Oktoberfest Tents Questions?

Hey folks, I have had a look through old threads but couldnt find the info I was after.

I am attending this years oktoberfest with 2 friends. We have been looking at reserving seats in tents but it seems to be for minimum of 8 people? Is this always the case? If so would we get a seat if we just turned up to a tent in the afternoon and evening? Do you need a seat to get served drink/food?

Also what is the best tents to go into? There are so many....

Thanks

P

Check out Oktoberfest and read the FAQs.

Thanks, I have gave this a read but was wanting some first hand experience comments also....if anyone has any?

Yes, in the large 'tents' you would need to book - generally a table that seats 8 or 10 people - however you need to book early in year/previous year as they get booked out early.

You also have the option of not booking and just walking into the tent. Your best bet for this is during the day - early hours better and you may get a place to sit. Towards nighttime it is standing room only - and you must stand at a table to order drinks (no table no drinks) - expect to get messy and queue for a toilet break.

There are also a number of smaller (think around 200-300 people) tents which are a lot more cosy and you may have more luck getting a seat at night time.

Given all the hassles and what not, you MUST GO, at least once in your life to experience this. 'Absolute Madness' would be an understatement

(this is from my experience in 1999)

hey thanks manga0 for your reply.

there are only 3 of us coming so we wont be able to book a table that seats 8 to 10. what happens there?

Hi there,

We have been twice - once as a group of 2 and once as a group of 4, and have NEVER booked. There are a few tricks though (well, my personal opinion anyway)

Get there early - and I mean early, there are a few non reserved seats. You can then move between the tents to see which are good. You want to be firmly perched somewhere by lunchtime though!! Some tables are only reserved from about 230 or even 6 so you can look at sitting at those until the groups come along. We found both times by the 2nd day, we wanted to leave by mid afternoon for a bit of a "breather", and to check out the actual beer houses in the cities anyway.

Yes you do need to be seated to get served. There are people that go around with trays filled with pickles, sausages, and booths inside the tents that sell pretzels etc - so you wont starve!

Tip the waitresses if you want them to come back to your table - they are run off their feet!

Be friendly! A small group like yours can be accommodated on a table and if you ask nicely, most people will allow you to sit there - especially as group sizes fluctuate throughout the evening. And even if you cant get on a seat, am sure they will let at least one of you sit down to get served drinks!

Be prepared to line up if you go in the evenings, especially weekends.

If you really want to reserve a table, go on a website like gumtree to see if you can get a group together.

Its messy, but its great fun! Hope you enjoy it!!

Most Zelten (large tents) require Ten persons and pre-paid for "tickets" (about 220 EUR) for food and two litres (Mas) of beer per person. However, the Hippodrom & Schottenhamel do have smaller (Gallery) tables for 6 or 8 persons. Go during the week, and get there before 1200 or 1300 hrs, you will find a place to hang your hat!