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Just mention Bavaria and images of beer, Dirndl dresses and Lederhosen come to mind, yet the beer cultures of the north and south are unique in their own rights.  To fully appreciate, enjoy and know Bavaria, you have to experience both Munich and Bamberg.

Set in Munich, Oktoberfest, the undeniable crown jewel of southern Bavaria is to be experienced.  It’s larger-than-life, vibrant, intriguing, exciting, and dripping with earthly pleasures and history.  When you go there you immediately feel this is something larger and more deeply rooted in Bavarian culture than you could ever imagine or understand with only one visit, which is why we are there for four nights.  Oktoberfest is a folk festival with beer, not a beer festival with folks. The famous tents are not owned by breweries, even though their presence at each tent is often synonymous with the name of the tent.  There’s a lot to know about how to approach, navigate and enjoy Oktoberfest. To enter blindly can be a recipe for disaster, which is unfortunately, why some people have had suboptimal Oktoberfest experiences. Travel with us and let our knowledge, experience and connections allow you to easily enjoy the festival to its fullest. We'll also have a day trip to Kloster Weltenburg Monastery, Brewery Ayinger and Kloster Andechs Monastery. Andechs is one of the top-ten beer drinking destinations in the world and you'll see why.

But before we head to Munich, we’ll start this grand tour further north in one of the last bastions of Old World beer culture, Bamberg, home of the world-famous Rauchbier and more than 10 breweries. The epically scenic UNESCO heritage city of Bamberg is noted for its superb and unique Rauchbier, but the range of styles goes wide and far. There’s a style of beer here for everyone, guaranteed. You’ll spend three days exploring this enchanting historic medieval city, its famous taprooms and beer kellers.  As you sit beneath the gentle shade of ancient chestnut trees sipping a glass of fresh Kellerbier, you’ll ask yourself, “What took me so long to get here...and, when am I coming back?”

• Hotels

• Some ground transportation

• Brewery visits

• BMW Welt Museum visit (schedule permitting).

• River boat tour in Bamberg or Franconian Brewing Museum.

• All breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners.

• Deluxe BBM! luggage tags.

• Name badges

• Munich transit pass for Oktoberfest, train ticket to Andechs and professional guide services.

• Beer is included during group meals (aka company meals) and brewery tours, and on taproom visits included on the itinerary, but not informal pub crawls or café visits. In Munich at Oktoberfest, two one liter beers are included in our lunch or dinner tent reservation. Beer is also included on your visit to Weltenburg and Andechs Monesteries. The remainder of the Oktoberfest beers are on your own.

• The begins at our first hotel in Bamberg and concludes at our final hotel in Munich.

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• Airfare

• Airport transfers.

• Some meals and beer on your own. Free-time sightseeing.Our guides are available to provide suggestions.

• Fine Print: You are responsible for the costs of your free-time sightseeing. Be sure to read our Terms & Conditions Agreement for important details.

• Gratuities, at your discretion, for brewery tour guides and coach drivers.

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Deadline to sign up is one month prior to departure. 

2025 Price: $3445/per person + Air, $825 single supplement*
* Prices based on double room occupancy.  If you are a solo traveler and would like to have a private room all to yourself there is a single supplement fee of $825 in addition to the base price of $3445 per person. We can also work with you to pair you with other single travelers to avoid the single supplement. Better yet, recruit a friend to come, too! Unless, of course, like Rick Steves says, you prefer to “snore alone.”

We require a minimum number of guests for each tour to be guaranteed to go, so it’s important to sign up ASAP, as opposed to waiting until the deadline. Also, tours can fill rapidly and suddenly, so signing up early ensures that you will go and not be disappointed.

2026 Price: $3695/per person + Air, $825 single supplement*

Please share  BBM! tours with fellow Belgian beer enthusiasts, your friends in general, and encourage them to join the fun! 

An explanation is in order as to the pricing for this tour.

 By many people’s standards, Oktoberfest is expensive, compared to other beer tours.  No two ways about it. But, it is the price of admission, so to speak, to be able to properly experience the real deal. The cost of hotels in Munich during Oktoberfest dictate the base costs and are what make up the majority of the price. No one, including tour operators, gets special pricing.  Nice Oktoberfest hotels in good locations can often be more than three times as much as other times of year and other European cities. If you need more convincing, do some research and you’ll see the tour price seems reasonable, especially when you factor in the investment the organizers have made in learning how to make Oktoberfest accessible and enjoyable to beer travelers. I guarantee you will leave Bamberg and Oktoberfest feeling the cost was worth every penny!

