Safety of attending Oktoberfest as a woman alone

Hi, I'll be in Munich on business for several weeks, and was planning to attend Oktoberfest on Sept.22.
After reading this forum, I'm a bit worried. Should I attend if I am alone? I don't plan on staying all day or drinking 12 litres of beer, but should I truly worry about being assaulted or groped or raped? I'm starting to think I might bypass the whole experience. Is it worth getting inside to one of the tents if I'm not with a group?
Any advice from experienced Festival goers is appreciated.

Thanks!

There is a website for a "safe Oktoberfest for women", with tips and especially detailing a security point where one can get assistance, police help, escorts, etc. In my opinion, the atmosphere gets especially rowdy after dark, so if you're worried, go during the day, the earlier the better. It's generally a breeze to make friends at any given table you want to sit at within a tent, as well.

I'd say there are two times. There's around 4pm when those that have been there since the start seem to reach their limits and then theres the end of the evening.

Avoid any table chocked full of Italians and perhaps look for a table with slighly older people. The further away from the band you are the quieter it tends to be.

In my , limited I'd admit, experience it's possible to have a nice time and stay safe but a single women needs to keep an eye out. Drink 8 mass, dance on the rowdiest table with the Italian lads who have been abusing the waitresses all evening and start flashing your tits then you know where it will end up.

You probably will get a couple of pinches on the ass from men so drunk they can't stand up without leaning against a wall anymore. You can't get upset about that (give them a dirty look or tell them to lay off, but don't slap them. Ignoring them is my policy). But you will be fine if you follow the advice above. Just be VERY aware of the strength of the beer. Make sure to eat a good solid meal before you go, and don't drink very fast. Sobriety is your best protection. My first Oktoberfest I had just arrived from Utah, and we went at 11 in the morning and by 2 p.m. I had had two Mass. A man picked me up and forcefully carried me out of the tent---it was the security guard kicking me out because 2 p.m. is just too early for dancing on the tables etc.

since you are in munich get hold of any good TTers and go thr.. dont go alone but that said the atmosphere is amazing .. if u really wanna go to oktoberfest alone, follow the advice given by Ruthie.

Ruthie gives good advice- stay very aware, and do not stay at the Wies'n until it closes- try to get out of there long before they stop serving beer. That will help you avoid the drunks all trying to make their way to the ubahn.

Depends. There are always number of sexual offences at the Octoberfest including a number of Rapes. The estimated number of unknown cases accepted among experts is 10 to 20 times higher.

If your going to get completely inebriated, then yes, there is a higher risk of getting into trouble.

I Recommend you :

a.) Choose you time carefully. eg, go during the daytime or early evening
b.) Choose your tent carefully. If your going to the Hofbrau Tent and end up in the middle, then it can be very unpleasant. Go to shottenhammel for example, and it will be completely different.
c.) If you can, try and get to know some people who are going down so that you can be part of a group. (Keep an eye on TT, there is often posts asking if anyone wants to join up and go to the fest)

Still, considering the numbers of visitors, the percentages are very very low. But i have to say, if my partner was to go down to the Fest on the evening of the Second Saturday by herself, would i be concerned for her Safety? Yes, extremely.

Anyway, check the link for some tips and good luck

the risk is only slightly higher in that case. (going on your own; losing your friends can happen VERY easily)

if i was going to the fest on my own, i would grab some dinner at one of the smaller Eating tents, have a beer there and then simply walk into some tents and hopefully get taking to some nice people, if not people watching can be fun. just make sure as others already posted not to leave it too late.

I wouldn't go alone to the Fest, how about hooking up with these guys, or else start a new thread looking for others to go along with?

Take advantage of this service this year, there are no funds for next year or any plans for re-installing it in the coming years.
Your best bet is to get in touch with TTers who are planning to be at the Wiesn on the opening Saturday and joining them. See First Saturday of the Oktoberfest. EDIT: What Moonboot said.
And if any guy pinches your ass, slaps your butt or grabs your arm, yell bloody murder and hope that security hears you. This is not anything that should be ignored, that tends to make the guys think that their behavior is acceptable.

To go on this day would require you to be there really early in the morning, before the doors open (like 8am) and then rush to get a table.. if you're on your own, you'd have to try to get a table, then let some respectable looking people sit with you.. I wouldn't say it's the best day for your first Oktoberfest experience, especially if you're on your own.

There are normally days when a lot of people from Toytown meet up.. that would be your best bet...

Well, I'm not a woman but been to the Wies'n as often as the next man and seen a few things... As said above: don't get hammered and keep your wits about you, don't get upset by minor transgressions from what's normally considered polite behaviour, especially on the middle weekend avoid the Italians but in general be wary of groups of male tourists (easily spotted usually...), choose your tent carefully - ie. go to Hofbrau if you want to get groped and lose your bra, react calmly to bum pinching but make it clear it's not welcome (remember for most offenders this really is just high spirits and not intended as any form of attack), stick to the brightly lit main paths and the fronts of the tents, and if it all goes wrong make a lot of noise as help, or at least other people, are never far away on the Wies'n.

