Oktoberfest 2019

Overview

FINAL CHANCE
We are not going again in 2020 due to the low number of people that signed up for this trip. 
If you still want to join, you can register as long as there are spots available.
For more information call 0495-345144.

The Oktoberfest should be on everyone’s bucket list. Even if you do not drink beer, like German food, nor listen to the typical Hoompah music with pleasure, you must visit this amazing celebration in Bavaria’s capital at least once in your life. With our group of friendly international people, this trip is guaranteed going to be fan-tas-tic and memorable! Expat Club secured highly coveted seats (scarcely available) on Saturday afternoon 28 September 2019 in one of the best beer tents. All spots for all 12 tents during all the three Oktoberfest weekends are FULLY BOOKED, so we are thrilled that we got 40 spots in the amazing Armbrustschützenzelt. This is a trip you will never forget! We depart on Friday late afternoon only, so you won’t even have to take a day off from work!

GET €35 OFF WITH THE SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODE 

EINPROSIT35

Just apply the code on the cart page and it will be immediately discounted.

Program

We leave on Friday afternoon at 17h00 from Place Schuman with a comfortable 4* luxury coach with air-conditioning, reclining comfort seats with foot rests and extra leg space, an onboard toilet, and a DVD system with several flat screens. Along the way, we serve you with some drinks & snacks, while we also make a few stops to stretch our legs and get something to eat and drink. Our convenient after work departure means you can go to work with a small suitcase and join us straight from the office into the bus, so you can relax and look forward to what is coming. You can also board the bus in Luxembourg City. The estimated arrival time is 20h15, somewhere on the west side of the city center (normally P+R Bouillon).

Our first stop for the night will be close to the highway near Karlsruhe, from where we continue our journey to the Bavarian capital on Saturday morning. This way we lose little time and arrive in Munich around noon. If you want you can first explore the city centre a little before going to the festival terrain.

In the mid-afternoon, we head on to the Theresienwiesn square where the Oktoberfest is taking place. This event is considered “the world’s largest Volksfest” (beer festival and funfair). Held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, it is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid or late September to the first weekend in October. More than 6 million people from around the world attend the event every year. Locally, it is often called the Wiesn, after the colloquial name for the fairgrounds, Theresa’s Fields (Theresienwiese). The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, since the Middle Ages. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations modelled after the original Munich event.” (source: Wikipedia)

At 15h00, we enter as a group into the famous Armbrustschützenzelt. With a seating capacity of a whopping 5830 people, this is probably the largest tent you will ever enter. We pre-arranged several large tables for Expat Club. The entire Oktoberfest is virtually sold out for all weekend days, so it is great that we got these amazing seats. The atmosphere in this tent is phenomenal. Young or old, German or foreigner, beer drinker or not, it’s all about celebrating life, friendship and good food and drinks.

During our stay in the tent, you’ll be served a typical German meal with dessert (all included!). There are plenty of choices, including vegetarian ones. Of course, you’ll also receive a full liter of delicious Beer or another drink of your choice (also included).

At the start of the evening, we leave the tent to make way for new people, but the fun does not stop here! You can try to get a spot in another tent (although if available, the queues times are enormous!) or explore the rest of the festival terrain with its many fun rides and food stands.

Heidelberg

On Sunday afternoon we make a stop in the beautiful city of Heidelberg, one of Germany’s most beautiful smaller cities. It’s a student town, but also known for its castle that looks over the river valley. You will have time to have a nice lunch here, and look around. Since we have less to drive on Sunday due to our stay near Augsburg instead of Munich Airport (like last years), we can spend a little bit more time here.

Transportation

We travel with a comfortable 4* luxury coach with extra leg space. The bus has air conditioning, reclining comfort seats and an on-board toilet. There is also a DVD system on board with several flat screens. Since it is a long drive to Munich, we plan to stop on our way back to Brussels in a nice place. Just to get a bit of extra holiday feeling. In case our group goes beyond 50 persons we put a Royal Class bus into service, which has even more leg space.

Accommodation

For this trip, we stay one night in a 3* hotel near Pforzheim (a small city East of Karlsruhe, on the way to Munich) and one night in a 3* hotel close to Augsburg on the second night (about 45 minutes driving from the Theresienwiese). Hotels in Munich are unaffordable and impossible to get for groups and for less than 2 nights. Last year we stayed near Munich Airport, which was also 45 minutes driving, so at least our second hotel shortens our trip back to Brussels on Sunday and gives us more time in Heidelberg.

Hotel Residenz Pforzheim***
This hotel is conveniently located close to the highway Karlsruhe – Stuttgart, so we don’t lose a lot of time. The rooms are spacious, clean, and you can choose between a single room, double room or twin room (with two single beds).

Best Western Hotel Ausburg-Dasing***
This hotel in Augsburg-Dasing is located directly on the A8 motorway, so again we won’t lose time driving in the wrong direction. This hotel offers soundproofed rooms. It has a free spa area complete with sauna and steam room. You can choose between a single, double, twin and even multiple beds rooms.

Hotel room sharing
During this trip, we will again offer the room-sharing possibility in twin rooms. These are rooms with two separate single beds. If you are travelling with another friend, you can use these rooms. And if you are travelling alone, Expat Club will introduce you to another lady or gentleman with who you can share the room to avoid the single room surcharge. This is a perfect and highly appreciated service that we offer (based on feedback from previous trips). Expat Club members are all adults (mostly aged 30 – 60 years). We will not assign a room partner, but simply connect the group of people who are in the same situation so you can decide for yourself on your choice of room sharing. You will NOT have to worry about finding a room partner yourself 🙂

NOTE: male travellers will only be guaranteed a sharing room if they book before 1 August. After that date it’s upon request.

Comments & special terms

• The bus trip will be carried out by Lauwers Reizen from Boechout, one of our trusted coach partners.
• This trip is carefully planned. Still, all timings are indicative and may change if required by circumstances.
• The trip is sold as a package. You cannot go with your own transportation and/or arrange your own accommodation. If there are specific things that you do not want in the package, please let us know, and we may consider a small discount on a case by case basis.
• You are personally responsible for getting a good travel insurance that covers you for any unforeseen emergencies and medical expenses during the trip. We also advise you to obtain cancellation insurance in case you cannot join anymore (e.g., due to illness or a family emergency).
• You are personally responsible for appropriately using the hotel room. Any missing or broken items will be billed after the trip. If you share the room with someone else, you are equally responsible for leaving it the way you found it.
• Expat Club cannot be held liable for long delays that influence the program (e.g. missing the guided tour or missing our entry into the tent). Expat Club cannot be held liable either for weather-related cancellations or any other unforeseen events that influence the course of the trip, including, but not limited to technical problems with the coach, strikes, traffic, weather etc.
• Expat Club cannot be held liable for personal injuries during the trip, such as, but not limited to, things that happen during the visit to the festival terrain and the Armbrustschützenzelt. Joining this trip is at your own risk.
• If you do not find a room partner on your own, we will find one for you (male/male, female/female). We organise at least one get-together before the trip so you can meet the other travellers. Also, during the outbound trip, we will connect you with others in the same position. If you opt for the room-sharing, you will not have to pay the single fee if there is no one else to share the room with, unless you decide to take a single room during the trip. In that case, you will have to pay for it yourself fully.
• If you book a double / twin room and your travel partner cancels, either from the same order or from a separate one once you indicated you want to share the room with him or her, you will have to pay the single room supplement.
• Expat Club may “upgrade” or “downgrade” you to another hotel. In the case of a downgrade, you will receive reasonable compensation.