Only for beer lovers – Get ready for Octoberfest!

Some days ago I attended the famous tourism travel fair ITB in Berlin. Being there reminded me how hard it is to be in Germany and not drink beer (Yes, I am part of that small group of people who actually does not like beer).

During one of the nights, I met with my friend and colleague Susanne, (from Munich and a truly Bavarian girl), and we ended up speaking about the Octoberfest. As per interest of my blog followers, I asked  her what tips she would recommend to organise a trip with the one and only purpose of attending Munich’s famous beer festival.

So listen up to her recommendations:

• Book your hotel and flights early to the beer festival ideally 6 months in advance – the longer you wait the more expensive it will get. It might seem way too soon to think about it but keep in mind that in order to get some table space in the best tent spots you need to book it one year in advance! Some recommended “really nice “hotels are: Sofitel Munich, and Westin Grand München; or some good quality/price hoyels such as the KriemHild Hotel.
• Get yourself a traditional outfit – lederhosen for the guys and dirndl for the girls – you will enjoy the outfit at the beer festival and can wear it to costume parties afterwards 🙂 Click here for some recommended places to rent them.
• At the beerfestival – if you want to go and be inside of the famous tents on the beerfestival, you need to arrive early because the tents only have a certain capacity so my recommendation is to be there before 10 am. They don’t offer tickets for the tents so that’s the only way in.
• Drink lots of water in between beer or order RADLER (half lemonade/ half beer), otherwise you will be sleeping  on the lawn…
• Most tents close at 10 pm so make sure you leave the tents a little earlier so you can get a cab or use the public transport (it gets very busy). You can also go to after Wiesn (oktoberfest) parties just ask the locals where they are.

Wrapping up, even if I do not understand:

“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” – Benjamin Fraklin -.

Have a great end of the weekend!

– Sara, The Accidental Tourist

p.s. I could not resist to show you how a dirndl looks like!