Although the Wies'n police report documents the occaisional murder, a few rapes and several assaults each year remember this event is attended by 7,000,000 people so it's almost a city like London, but with a population that's generally drunk, so er, just like London. Bad things happen but statistically it's unlikely to happen to you so don't get too worried, go have fun.

Don't go if:

- you don't like drinking or can't stand being around drunk people.
- you aren't very comfortable at talking with strangers. This will actually be yelling with strangers more than talking; it gets loud.
- you are of a nervous disposition and don't think you could relax enough to enjoy yourself.

Do go to Oktoberfest if:

- you think you'll have a good time from all accounts of the the atmosphere.
- you know how much you can drink and can pace yourself accordingly.
- you feel confident walking about alone in other situations.
- you are happy to hang out with strangers for the day.

I personally think that Oktoberfest is best experienced with some friends, going by yourself wouldn't be my favourite way to enjoy it. However, as you are only a visitor and can't really bring all your friends from home along, I'd say go for it if you tick the Do boxes above. Otherwise, try asking some of the people you are working with about an opportunity to go with them.
As for safety, I think just be sensible (stick with the crowds when leaving, don't drink more than you are used to) and you'll be fine.

Well, I dunno, Potbelly. If you're going to get completely inebriated at O-fest all alone and you're a total minger, the risk of getting into trouble might in fact be lower.

Harsh... But fair point

REALLY ?

I bet if a few people wrote to some city councillors before the manifestos are written for the elections in March <cough> ie NOW
then funding might be forthcoming...

Leaving before the very end is a good idea anyway imvho as you can get off the site and onto a U-Bahn more easily.

Thanks everyone!! This certainly does help me in my decision. I think I'm going to still attend on that first Saturday; if I make it into a tent then fine, but if not I'm okay with that too.

Disgraceful. With the millions of euros pumped into the pockets of breweries you'd think that they would fund this service.

Geldmangel: Aktion Sicher Wiesn vor dem Aus
And if even the Merkur picks it up without totally slamming Ude et al. it really is a scandal.

@ pas

how it will end up, pas ???
i can admit (being half italian half british, but grown up in Italy) that italians can be loud, maybe annoying, for sure a lot of fun...
this doesn't imply that they will rape you ...
But I am sorry you are british so maybe you are used to what happens in your nice and very calm pubs on friday evening, right ??

That is just called ignorance ...

cheerio ..

ale

PS. that's the first time i write here but I really had enough of this story about italians ...

Last year when walking to Oktoberfest at 7.30am (first Sunday) I had some lovely Italians try to get me to come for breakfast with them near the Wiesn. However, I was in a hurry...

If you dare to do that, given the reputation that italians have here on TT,
I am going there for sure that day with a mixed group of mainly italians, germans, whatever
guys and girls .. so if this would let you feel more safe, feel free to join ...
we always had great time there. Anyway if you use even a small part part of your brain when you are there (even if wasted),
nothing will happen. I will suggest you anyway to go ther in agroup(even 2 or 3 people is enough) is much more fun ...

Saluti

alE

Italians are basically "obsessed" by women, but in general I would say that they are much more
harmless than many other ... Anyway I don't like generalization at all, people should think before write ...
I was stubbed in London for basically not reason, but i am not worring anyone about that .. shit happens anyway, either
you are in Munich, London, Rome or whatever ...

alE

@renia ...
what a pity you were in a hurry ...
you would have had for sure a lot of fun ... at least for the funny accent
(not that i am pretending to be better ...)

I actually disagree that Italians are the biggest danger (I am no apologist for Italians after their cheating and theatrics at the World Cup).

However, the fact is that while most of the Italians just stand around looking louche and sleazy, they don't actually create too many problems.

My theory is that this is because most of them have no grasp of foreign languages - the class of Italian that comes for the "Italian weekend" is struggling to speak a few words of English, much less German, which is why they hiss "belissima" at passing girls in the hope that they can pull with the "Südländer" thing.

However, I'm happy to say that they are pretty well emasculated by the language barrier, which renders them harmless. I heard something similar from a Ukrainian friend who came back from summer in Crimea - she said the place is now crawling with hopeful Italians, but they are all out of their depth and consequently shy because they can't speak the language. Too bad mama didn't encourage them to learn a second language back home.

I don't know why but at the end i found your post quite insulting again ...
I think i will drop it here ... better!!!

my plans have fallen thru for the opening day, so I would be willing to have a beer with you at the fest and show you around some on the 22nd.

Hi Everyone,
First, thanks to all of you who posted some advice about attending Oktoberfest for the first time. I've had numerous offers and although I would love to follow through with all of the offers, I'm going to go ahead and attend with my colleagues from my office here in Munich, whom I've met with this week, and who have offered to show me around during the first Oktoberfest week. Although I would like to go the first day, I think I might take a trip to Salzburg instead and then take in the festival later. I am convinced though that I WILL NOT MISS this event, regardless of how many drunk Italians there are wandering around Besides, I love Italians!

Thanks again everyone! I have been in Munich now for 4 days and I LOVE your city.

RockChalk!

Lets see if you still have that opinion after the Oktoberfest.