Are Oktoberfest tent reservations necessary?

Ok - so its our first year in Munich and Oktoberfest is getting closer and I am asking the same questions that many people must have asked before me. (but i couldn't find the answers)

Looking at Going to Oktoberfest with a group of 4 - 6 ppl, probably in the first weekend. We are all a little over getting 'blind' and forgetting that we were even there so were thinking about a lunchtime start.

The main questions are (a) Can we 'just turn up on the day'? ( Do i need to book? if so how so?

Thanks all

to be sure to get a table it is better to book ahead, think we had to pay for 2 maß and half a chicken in advance per person for the reservations

thanks - is there a min number i have to make a booking for?

i don't think you'll get a booking at this late stage, will you?
aren't they all booked out?

You cant reserve anymore, reservations typically close a year beforehand.

Just make sure you are there before 11am and you will get a seat. During the week its a lot easier you can turn up any time during the day and get into most tents.

Be agressive though, people try and save seats just in case a hot chick comes along just after you, err, not saying you are not a hot chick just err. you know what I mean.

i cant believe you didnt find anything. this topic is a perennial here. ok you should book, but most tables are gone now so you'll only get returns. turn up at 12 with so many people on the first weekend and dont be suprised if you dont find any seats on the first pass. but be patient and maybe you'll find 2 seats and the table will eventualy free up. (note. holding your breath on this WILL result in asphixiation)

good lucky booking now
Probably no chance at all, maybe for the Oktoberfest next year

gids is right, actually
when i do a search on Oktoberfest i get 77 different results

Topsy

I was cringing as i put the post up because i knew the answers would have been here but when i searched i only got the first half of your list

oh well - you got your answer now, anyway
turn up early to avoid disappointment

Editor Bob usualy puts up a dedicated wies'n (nobody in munich calls it Oktoberfest btw) section around the time.

here is the link for the tents most have reservation numbers you will likely have to try a few to find one that isnt all booked up
http://www.oktoberfest.de/en/03/

The Wies'n section will be back at around the start of August (cos I asked Editor Bob last night about it).

it is also now compulsory to wear tracht.

hubba hubba
The second-hand tracht shop in the Sendlingerstr. reopened 2 weeks ago.
Didn't see any *porno drindls* though... *whistles*

Did you see the mannequin with a wig. Reminded me of that alias episode where Sydney was posing as a German waitress in a brauhaus. You could carry that off.

Something like this would be best!

Has the porno dirndl thread started early this year?
Allershausen, that Landhausmode wouldn't survive 10 minutes on the Wies'n.

Show up before 12? Joke. Show up before 11 on the weekends and it's extremely iffy. Get there by 10 am and you will probably be able to walk right in and maybe find a table for 6 people.

I went on the weekends last year(as well as during the week) and this is what I experienced.

I bow to your superior knowledge, I never wear them myself, well there was that one time...

@ Mr. & Mrs. C
You can pretty much forget being able to reserve a table the opening weekend or any weekend during the entire fest for that matter. However, If you don't mind going during the week, you might be able to find a table if you go in the afternoon just before people get off work. A couple of years ago, I organized a birthday party for a friend of mine at the Wies'n. I was fortunate in that 1) it was a monday night and 2) I faxed the reservation request on my company letterhead It was a reservation for 15 people. I had to pay in advance for 2 beers and a 1/2 hendl for each but I got the reservation. If you're hellbent on going on the weekend, get there before 11 am or forget it!

Please help as we have never been to the Oktoberfest.

Do you need to buy tickets to get into the tents or do you just pitch up and hope you get in?

[color=gray]Topics merged by admin

We are a group of 6 people from Bavaria and have the luck to get a beer tent table reservation on afternoon Saturday Oct. 3 2009 from noon to 5 p.m..

We like to travel all over the world and are very interested in other cultures and people. So we have the idea to make a multi cultural table at the Oktoberfest 2009

So if you want to join us and for more information please write us an e-mail: wiesn2009@gmx.de

(“Wiesn” means “Meadow” and is the Bavarian word for the Oktoberfest)

How many seats are available? If it's one table and there are 6 of you that means only 4 others can join ...

We have 3 tables, so enough space for 30 people.

And which tent?

Any major changes to this advice since 2005? Wies'n's got quieter over the years?! Any tents which are particularly good (or easier to get into)?

I've never been, myself, but an old friend is coming over the weekend (yes, I know, the weekend) of 25-27/09/09 with a group of [x], where [x] equals I don't know.

I'm guessing he's quasi-shafted, but tips from locals would be appreciated.

[sub]Hoping this isn't the dumbest question that I've asked on TT, but with a mere 700 posts, anything's possible! [/sub]

The first tip from locals is to search this site, it's all been written before Your question isn't dumb, just lazy...

