Oktoberfest is a Munich thing and does not affect any other parts of the country beyond Munich and its surroundings. There is no need to change your dates, just plan your itinerary accordingly as you are already contemplating.

I have stayed at the Schlicker several times and would book it immediately. The location is my favorite - they have a back door practically at the Victualienmarkt. It is also very convenient to transportation and, as. Someone said, Marienplatz. Enjoy!

raz1024 asks, "Can anyone tell us if Oktoberfest will be affecting the entire country in addition to Munich, including increased prices for hotels and general business everywhere in the country?"

Oktoberfest is Munich. But there are certainly OTHER events that could impact prices and availability of rooms. In the Middle Rhine Valley there are wine festivals every weekend in September and hotels fill early in these small towns. The Canstatter Volksfest near Stuttgart is hugely popular and happens around the same dates as Oktoberfest. Trade fairs routinely impact major cities like Frankfurt. September is definitely a month you'd want to book ahead.

Hi Dianedancer,

We've flown into/out of Munich airport a total of 9 times and have spent 2 nights in Munich. That was enough for us, as we do not care for larger cities in general. We've also flown into/out of Zurich and never stayed in the city. We have flown into Munich during Octoberfest a couple of times, and never even knew it was going on, as we avoided Munich all together. The airport is a good distance from the city, like landing at JFK and going to Manhattan. Either skip the stay in Munich or if you want to get a car for other area's after your Munich stay, simply train to Garmisch and pick up a car there. You are then close to Innsbruck (1 hour) and close to Neuschwanstein/Fuessen (1 hour). Outside of the Munich area, you'll never even know Oktoberfest is going on.

Paul

I agree with the above re Munich. You can EASILY be in the city and not know that Oktoberfest is happening. When we first arrived years ago we actually had to ASK people where the Fest grounds were located and the Marienplatz wasn't any noisier than I have seen it on other occasions.

I would fly in, take the S-Bahn to the main rail station and take a train out and rent a car somewhere else and BTW do you really need a car?

Dukey and PJA1- We fly into Munich and will be staying there for 2-3 days. We do like big cities (we live in one). But we also like villages and mountains. it sounds like a good idea to take a train to Garmisch and get a car there. We fly out of Zurich so we figure we'll drive for 2-3 days to Berner Oberland and stay there for 3 days and then fly home. I'm sure we could take a train to BO but I think we'd like to be able to stop where we want along the way. It does mean, however, that we would be picking a car up in Germany and dropping it off in Switzerland - Interlaken to be exact.

CarolJean - We booked Schlicker. On their website there were no rooms available. But I emailed them and asked them to advise us if any open up. They emailed back right away to say that there <i>was</i> one available. Lesson learned to contact directly!