I was there this year. I'm not sure what you're looking for in terms of places to stay, but we stayed at Wombats hostel, which we liked. It's definitely a party atmosphere with mostly american and ausies. It's one of the more expensive hostels though. We split the trip and stayed in the Meringer also. Much better priced, just as nice, and much closer to the main entrance, and right across the street from Augustiner (the best brewery in munich). They also offer an oktoberfest package that includes free bavarian breakfast for each night you stay (white sausages, pretzel and a weis beer). As far as things to do outside the festival, I highly recommend Mikes Bike Tours. There's a ton to do in Munich, which you'll learn. We did the bike tour our first day and were very glad we did. At the festival, I would avoid hofbrau, as it's all americans, which I can hang out with anytime I want here so why go to Germany to do it? Hippodrom(sp?) is where all the locals go, Augustiner is a great tent with mostly germans, Hacker is a great party tent. Other than that, the rest are all similar to each other.