Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany — often imitated, never duplicated. We’ve been to the festival a few times before, but our most visit looked a little different. This time, we brought our 5-year-old kid along. If you’ve done some preliminary research, it won’t surprise you to know that this event is quite family and kid friendly. So let’s talk about it!
If you’ve ever wondered what Oktoberfest with kids is like, you’re in the right place. In this post, we’ll go over what a family trip looks like, our favorite tents, what to expect in terms of rides and wait times, and lots of tips like how early to get there and what to bring. So put on your lederhosen and let’s head to Munich for Oktoberfest.
Let’s Set The Stage
Oktoberfest has been held in Munich, Germany for almost 200 years. Every year, crowds gather in traditional Bavarian attire as they prost at shared tables, dine on sausage’s and oversized pretzels, and spend way too much money on carnival rides.
Oktoberfest takes place at Theresienwiese — a large festival ground just west of Munich’s Old Town — every year for a few weeks from mid-September to early-October. The festival features lively beer halls, set amongst a carnival backdrop.
The beer halls are what people picture most when they think of Oktoberfest, and there stereotypes are largely accurate. This is where you’ll find beers served exclusively in liter steins, traditional foods and snacks, live bands, and a festive (and oft rowdy) atmosphere. There are 14 large beer halls, which are all a little different but mostly similar, and many more smaller ones.
Outside of the beer halls, you’ll find a Bavarian-flavored-but-mostly-typical carnival. There’s a large ferris wheel, tons of rides and games, and of course a wide variety of food vendors serving up all the snacks and treats you could ever want.
Overall, it’s a fun and festive atmosphere that really has a place for everyone of any age. In these next sections, we’ll go into the details of the festival that most applies to families.
Oktoberfest Rules Parents Should Know
Let’s start with the essentials. Here are a few official rules to know about if you’re bringing kids to Oktoberfest.
- Children are allowed on the Oktoberfest grounds at anytime.
- Children of all ages are allowed in all of the beer tents until 8 PM.
- After 8 PM, children under 6 are not allowed in any of the beer tents.
- After 8 PM, all children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian (in the tents and on the grounds.)
We all know that bringing kids also means brining stuff. Here’s the stuff rules.
- Strollers are usually allowed on the grounds until 6 PM, Sunday through Friday.
- On evenings, Saturdays, public holidays or any other times deemed too crowded, strollers must be checked at the gates.
- All bags (including diaper bags) must be smaller than 8 in x 6 in x 4 in.
Family Days at Oktoberfest
Tuesdays at Oktoberfest are Family Days. Up until 7 PM on these days, several rides, games and food vendors offer discounted pricing for children. This doesn’t entirely change the vibe of the festival — beer tents will be beer tents — but it does lure more children to the grounds.
Not every tent and booth participates in family day, but the ones that do will display a sign with a special price or offering. For example, here were a few of the promotions offered in 2025.
- Children’s bratwurst meal available for €5 (originally €6.50)
- Balloon pop game offered 10 throws for €5 (originally €8)
- Ferris wheel tickets for €7 per adult, €3 per child (originally €10 and €4)
- Chocolate fruit skewers for €4 (originally €7)
Most of the discounts for family day are at the food and attraction vendors, however some beer tents offer Family Day specials, too. For example, Weinzelt, had a special children’s meal this year.
If you’re planning to do some rides and games, it’s worth coming on a Family Day. The discounts definitely add up.
Tip! You can get family deals every day of Oktoberfest at Familienplatzl. This family space is a bit hidden behind Schottenhamel, but it is an oasis for families. Here you’ll find children’s meals and attractions every day of the festival, plus other helpful amenities.
Oktoberfest Beer Tents with Kids
The beer tents can be a great time for kids and families … if you do it right. That usually means visiting during the right time, picking the right tent, and setting the right expectations. We’re going to cover all three of those things to maximize fun for all.
Beer Tent Basics
- Children are allowed until 8 PM. After that, no kids under 6.
- Beer is served from 10 AM (9 AM on weekends, 12 PM on opening day) until 10:30 PM. Each tent serves a different beer, and many even offer a non-alcoholic option.
- Non-alcoholic drinks are always available. Apfelschorle (apple juice & sparkling water) and Spezi (cola & orange soda) are fun local specialties.