Just to recap, as I'm bored: Getting into the Wiesn on any weekend is a nightmare and will require all your guile and cunning, as well as a lot of planning. If it's sunny at least the pressure is reduced a bit as the beergardens are open, but it's still very tough. The first weekend is the most difficult (damn near impossible for the popular tents unless you queue from 5am or go for a less popular tent), then the middle weekend, the Italian weekend, and finally the last weekend is always a bit sombre, if not completely sober.

FWIW our plan for the first Wiesn Saturday is with a group of about 8 we will arrive around 8am and go for a less popular tent (ie. one that the locals don't like and the tourists don't know because it isn't named after a brewery that exports) and we will wait in groups of two by different doors (this is because not all doors open at precisely the same moment). We will rush in, grab tables, then phone around each other to see who has the best one.

Failing that, going for breakfast on Sunday morning works well, or during the week for lunch.

Cheers, fella. We're stuck with Friday 25 - Saturday 26 - (probably not) Sunday 27 (as they're driving back Monday).

At risk of, ahem, "queering your pitch", which tents are shunned by the locals?

You can PM me if you like Hush-hush, and all that

Friday when? Up to app. 1pm you're in clover, just march into a tent and sit down at a non-reserved table. It does start filling up around 2 - 3pm. And remember, there are always the beergardens outside - less smoke, more Bavarian laid-backed-ness.

Good tip: I'll check. Hull -> Zeebrugge (I think) overnight, then they drive down on Friday morning. So I think 1pm might be optimistic (it's not the Gumball Rally).

Not sure I could hold a table free on my own (probably die of alcohol / chicken poisoning trying!)

Here's the list taken from www.oktoberfest.de, with my own comments about the tents. Others may view them differently

01 - Hippodrom - wahrlich "hip" - full of wankers, I just can't be arsed to go back.
02 - Armbrustschützen-Festhalle - Popular with locals, usually excellent atmosphere.
03 - Hofbräu-Festzelt - weltberühmt - stuffed with tourists, nothing to do with the traditional Wiesn at all.
04 - Hacker-Festzelt - der Himmel der Bayern - Probably the second best tent on the Wiesn, lots of locals, good atmosphere.
05 - Schottenhamel - Tradition pur - Probably the best tent on the Wiesn but too many (local) 16 year olds, excellent atmosphere, great beer. Good food.
06 - Winzerer Fähndl - Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit - Sometimes dull (by Wiesn standards) but easier to get in for it.
07 - Schützen-Festzelt - unter den Augen der Bavaria - Popular with locals, usually excellent atmosphere, shame about the Löwenbräu.
08 - Käfer's Wies'n-Schänke - Promitreff und Gourmet-Tempel - stuffed with tossers, again, but open an hour later.
09 - Weinzelt - Einen Wein in Ehren... WTF?
10 - Löwenbräu-Festhalle - Der Löwe weist den Weg - If you can stand the beer, and boredom, then it's OK I suppose. Have a laugh at the lion 'roaring' at the front.
11 - Bräurosl - echte Wiesntradition - Hosts Gay Sunday on the first weekend which is worth watching round the back of the tent later on, otherwise relatively easy to get in and good fun.
12 - Augustiner-Festhalle - familienfreundlich und gemütlich - Great if you're 90.
13 - Spatenbräu-Festhalle (Ochsenbraterei) - Ochsen aller Art - A good tent, easy(er) to get in. Good food.
14 - Fischer-Vroni - Wiesn für Fischliebhaber - Again, less popular with the herd, close to the U-bahn for staggering home.

I can't think of a better way to go...

Informative and piss-funny in equal measure! Cheers matey!

Ochsenbraterei is very easy to get into if you're a female in Tracht, even on the first Sat afternoon I've found.
For me, getting into a tent has always been harder than finding a spot inside, but I'm not dragging 8 people with me.

If you want a bit of atmosphere and can't get into a tent - Löwenbräukeller at Stiglmaierplatz will be doing their offshoot again this year.
What many don't know is that this location is also owned by the Schottenhammel family, so the Festbier and chickens are identical. The atmosphere might not but better than a bus shelter.
Plus you may hear of a way into the other Schottenhammel that way.

There can also be a difference between floor and balcony spots - Augustiner-Festhalle? Dull, but on the balcony? More than fine. Same with Hofbräu boxes.
Hippodrom tends to have a heavy Italian presence - it's one of the nearest to an entrance. Some like that, others wait until the Italians get drunk as hell early and take the table when they get chucked out (same method works for tables of teens)

Like anywhere, you can get a good or bad crowd, so make life easy for yourself: tip well, be friendly, manage your booze and if possible look the part.
Otherwise - get up early!

Seen on todays ANENDZEITZUNG 2009 not booked out and places available??? !!!

I bought that issue - it's all lunches and afternoons apart from Weinzelt which has spots for the last day incl. evening.

I could have told you that, no need to waste money on a tabloid