Originally Posted by
brooks_87
thanks. I knew that Oktoberfest drew ALOT of people, but it sounds like it wouldnt be too fun around there at the time. We'll start looking at other dates. Probably in the summer, tho its probably impossible to find a reasonable flight over there during then.
I think you can have a blast during Oktoberfest and still keep things reasonable money-wise.
I flew out there this year and had two hotels booked (one night each) before I went (I booked the rest day-of or day-before). I stayed for eight days and spent about $1700 for everything - airfare, hotels, food, souvenirs, travel (train and S-Bahn/U-Bahn).
One thing to consider is that, obviously, hotel availability in Munich is limited and they will be expensive. The cheapest hotel I stayed in in Munich was $115 USD per night (a 3-star that I wouldn't stay at again), and the nicest was a $300 USD per night 5-star (awesome, but expensive). The best deal was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen - a 5-star hotel for $88 USD per night. If you are somewhat flexible on travel, I would strongly encourage you to look at staying in a nearby city and taking the train in to Munich. You could save considerably on hotel rooms and would be able to explore another city in addition to Munich.
Munich is very cool - no matter when you visit, but Oktoberfest is an experience - I think an enjoyable and awesome one.
BTW, the train ride from Munich (Hauptbahnhof) to Garmisch is IIRC 90 minutes. The trains run almost every hour in either direction (I think there is a break from midnight until 5am). I paid ~$30 USD for an open ticket (hop on any train to/from).
Good luck and have a great time! Maybe I'll see you there (I'll be there Sept. 29 until Oct. 7)!
Sean