Is 1 Day At Oktoberfest Enough In 2024?

Unless you want to try every single rollercoaster available, one day at the Oktoberfest is absolutely enough to experience the Wiesn feeling, enjoy the local beer and try some typical food. Oktoberfest is all about celebrating beer and having fun on the attractions. You can spend any amount of time, from just a few hours to 3 days, depending on your preferences.

What is Oktoberfest?

The original Oktoberfest is a yearly festival in Munich. It has been held since 1810. It all started as the wedding of King Ludwig and Princess Therese on the same field, where Oktoberfest is celebrated nowadays – the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s meadow). In the first years, the event was mostly about horse races. Over the years it evolved to a commercial fair. Later booths selling Bratwurst and beer appeared, then musicians, dance floors and beer halls, turning it to what it is today. Nowadays, Munich’s Oktoberfest, affectionately called Die Wiesn (the meadow) by the locals, is the largest beer festival worldwide. There you will find many huge beer halls with live music, a lot of outdoor booths for food and beer and many rollercoasters. The festival lasts for 2 and a half weeks, from mid-September to the beginning of October.

Less than a day at Oktoberfest

You are on a very tight schedule in Munich, but you still want to have a glimpse at the largest beer festival in the world? I have good news for you – The Oktoberfest is open from 10a.m. till 11p.m. on weekdays and from 9a.m. till 12p.m. on weekends, and you can stop by any time it suits you. If you want to try some of the rollercoaster, it’s a good idea to start there, as you don’t want to go there after a few beers (it’s actually not allowed to ride the attractions drunk, if you can believe it). Provided you are a fan of speed and adrenaline, something you shouldn’t miss is the Olympia 5 Loops with its 100 km/h and 5,2 g-force. It is the largest transportable rollercoaster in the world. If you are faint-hearted, don’t worry, there are plenty of other attractions that you could try.

After you have satisfied your adventurous side, it’s time to try some typical dishes. On a tight schedule, I would recommend grabbing something at a food stall, where the food and beer are a bit cheaper, as well. There are plenty of them – offering mainly sausages, but also fish rolls, Bavarian meatloaf (Leberkas), Schnitzel rolls and pretzels, of course. It is allowed to take your food to a beer garden on the premises, where you can also order a beer and enjoy your time, but you can’t bring it into a tent.

After that, you can stroll around a bit more, maybe try your luck at a shooting range or grab some roasted almonds or the famous Lebkuchen gingerbread hearts.

1 day at Oktoberfest

If you want to spend a whole day at the Oktoberfest, I recommend getting in a Festzelt (festival tent) because you can eat, drink and dance for hours. There are many tents, but the atmosphere is always similar and they all have live music. The largest one has a capacity for up to 10 000 people. That being said, however, you should still try and book beforehand if possible, especially if you are a big group. Reservations are opened months ahead – look below for more info on how to book. There is a city ordinance, that prohibits reservations for special areas in every tent on weekends. So, with a bit of luck, it is possible to get in without a reservation on the weekend, but make sure you show up early in the morning, even before they open.

How to book a table at the Oktoberfest? – with direct booking links to the major tents

If you want to reserve a table in a Festzelt at Oktoberfest for a particular day, you have to book months in advance – one tent even opens their booking system in mid-March already. Of course, you can still find a slot if you book in the summer, but it might not be the exact date you wanted. Most of the providers offer online reservations, but only few of them are available in English. Here are some useful links for you, where you can book in English:

1. Hofbäu – you have to check periodically since they don’t release all slots at once
2. Pschorr Bräurosl – reservations are only possible for whole tables of 10 people, and it is bound by a minimum consumption cost of around 30 EUR p.p.
3. Paulaner – reservations are only possible for whole tables of 10 people, and it is bound by a minimum consumption cost of around 60 EUR p.p.

Here are some other beautiful tents, where reservations are only available in German, but you can use an online translator to make your booking, as it is pretty straightforward process:

1. Schützenzelt – tables of 8 or 10 people available, minimum consumption cost of around 30 EUR p.p.
2. Löwenbräu – Monday-Thursday reservations only, per email

The slots are generously planned with 3–4 hours. The live orchestras start playing at around 11a.m., mostly Bavarian hits, but later in the evening in some of the tents you can also enjoy pop and rock songs. With the live music and many litres of beer, the spirits are lifted, and many people will start dancing on the benches at some point. Personally, I recommend planning this experience in the late afternoon/ evening, rather than in the morning, if you want to see this. But if your schedule doesn’t allow it, having lunch in a tent is also not a bad option.

BEWARE: Most of the tents do not accept card payment with a foreign bank card, so make sure you have enough cash on yourself. There are ATMs available on the grounds of Oktoberfest, but the fees are higher than when withdrawing money at an ATM of a bank.

Short Guide to the Attractions at Oktoberfest

As mentioned above, it is better to plan your culinary experience in the afternoon, so that you can enjoy some rollercoaster rides before drinking litres of beer, for obvious reasons. Here are 5 of the most popular attractions:

1. Olympia looping (five loops) – this is a ride with five full inversions, where speeds of up to 100 km/h and forces up to 5.2 g’s are reached.
2. The wild mouse – not too extreme rollercoaster and suitable for everybody. There is a shock moment at every corner when the car seemingly threatens to shoot over the edge.
3. The chain carousel – it is 90 meters high and at the top it will spin you around with 65 km/h, offering you great view over the festival and the city.
4. Teufelsrad – children and adults ride on a large disc that spins ever faster. The one who stays down the longest, beating the centrifugal force, wins! It’s also hilarious to watch from the side.
5. Toboggan – you have to glide up on a fast moving conveyor belt. Although it sounds simple, it is often unwillingly funny – especially for the audience.

There are many more attractions available – some more child-friendly and some very scary ones. Here is a link where you can have a look at all of them.

2 Days at Oktoberfest

Some of you might want to visit the Oktoberfest more than once, maybe for a weekend or a few times during your stay in Munich. In that case, you can try to get in many different tents, in order to try different kinds of German beer. Otherwise, with more time on your hand, you could just stroll across the festival and see what you feel like doing – maybe test your strength at “Hau den Lukas” strongman game, get a photo from a photo booth or ride yet another rollercoaster. You can be more spontaneous and enjoy the beer festival as you like it.

There are also different kinds of events on weekends – from an open air concert to costume parade and firecracker shooting.

Bonus Tip for Oktoberfest

Make sure to download the official Oktoberfest App – Get it for iOS here and Android here. It is a game changer when you are a first time visitor, since the Wiesn ground is huge and getting around is difficult, especially when trying to meet up with someone. There is a location sharing option in the app for that exact purpose. You can also find news and events on it. You can also find information about every tent such as opening hours, photos, music style and visitors details.

Whatever time you spend at Oktoberfest, make the best out of it! That is what counts! Enjoy and stay safe!