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• Rauchbier and other styles

• 14 breweries in Bamberg

• Weyermann Malting

• Augustiner-Keller (famous beer garden)

• Oide Wiesn (Old Festival)

• Paulaner Seahaus

• BMW Welt Museum

• Olympia Park, home of the 1972 Summer Olympics.

• Andechs Monestery

• Braukraft Brewery

• Tölzer Mühlfeldbräu Brewery

• Lake Ammersee

• Wiesenzelt in the Löwenbräu Keller on Stiglmaierplatz.

OKTOBERFEST & BAMBERG: BEST OF BAVARIA

BEER TOUR ITINERARY

Sept. 19-26, 2025

Eight Days, Seven Nights

Fri., Sept. 19 • Bamberg: Welcome to the splendid Beer City of Bamberg! This grand tour begins this afternoon at 1 p.m., as we meet in the lobby of our centrally-located hotel and former brewery in the heart of the Altstadt (Old Town). You’ll get your name badges, have a short meet and greet, then we’ll head right out walking to a short walking tour of Bamberg and a welcome beer!

Afterward, we’ll have a tour at the famous Schlenkerla Brewery, aka, Heller-Bräu Trum Brewery. Schlenkerla Märzen is the benchmark for the Rauchbier style. You will find none finer or more authentic. This brewery tour is made possible because of my friendship with CEO and 6th-generation owner Matthias Trum. They don’t offer regular brewery tours to the general public. You get a tour of the brewery and the ancient rock cellars tunneled into solid sandstone below the surface of the Stephansberg. You’ll enjoy fresh Schlenkerla right from the fermentation tanks. Our host is Herr Martin Knab, the longtime brewmaster, now retired. You’ll love his passion for this famous Rauchbier brewery!

 After our tour, we’ll walk around the corner to the Spezial Keller for dinner on your own. This is the hilltop Bierkeller for the Spezial Brewery. Spezial is famous for their “kinder and gentler” Rauchbier. The view from this Bierkeller looking out over the Beer City is simply magnificent, especially as the sun sets and the shadows fall. Get your camera ready. If the weather is nice, we’ll dine outside. 

The rest of the evening is free to explore the taprooms of the 13 major breweries in the city: Schlenkerla, Spezial, Fässla, Keesemann Bräu, Klosterbräu, Mahrs Bräu, Greifenklau, Zum Sternla,  Ambräusianum, Ahörnla,  Kaiserdom, Kronprinz and Hopfengarten.  

 During our time in Bamberg, we’ll visit many rustic traditional taprooms and beer kellers of amazing breweries producing a myriad of distinctive, full-flavored beers such as: Rauchbier, Vollbier, Kellerbier, Märzen, Rotbier, Weizenbier, Festbier and Schwarzbier  You have not lived until you have these beers fresh from the source. The limited bottles of these beers you receive in America do not do these beers justice as they do not travel well and many of them simply are not available elsewhere.

Sat., Sept. 20 • Bamberg: Morning is free to explore, shop, sleep in, etc.  At 10 a.m., you’ll have the option to go Trachten shopping to buy your outfits for Oktoberfest, including Dirndl dresses and Lederhosen. Yes, women may wear Lederhosen, too. One look at you, and these pros at the shop will know what size you need and how to make you look great. I highly encourage you to buy Trachten as it will make your Oktoberfest experience more authentic and enjoyable.  It is SO worth it!  

Next, we’ll have a company lunch at my favorite Biergarten on the River Regnitz, which features the most excellent Weiherer beers. This is a mostly-locals-only place you would likely never find on your own. You won’t see any Viking Cruise passengers here. 

The rest of the afternoon is free to explore Bamberg, until our dinner at the Schlenkerla taproom, featuring the famous Bamberg Onion. Dinner will be held in the exclusive and private Altdeutsches Room. You’ll love this room. You will feel like royalty. Owner Matthias Trum , time permitting, will come by, meet the group and speak with us. It’s always fascinating to hear him speak. Be prepared to be delighted! (Breakfast, Lunch #1 & Dinner #1)

Sun., Sept. 21 • Bamberg:  Morning is free to explore on your own. At 11   a.m., we’ll meet in the lobby for a short walking tour to a part of town you may not have seen. You’ll see the Bamberger Dom and from a different viewpoint, “Little Venice,” the famous row of picturesque fishermen’s half-timbered houses built in the Middle Ages, which is the most-photographed scene in the city. 

The rest of the day is free. Consider a boat ride on the River Regnitz. Another consideration is the Franconian Brewery Museum. 