- Food service typically begins around 11 or 12, depending on the tent. Some tents offer breakfast service. All tents have some sort of snacks available most anytime, like pretzels and pastries.
- Music schedules and styles vary by tent and day, but most will have music from the early afternoon on.
- Tables (in the non-reserved sections) are shared. Each table sits 8-10, so smaller groups will be joined by others.
- You must be seated to be served. (The only exception to this is the standing section at Hofbrau.)
- Pay for each order, with cash, when it arrives. There are no tabs or credit card readers at Oktoberfest beer tents. (For the most part. There are very limited exceptions.) Don’t forget to tip your server.
- You can stand and dance on the benches but not the tables. This goes for parents and kids.
When to Visit the Beer Tents With Kids
Visit the beer tents at the start of your day. Ideally, you want to visit the beer tents with kids when the crowds are low and the party is moderate. This makes things like finding a table, getting served, and getting to the bathroom much easier. (And if your parenting is anything like mine, it’s always great to have a fun thing as a reward for doing a good job at the slightly less fun thing.)
Saturdays are the busiest days, so try to avoid those. Weekdays are ideal, as weekday mornings always have the lowest crowds. Tuesday is Family Day, and that means extra deals and discounts for kids, which is always a good choice. If you can’t do a weekday though — because you know, school — Sundays are also great.
The lowest crowds are always going to be in the morning. Plan to arrive at the festival grounds at the scheduled opening time. That will always always be early enough to guarantee a table the the tent of your choosing. (Saturdays, especially opening day, may require an earlier arrival.)
Depending on the tent and the day, beer tents start to fill up around noon and get rowdy around 2-3 PM (earlier on weekends). This might be fun for some families, might not be for others, so take from that what you will.
Tip! Every tent has some open tables and some reserved tables. Pay attention to the signs in each section before sitting down. Most open sections will be near the middle, with reserved tables on the side. If you can’t immediately find a seat, ask a server. They may be able to help you squeeze in.
Best Beer Tents for Kids
From personal experience, both with and without kids, I’d say that Marstall Festzelt is overall the best beer tent at Oktoberfest for kids.
The interior is quite charming, and features a carousel horse theme. (The horses over the band even spin when they’re playing.) It’s fairly slow to get going, as it’s not known as a party tent, so you can often find a table well into the early afternoon. However, the band starts at 11, so you still get the full fun vibes even with the lower crowds. Plus, they have table cloths, which is really nice for table games.
Another great tent for families looking to be a bit closer to the action is Hacker Festzelt. This tent is much more popular than Marstall, and will fill up earlier. If you get there around open, or at least before noon (on weekdays), you’ll usually be able to secure a table pretty easily.
Hacker has a beautiful painted interior, depicting Munich scenes under a shimmering blue sky, which makes it standout as one of the most beautiful tents. The 21-piece band performs on a stage in the middle, which actually rotates while they play. Music here starts at noon.
And lastly, there’s Oide Wiesn — specifically Festzelt Tradition. Oide Wiesn is a separate, but adjacent, festival ground. This area was added for Oktoberfest’s 200th anniversary and showcases the traditional and historical aspects of Oktoberfest. There are three festival tents in this area, plus some rides and attractions.
Unlike the main festival grounds which are free to enter, Oide Wiesn charges a €4.00 entrance fee. However, the rides here are significantly cheaper (€1.50 for everything in Oide Wiesn versus €2 – 12 on the main grounds.)
Many families rave about Oide Wiesn for being more calm and kid friendly than the rest of the festival. I personally have not been, as I’ve found the main festival to be family friendly enough for my preferences.
Making the Beer Tents Fun
It’s not hard to get a child excited about the carnival side of Oktoberfest, but getting them amped to sit at a table with adults takes some finesse.
The tent itself offers enough to get by: special drinks, snacks, live music and dancing. Depending on your child’s age and temperament, that might be enough.
If not, we suggest brining some small non-messy activities and games. Puzzles, books, a drawing board (like this) and even small toys went a long way for us. It’s important to note that most tables don’t have table cloths, so the condensation from all the beers tends to make them pretty wet. So factor that into your activity selection.
If you have an older child (maybe 4+), it can be fun to bring some sort of game that everyone can play together. We brought 3 dice and played Bunco and had a blast! Card games or Uno would be a great option, too.
