Prague to Venice

Train journey is indeed quite long. The shortest time is almost 13 hours. Train leaves Prague at 5:15 am and arrives at Venice Santa Lucia at 18:10 (6:10 pm). One change in Munich.
There are many more connections with one to four changes. I would consider train leaving Prague 17:15 (5:15 pm) to Munich and from there night train arriving to Venice Santa Lucia at 8:24 am.
Another night train leaving Prague at 23:50 (11:50 pm) as a night train to Vienna Meidling and then change trains and arrive to Venice Santa Lucia at 14:00 (2 pm). If you can find direct plane from Prague to Venice flying seems to be better option.
The best to look for train schedules is to check Deutsche Bahn website.

A night train from either Vienna or Munich sounds like a pleasant way to get to Venice. Especially when you consider that the train station is right in the city. Waking up and hopping on a vaporetto sounds like a great adventure!

Thanks for your replies.

Do you know what the night train is like? Do they provide any drinks/food and what are the sleeping arrangements like?

Thanks

For me, the pleasures of a night train come from catering your own, lavish, in-room picnic dinner (with plenty of wine and spirits, of course).

A quick web-search for sleeping cars will let you see your options. We always go for a private car, as many couchette companions would likely not appreciate a liverwurst and whiskey pairing as much as I do.

A great source for train information is The Man In Seat 61. Here's his advice on getting from Prague to Venice (he recommends a day train from Prague to Vienna, then a night train from Vienna to Venice): http://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Prague.htm#Prague-Italy

Here's his page on the Vienna to Venice night train: www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Vienna.htm#Vienna-Italy. And here's his page on Munich to Venice trains (scroll down for option 2, the night train): http://www.seat61.com/international-trains/trains-from-Munich.htm#Munich-Italy

To find train schedules, use the Bahn website http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en, following Rick's tutorial: http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/online-schedules

The Bahn website will only show prices for trains that start or end in Germany. To find prices for other routes, you go to the website of the country where the train originates. More tips on where to buy train tickets at this Seat 61 link: http://tinyurl.com/bo8x6o6

Bringing your own liverwurst and whiskey is a good plan on the train (not on a plane). I tend to get at least a few hours of sleep on a night train, but it's more wiggly and noisy than most hotel rooms. See also some general tips at http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/night-trains. Flights also tend to require a connection; see www.skyscanner.com. Any chance that you have time to stop and visit Vienna?