Lunch and dinner are on your own. The Bamberg Beer App is useful to explore Bamberg’s many drinking establishments. It has plenty of suggestions, addresses and opening times. (Breakfast)

Mon., Sept. 22 • Munich: This morning, we board our coach for Munich and Oktoberfest!  On our way, we’ll visit the brewery taproom at Kloster Weltenburg Abbey for lunch and their fine beers. To get there, we’ll ride a ferry boat from Kelheim up the Danube River, by the limestone cliffs of the river valley to reach the abbey, then return the same way. It’s a great way to get fresh air, enjoy the scenery and, of course, enjoy some beer along the way.

On arrival in Munich,  we’ll check into our modern hotel, freshen up, then head right to Oktoberfest.  We’ll learn the basics of Oktoberfest, and how to use the U-Bahn (Subway), which will allow us to freely and easily navigate the city. Then we’ll do a walking tour and get the lay of the land of the Theresienwiese (or Wiesn for short), which is the name of the giant park where Oktoberfest is located.  There’s a lot to know and learn about how to best experience the festival and it all starts today!  Dinner is on your own. While every night at Oktoberfest is busy, weekdays are less so, which is why we are here now, so we can more freely enjoy the different tents and beer gardens with increased odds of getting in. Most drinking venues at Oktoberfest shut down around 11 p.m. and stop serving beer long before then, which is surprising to first-time guests. Just as pacing yourself so you don’t overdo it while drinking is important, so is time management in getting there early enough to have time to enjoy it. (Breakfast)

Tues., Sept. 23 • Munich:  Sleep in this morning and take it easy.  You will need it after last night (trust me). Get your Trachten on and this morning at 10 a.m. we’ll head into the Altstadt (Old Town) of Munich for a short walking tour and some free time. We’ll see the Marienplatz, which is the main square of the Old Town. It has the famous Glockenspiel in the Rathaus (town hall). We’ll also see some famous beer halls, such as Hofbräuhaus and Schneider Bräuhaus, where we will have a company lunch. Schneider beer and food are delightful. Be prepared to be amazed.

Next, we’ll head over to the “Wiesn,” aka, Oktoberfest. This is the headliner of this tour. This is what you’ve all been waiting for. It is everything and more than you hoped it would be. It’s epic on every level. Hang on. It’s bigger than you think. 

We got really lucky on this tour and have secured a coveted evening group reservation at Festzelt Tradition Tent. Evening reservations are harder to get than afternoon ones. The Festzelt Tradition Tent seats inside around a whopping 5,000 happy guests. Outside in the Biergarten, another 3,000. 

This is a locals and celebrities venue, and you’ll see why right away. Another good reason to be wearing Trachten. You’re liable to see famous musicians, sports stars and maybe even Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Get down!”  It’s massive, colorful and so inviting. You’ll also have the freedom to depart on your own if you choose to leave early. Either way, a good time will be had by all! (Breakfast, Lunch #2 &  dinner #2) 

Wed., Sept. 24 • Munich: Sleep in again this morning and take it easy.  Get your full Trachten on and at  10 a.m. we meet in the lobby for an optional visit to the magnificent Brewery Ayinger, where we’ll have lunch in the Ayinger Bräustüberl Bavarian taproom and a tour of the brewery. The brewery is located in the picturesque village of Aying, about 25 km southeast of Munich. It was established in 1877 and is world famous for its beers, especially the Celebrator Doppebock. This brewery is very deserving to be included in this Best of Bavaria tour and you will soon see why!

Upon our return to Munich, the rest of the day is free. You may choose to have dinner nearby to the hotel and call it a day, or venture out for another crack at Oktoberfest.

This evening, I recommend the Löwenbrau Tent and the Schützen Tent because they have really good bands and run high-energy party music, which is a blast. 

You’ll be on your own this evening. By now, you’ll know how to navigate Oktoberfest.

You may also have this as a free day on your own to explore Munich or make another full day run at Oktoberfest. (Breakfast)

Thur., Sept. 25 • Munich: This morning we embark by train on a pilgrimage to the Kloster Andechs Monastery and brewery situated high on a mountain overlooking scenic Lake Ammersee and the majestic Alps. Here, the monks have successfully combined tradition with technology to produce a line of world-class beers. This afternoon, you’ll have lunch and enjoy their fine lineup of monastic brews. Upon our return you are on your own for dinner and to take another crack at Oktoberfest or perhaps visit Wiesenzelt in the Löwenbräu Keller on Stiglmaierplatz, which is a quick tram ride away.  The festivities, music, dancing, and of course beer, go on all night here! (Company beer at Andechs) (Breakfast & Beer at Andechs)

Fri., Sept. 26: Breakfast concludes our week this grand tour, which will leave you wanting more of Bamberg and Munich. Thank you for traveling with BBM!  Frequent trains are available to take you to the Munich Airport or to your next destination in Europe! (Breakfast)

* This itinerary is subject to change.

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