We're taking a Rhine River cruise from September 25 - October 2. The cruise departs from Basel and ends in Amsterdam.

I want to use the week or so before the cruise to revisit the area in southern Bavaria (30 miles south of Munich) where I lived in the 1960s. So I'm thinking of getting a round trip ticket to Amsterdam, spending a night there, and taking a cheap carrier to Munich and renting a car for a leisurely and roundabout drive to Basel. Of course, that's Oktoberfest Week 1. So I have a bunch of questions:

1. Will flights into Munich be more expensive / difficult to get at that time? We'd probably fly on a Monday.

2. Can we check our bags at the Munich airport and go into town for a quick Fest experience?

3. Would it make more sense to start out in Zurich or Basel rather than attempting to deal with Munich.

It's been 45 years since I last went to Oktoberfest and I'm pretty sure things have probably changed

Why do RT Amsterdam? Why not fly into Munich and out of Amsterdam - open jaw is no more than a regular RT flight and it will save the time hassle of connecting flights, hauling luggage around etc.

Definitely an option. Last time I checked (a week or so ago) the fare differential was a bit steeper than it is today.

Tickets in and out of Munich won't be hard to get and they'll be like the hotel availability: IF you make a decision and book it/them NOW.

I don't find it makes a terrible amount of difference. I've found reasonable flights into Munich for the past two Oktoberfests without much trouble or advance planning. It might be a bit steeper, but not terribly so. The bigger issue would be hotel availability in Munich.