Not open jaw from Munich to Prague

If the train is unacceptable then the only alternative is to fly but Jan 1st is not the best day for that. And there is little to be gained from having two 3 hr train trips. Unless you are thinking about taking the train on Jan 1 to connect to a flight from Munich. That is not smart. You absolutely need to be in Munich on the 31st. At that time year, far too much risk.

Oh dear. So best to leave on the 31st from Prague?

I was checking flights out of Prague but that doesn't look good on the 1st.

Other option is to scrap Prague altogether.

I went back and reread some of your earlier questions and my responses. I thought you said earlier that you were book into Munich because it was cheaper than Prague. I pushed open jaw ideas. So --- I had no idea that the booking was not open jaw, --- this is not making a lot of sense. Are you booking this yourself or using a travel agent?

You absolutely need to be in Munich on the 1st. At that time year, far too much risk.

Very good advice from Frank. If you are flying out of Munich on the 2nd, you need to spend the night of the 1st in Munich

Can you re-arrange the order so Nuremberg is the last stop before your return, so you have a shorter journey to Munich on the 1st?

EDITED dates, given additional clarification from OP of the departure date

Frank, I am with a group of family/friends and two of these members made the booking, but apparently didn't understand what open jaw meant. I had specified open jaw. We wanted to all sit in the same row so hence them getting together to make the flight arrangements. I am working on the accommodations.

I only found out yesterday that the ticket is to and from Munich.
Our accommodations in Vienna was cancelled by the owner saying that Booking com did not update the calendar. So right now I'm open to anywhere, as long as we are back in Munich the day before, at least. The flight is the 2nd.

I can't tell how much time you are spending in Europe. I would suggest doing Munich-Nuremberg-Prague-Brno-Vienna-Munich. There are many trains from Vienna to Munich that are only 4 hours.

Sorry, my head is all over the place since I found out it's not open jaw.

We will have 17 days on the ground.

I would recommend still recommend the route I wrote. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy your cities. Happy Travels.

What is 'open jaw'?

Larry, fly in one city and out of another.

The plan right now:

Munich - Nuremberg - Prague - Brno - Vienna - Munich.

Is it true that a Bayern ticket could take us straight to Prague, or is there a separate ticket from the Bayern one? I read that a day ticket for up to 5 people could be used all over Bayern, but I heard there was one that cost more, but takes you to Prague as well.

Larry, it is typically call multi-city. Open jaw is jargon othen used by travel agents. Fly into one city and come home from a different city. It is booked on one ticket and basically a round trip trip. But you can also make it multi legs. I have done as many as four. In other words, fly A-B, D-E, G-H and finally J-A. Basically a round trip ticket with a bunch of inbetween stops. When you roll them all together you can get some great rates. I almost always find that an open jaw ticket can be cheaper especially if you factor in the time and expense of getting back to your starting point. Nearly all of our trips are open jaw. Just back from Amsterdam to Budapest and home from Vienna.

Ginger: Definitely make sure you are in Munich on December 31st. I took a non-exhaustive look at several sites, it looks like trains can 4+ hours and several of the routings will put you on bus in addition to a train. Per Google flights there were 2 non-stops between Prague and Munich, the flight duration is about 30 mins @ $179 one way. One thing you might want to consider is to hire a driver and van. Cost to be determined on the number of people and the vehicle. One question, how many people are going on this trip?

Is it true that a Bayern ticket could take us straight to Prague, or
is there a separate ticket from the Bayern one?

The Bayern-Ticket is only valid in Bavaria (Bayern, in German), so a Bayern-Ticket is not valid all the way to Prague. There are trains that go between Munich and Prague, but the Bayern-Ticket is only valid for the part in Bavaria. You would need a Czech Rail ticket wetween Prague and the border (Furth im Wald).

There is also a ticket called the Bayern-Böhmen-Ticket that is valid between anywhere in Bavaria and lots of places in Czechia close to the border (Pilsan, but not Prague). If you take the ALEX train between Munich and Prague with a Bayern-Böhmen-Ticket, you will still need a Czech Rail ticket between Pilsen and Prague.

There is also a more expensive Bahn ticket called the Prague-Spezial (in German) ticket for Munich to Prague or vv.

And .... there is also a Bahn IC bus between Prague and Munich. It's a little faster (non-stop), but probably more expensive, and it is a "bus specific" ticket (valid for just the bus time and date specified on the ticket).

Ed, there are five of us.