Rides & Attractions at Oktoberfest
A lively carnival awaits outside the beer tents. (Something you’ll definitely want to keep in mind when choosing how many beers to order.) Here are a few things to know about the carnival attractions, rides and games at Oktoberfest.
Rides & Games at Oktoberfest
The carnival attractions can primarily be grouped into three categories: rides, games, and fun houses.
The rides at Oktoberfest vary in intensity, from small children’s rides to full-scale roller coasters and thrill rides. You can view the full list of rides here.
As far as kids rides go, think aerial carousels, swings, small coasters, and rides that spin a variety of ways and speeds. There’s also a large ferris wheel, carousel, bumper cars, and a giant slide, just to name a few.
There are also some larger and more intense rides for bigger kids and adults. These things like full-size coasters, upside-down rides, and your classic fling-you-in-the-air carnival rides. Several of these attractions have a height requirements, up to 1.4 meters (or 5 feet.) In our experience, the enforcement of the height requirement was honor system. (The attendant simply asked if our child was tall enough.)
There’s also several different fun houses around the festival. These are walk-through attractions with things like spinning tunnels, wobbly stars, and other sensory tricking experiences. Each takes about 5 – 15 minutes.
Lastly, there’s the games. There were three main games that were great for kids around the festival: balloon darts, bb guns, and ball toss. In our experience, the attendants at the games were generally very welcoming to young children playing these games. They would usually invite them kneel up on the ledge, give them a stand for the bb game, or give them a few extra tosses.
These games are actually pretty great for kids, because they gave out prizes even for very low scores. We got a small prize at every game, which we didn’t expect. The prizes included small stuffies, plastic toys and figurines, paper planes, and even a kids bow and arrow set.
Ride & Game Prices at Oktoberfest
Each ride and game at Oktoberfest is individually operated, so you have to buy tickets at each individual attraction. There is no universal ticket or token package. (This is important to know so you don’t accidentally buy 50 tokens at the first attraction that are only good there.)
The pricing will be listed on the ticket booth, and varies by attraction. There’s often different prices for adults and children. The rides and attractions cost between €2 and €13 per person, and many have reduced prices for children. Most children’s rides were under €5, but some were higher.
Games were priced a little higher, typically €10 – €15 (which included a number of tries, like 14 darts, 12 balls, etc.)
If you plan on doing a lot of rides and games, visiting on a Family Day (Tuesdays) can pay off big time. Many ride and game vendors offer special pricing, which can make a day of activities much easier to stomach. We found the best value from Family Day on the games.
Tip! Most vendors only accept cash.
Eating at Oktoberfest with Kids
Feeding children is incredibly convenient at Oktoberfest, albeit a little pricy. Many beer tents offer children’s portions at reduced pricing, including Marstall and Hacker tents, which recommend in this post.
Tip! If you’ve got a Mac ‘n Cheese loving kid, be sure to have them try the spätzle!
If you prefer to dine outside of the beer tents, children’s portions are a little harder to find. That said, full-price at a food booth can often be cheaper than children’s prices inside the tent. This is another time when Family Day (Tuesdays) pays off, as many booths offer children’s portions and pricing.
The final and perhaps best tip for dining with children at Oktoberfest is Familienplatzl. This is such a hidden gem that I didn’t even know it existed until I started writing this post! Back here, hidden behind Schottenhamel, there are several kid-friendly options and reasonable prices. There are also picnic tables, where you can even bring and eat your own food. (They even have a microwave you can use.)
How to Dress for Oktoberfest
You don’t have to wear traditional attire for Oktoberfest — and not to peer pressure you — but most people do. Everyone in their lederhosen and dirndl really does set the tone for the festival, and it’s really fun to be a part of. (And that means you too, parents!)
The most important thing to know about dressing up for Oktoberfest is to avoid being too costume-y. Women should avoid the halloween style dirndls that are super short, but otherwise have the most flexibility and range in acceptable outfits. Men really need to have actual leather lederhosen, or no lederhosen at all. Children have the most leeway and can get away with more kitschy attire.
If you want an authentic outfit, wait until you arrive in Munich. There are shops all over town that sell traditional outfits, which vary in quality and price. One specific shop that had a nice selection of good quality adult and children’s attire and accessories was Breiter Hut & Mode, just off Marienplatz.
