Miles Meyers

So a couple buddies and I are headed to Munich this year for Oktoberfest. Two of us are stopping through as a part of a OneWorld RTW trip, but our third friend is a mile virgin and was just going to buy the ticket outright. Any recommendations for the cheapest way to get him to Munich (from San Francisco)? Is there a good/practical mileage redemption I can get him and he pays me back in cash? Or- its been a long time since I bought a ticket like this outright with cash- any suggestions for a good airline/booking agent or current specials for this route?

Prost!

tbaumann3

I'm also going for a couple of days as part of my honeymoon. I've already purchased airline tickets. Would be interested in advice on taking the train from Paris to Munich. Also which Biergardens are the best and how to make reservations.

clacko

what fares are you seeing for him using orbitz/other that shows all carriers?

what award do you see for the dates?

look on icelandic....it might be the low bidder....

a tic reply is that the cheapest way to get him there is to use the lowest fare!

eethan

clacko, you don't mention where you have miles in. Since SFO and MUC are both *A hubs, I imagine you'll be redeeming on UA or LH. Other airlines may require 1 or 2 more connections.

tbaumman, we never got reservations at oktoberfest, and just stood with most of the others in the big tents. The people sitting down (~10 - 20% of total) may have gotten reservations.

You should book hotels ASAP.

tbaumann3

Thanks for the advice. I made reservations at the Four Points in January using starpoints. I selected this hotel because it is very close to the tents. Per the SPG website, it is currently sold out for the dates of my reservation.

garkman

Good call booking in Jan - otherwise you'd be either paying $300/night or staying an hour away from the action. To get him there I'd consider flying into somewhere else - perhaps Prague. I'm fairly certain award availability for flights into MUC is going to be non-existant for that timeframe. If you want to make it a fun beer trip though, meet him in Prague, then take the train into MUC. Loved Oktoberfest, but really enjoyed spending 1/20th the amount for awesome beer, tasty food, and phenomenal inexpensive lodging in Prague.

bqkali

Keep an eye on cash prices for coach tickets. Last year, prices were reasonable even up to 6 weeks before Oktoberfest and that was directly into Munich (east coast departures, though, so not exactly a perfect comparison).

No reservations needed in the tents, especially on weekdays, and weekends you'll be okay if you head there before 11:30am-12noon. If you want to be there on a Friday/Saturday night, you'll likely need a reserved seat ahead of time...

JPG3392

There won't be any problem taking the train from Paris to Munich. You can check schedules at www.db.de. For a long trip like that I'd advise reserving seats a couple of days in advance, even if seat reservation is not required.

You shoudn't need reservations at the Oktoberfest, unless you go at a particularly busy time. It's not a Biergarden. It's located in what amounts to a large field (Theriesienwiese) where the various Munich breweries set up large tents for the duration of the Fest; food (chicken; pretzels) is also available.

If you wish to visit a Biergarden (which I'd recoimmend), I'd suggest a side trip to the town of Andechs, south of Munich but within the Munich Metro system. Andechs has a pilgrimage church and a brewery which is considered one of the best in Bavaria. There is an outdoor beer garden (with views of the Alps off to the South) and an indoor hall in case the weather is poor. Everything is self-service. If you are interested in this side trip, let me know and I'll send specific directions on how to get there using public transportation.

JPG3392

I have a saver award ticket which includes a flight from MUC to IAD during the Oktober (LH), but these arrangements were made last spring. Choosing dates arbitrarily, I found that UA has saver award flights SFO-MUC on Sept. 17 (via LHR, FRA, or Toronto) and MUC-SFO Sept. 22 (via LHR).

toomanybooks

Fly through AMS in late September and you can also attend the De Molen Festival.

http://www.brouwerijdemolen.nl/index...rfestival.html

One of the very best breweries in the world. Much MUCH MUCH better beer than you will get at O'Fest.

ellylex

I am currently holding reservation for Le Meridien from Sep 23 for 4 nights using spg points. I am going to cancel it. If someone wants those dates and if there is a way to transfer reservation - let me know.

Lomic

As others have said, you don't need a reservation for the tents, and you actually can't get one unless you are reserving a whole table for 10 people, and made the reservation probably about 10 months ago.

On weekdays, you'll eventually find a place to sit if you check out a few tents and ask people if you can join them at their (unreserved) table. Usually all the tables around the stage are unreserved; it should be pretty obvious when you see the layout.

On the weekends, however, you'll need to park yourself in front of a tent by 7-8am to have any chance of getting in for the morning session. Most, if not all, the tents are cleared out and cleaned between the morning and evening sessions. For the evening, you'll similarly want to show up a couple hours ahead of time for a good chance at a seat. It is possible to get a seat later in the evening, but it's a lot more work, and unlikely if you have more than 2 people.

I'll be there the opening weekend this year Prost!

cesco.g

Assuming this are OW miles, best option is going via OW gateway such as LHR then onto MUC.
If direct MUC flights are sold out, try FRA/STR/DUS, also ZRH is only about 4 hours by train to MUC, maybe even BSL. Good luck!

tbaumann3

Thanks for the info. I just sent you a PM

shorthauldad

If you want a seat reservation on a long distance train in or out of Munich during Oktoberfest, I'd reserve it now (!), not wait until a couple of days in advance ... it gets kinda busy! In fact, 'mayhem' might be a better word. It's Germany, though, so it's polite, well-organised mayhem

SNCF now run a direct TGV service from Paris Est to Munich, check out www.voyages-sncf.com (in French...), there's limited availability but you can still get e.g. on Sunday 23 September a single from Paris Est to Munich Hbf for €69 one-way in "1er classe" (i.e. First class) - this is AFAIK non-changeable/non-refundable.

For comparison a last minute one-way ticket for this journey is around €140 in standard/economy or €240 in First class.

Last time I travelled this route First class passengers received a free food and drink box (including wine!) which was a nice surprise.