first few weekdays of the 2nd week to avoid the mayhem. I will have a Frühschoppen in a couple of tents, lunch a bit later and when I get too drunk I walk around the grounds for awhile. Then come back later around 8ish and finish off in the HB standing room.

How about the Last Night?

Do many people have history / comment on the likelyhood of getting a seat in one of the large tents on the last night (Sun) if you are a group of say 4?

The last night of the Wies'n is usually a sombre affair, much lower key than the others but still worth a visit and getting in and seating are usually not a problem. Also usually lots of people disposing of beer & chicken vouchers so it can be a cheap night out.

a friend of mine went to a 'last night' last year and she absolutely loved it. might give it try this year.

Got to use a certified reservation company to be sure so Whitney Events should be perfect.Like she says she has agreements with certain tents.

The last night is generally easier to access than any other as the out-of-towners have finally left and the Wiesn belongs to the locals again. Either 5pm or after 9pm are your best times.

Welcome back sweetheart. x

whats the point in reserving a table? i mean apart from the obvious guarantee of a seat, the scruffy free for all bits in the middle are always more full of 'up for it' scandinavian sorts and more rowdy are they not? arent reserved areas a lot more tame?
ive been to 3 oktoberfests to-date and always got in somewhere and the randomness of it all adds to the experience for me!

Exactly. That's why this discussion is called "Visiting Oktoberfest tents without reservations" and has tips on how to do it. Although I do have reservations on some people visiting Oktoberfest tents in the evening, such as people with dogs, people with strollers, people with small children and people who become obnoxious.

Got chucked out early last year, since we didn't manage to find an unreserved table. So I need some help to do better this year

Where in the tents are the unreserved tables? In this map of the Hacker-festzelt, is it the benches around the musikpodium that is unreserved?



And what about the other telts - are the unreserved tables always in the middle of the tent?

Also, I seem to have read that all ordinary tables are unreserved during saturdays. Is that true? And what about the "Tag der Deutschen Einheit"??

Perhaps someone can chime in with specifics on the Hacker tent, but in general, look for the sign that says "Nicht reserviert Reihe" which means Non-Reserved Row.


This is from Whitney-Events earlier in this thread:

Rules are: Monday through Friday one third of the central tent areas must be open to the general public, Saturdays from 5pm on it's two thirds, Sundays and on the holiday (3 October) the whole central area is free from reservations.

So your reservation-free day is Sunday. (Of course this applies only to central tables and not boxes or galleries).

Kupe

I was waiting for someone more knowledgeable to answer the question about the Hacker tent. However, my assumption would be that the reserved tables are the ones with numbers on them in your diagram. That doesn't seem to leave much left over though.