Authentic attire in Munich is fairly pricy. Leather lederhosen will cost about €65 for children and €100 – €250+ for adults. Dirndls you can find much more reasonably priced, starting around €50 and getting up to €200+ for the higher quality ones.
If you’re not willing to drop that kid of a cash, especially if you don’t plan on returning to Oktoberfest regularly, you can rent the outfits. Rentals cost about €30 – €50 per day, depending on how many days you get. Bavarian Outfitters was a popular recommendation for rentals. (We passed a few of their locations during our visit and there was always a line in the morning.)
Tip! Dressing is honestly hardest and most expensive for men. If you don’t want to deal with getting authentic lederhosen, skip them all together. Instead, opt for a gingham shirt and maybe buy yourself a hat while you’re there to jazz it up. This is better than buying something cheap on Amazon.
If you prefer to shop ahead, you can order lederhosen and dirndls online in advance. There are several quality retailers that ship abroad if you search online. The good ones are still quite expensive. One tip I would share is to check resellers like eBay and Poshmark. I purchased a used dirndl on eBay, which included the dress, shirt and apron for $30, and it was perfect.
Children can get away with a lot more when it comes to their outfits. We opted for an Amazon lederhosen for our 5-year-old (we skipped the hat) and it was fine. Some boys did have real leather lederhosen, but most had “lederhosen inspired” outfits. Lots of little girls were in dirndls, which again, are just much easier to find and more affordable.
A Perfect Day at Oktoberfest with Kids
Here’s a sample itinerary for a family visit to Oktoberfest. This schedule is based on a weekday visit — if fact, it was our exact weekday visit. If you’re visiting on a Sunday, push everything up 1 hour for a 9 AM start.
- 10 AM: Arrive when the festival grounds open.
- 10:30 AM – Noon: Get a table at Marstall. Order breakfast and one round of drinks, while enjoying the live music starting at 11.
- Noon – 1:30 PM: Head to Hacker for a second round of drinks. Bust out the table games, listen to the band, and watch the crowd come to life.
- 1:30 PM: Get lunch from one of the many food vendors on the main thoroughfare, hopefully catching a horse-drawn beer wagon or two along the way.
- 2 – 4 PM: Enjoy the carnival. Play games, ride rides, explore the fun houses.
- 4 – 5 PM: Return to your hotel to rest and refresh.
- 5 – 7 PM: Head to Marienplatz for dinner and dessert before bed.
Tips
- Choose the right bathrooms. Prioritize bathrooms inside the tents, versus the main bathrooms around the festival. (Some don’t have seat covers.) There are also children’s toilets at the Ferris wheel, at several children’s carousels, in the Marstall tent.
- Swing by Familienplatzl. It’s located behind Schottenhamel or you can find it in hot pink on the map here. This family area is open daily with children’s food options, picnic tables, place space for kids, changing table, and more family friendly services.
- Take advantage of Family Day. On Tuesdays before 7 PM, families can enjoy discounted prices on select rides and games, plus special kids portions and prices at many food booths.
- Bring plenty of cash. Nearly everything at Oktoberfest is cash only. In our experience, they are pretty good about breaking large bills.
- Wear a contact bracelet or Air Tag. We lost our child briefly in Venice and it was horrifying. We now always have our child where a bracelet with our contact information in crowded places. In some cases, we’ll put an AirTag on them too.
- Visit beer tents before the carnival. This works in two ways. First, you can prioritize getting to the tents early to get a table and beat too many crowds. Second, you can keep the carnival attractions as a reward for doing well at the tents.
- Bring a game. Playing Bunco together as a family was honestly more fun for our child than most of the rides and games. They only serve beer by the liter, so you’ll have some time to kill. It’s a great way to make it fun.
- Choose your day wisely. Everyone says to go to Oktoberfest with kids on Weekdays. That’s definitely the lowest crowds, but don’t rule out Sundays. The energy is higher and you can still beat the crowds if you get there at open. I would try to avoid Saturdays though, if possible.
- Get there at open. On every day except Sunday, getting there at the scheduled festival open time is early enough to get a table at a tent. Don’t stress if there’s a line when you arrive — it’s a big festival. Getting the much earlier is typically not necessary.
- Don’t eat the gingerbread hearts. I love wearing them, but they are not made for eating. My child’s got destroyed this year, so decided to give it a taste … no good!
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