10 Cheapest and Most Expensive Airport Transfers in Europe

Thanks to the low-cost airlines, it became possible to travel in Europe for pennies.

One of the reasons for such low prices are distant airports. Very often, getting to the nearest city from those airports can be even more expensive than the flight itself.

That is why; I have analyzed prices of transfers to 10 most visited European cities from the closest airports, and chose the cheapest and most expensive ones based on the price of shuttle busses.

Share this list of airport transfer prices in your social media to use before booking a new low-cost flight in Europe.

Also, learn 6 secrets of low cost airlines

Very often, there are different options for getting from the airport to the city of your visit. They can include public transportation, trains, taxis… Shuttle bus is often the most optimal and convenient option with a relatively low price.

So, here you will find the prices of shuttle bus transfers in the most popular European cities.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a very interesting city to visit for any tourist. Despite the common misconception, coffee shops and legalized weed are not the only reasons to visit the capital of the Netherlands. Beautiful architecture, canals, parks and famous museums are just some other reasons to visit Amsterdam.

According to the Huffington Post’s list of most visited cities in Europe, Amsterdam is number 10. According to some other sources, it is within top 5. The closest airports of low-cost airlines are located in Groningen and Eindhoven. If you only want to visit Amsterdam, you should better fly to the main (and the only one) airport of Amsterdam, Schiphol.

Below are the prices of the airport transfer from this airport to the center of Amster:

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS)

Amsterdam Airport Shuttle to your hotel:

• One-way: 17 EUR
• Roundtrip: 27 EUR

Train from Schiphol to Amsterdam:

• One-way: 9,5 EUR
• Roundtrip: 14,5 EUR

Athens

The next city is Athens. The capital of Greece also has just one main airport that is located not very far from the city. Here, you will also find different options to get to the city center or directly to your hotel.

Athens Airport (ATH)

Airport Shuttle Bus to your hotel:

• One-way: 16 EUR

Metro from Athens International Airport to the City Center (the Metro runs from 06:30­ — 23:35):

• One-way: 10 EUR
• Roundtrip: 16 EUR

Bus from AIA to the center of Athens:

• One-way: 6 EUR

Both bus and metro take about one hour to get to the city center.

Milano

Next city in my list is Milano. There are three popular airports near the city: Linate, Orio al Serio, and Malpensa airports.

Linate Airport (LIN)

Linate Airport is located inside Milano, so going to the city center doesn’t take much time. You can take a shuttle bus, or even a regular city bus. Below you can see the airport transfer prices:

Shuttle bus from Linate Airport to Milano Central Railway Station:

• One-way: 5 EUR
• Roundtrip: 9 EUR

City bus 73 from Linate Airport to Milano Central Railway station:

• Single ticket: 1,5 EUR

Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport (BGY)

Orio al Serio Airport is located in Bergamo, town close to Milano, which is also interesting to visit. Here are the prices of a shuttle bus to Milano Central Railway Station:

• One-way: Starting at 4 EUR

Malpensa Airport (MXP)

Malpensa Airport is located on about the same distance from Milano as Orio al Serio, but to the North-West from the city. Below you can see the shuttle bus prices to Milano Central Railway Station:

• One-way: 10 EUR
• Return ticket: 16 EUR

Comment: until the end of 2018, they have a discount and the one-way ticket costs just 8 Euros.

Frankfurt

Next city is a huge hub, where many forums and conferences take place; its main airport is a place where millions of passengers have a transfer. Frankfurt is located on the South-West of Germany. Its main Frankfurt am Main airport is one of the largest airports in the world. The secondary one, Frankfurt-Hahn is a big base of low-cost airlines.

Here are the airport transfer prices in Frankfurt:

Frankfurt am Main airport (FRA)

Train from Frankfurt airport (FRA) to the city center

• One-way (S-Bahn trains S8 and S9): 4,9 EUR (just 20 mins to the center).

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN)

Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) to the center of Frankfurt:

This airport is located far from Frankfurt, Luxembourg is even closer, but when you look for cheap flights to Frankfurt, you will see this one on the list, not the main airport of Frankfurt.

• One-way: 5-16 EUR online and 19 EUR if you pay in the bus, the ride takes about 2 hours.

Barcelona

The next city is Barcelona. Some low-cost companies use its popularity and put the name ‘Barcelona’ to the airport located near Girona, which is 100 km (62 miles) away from the famous city. What you need to know about it is that Girona is a small, but nice town, so if you have enough time, you can spend 1-2 days there and enjoy it.

Find out what is worth visiting in Girona

Also, if you came to Spain for the beaches, some of the popular resorts on Costa Brava are not far from Girona, about third way to Barca.

Discover beautiful and not touristy places in Barcelona in my guide to Gracia neighborhood.

So, here are the price you will pay for transfers from the closest international airports to Barcelona.

El Prat Barcelona main airport (BCN)

Shuttle bus (Aerobus) from BCN to city center:

• Single ticket: 5,90 EUR
• Return ticket: 10,20 EUR

Regular Bus (46) or night busses (N17/N18/N19) from BCN to city center:

• Single ticket: 2,2 EUR
• T10 (10 tickets to public transportation in Barcelona): 10,2 EUR

Girona Airport (GRO)

Shuttle bus from Girona Airport to Barcelona city center:

• One-way ticket: 16 EUR
• Return Ticket: 25 EUR

Madrid

Next Spanish city is number 5 among the most visited cities in Europe. This is Madrid, capital of Spain. There is only one airport near the city that is used for international flights.  There are no other airports that the low-cost airlines use, as the main airport of Madrid is also not expensive.  Here are the prices of the transfers from Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) to the center of Madrid. Check my Madrid Itinerary and things to do in Madrid.

Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD)

There are many buses that go from different airport terminals to the city center (101, 200, 203…), but the most convenient way to get there is by metro.

• Single ticket (bus or metro): 5 EUR

Dublin

The capital of Ireland is number 4 in this list. It also has just one airport. It is easy to get from it to the city center, as there are many companies operating on this route. Most of them have a similar pricing, so here are the most common prices for airport transfers.

Dublin Airport (DUB)

Dublin Airport (DUB) to Dublin city center:

• Single ticket: 6 EUR
• Return ticket: 10 EUR

Rome

The eternal city has two airports. There are many options to get to the city center from both. The most convenient one is by the shuttle bus. Similar to Dublin, many companies operate on the way from the airports to the city (Termini Station), and their prices are almost the same. Here they are:

Ciampino Airport (CIA) / Fiumicino Airport (FCO)

Shuttle bus from Rome Ciampino Airport/Rome Fiumicino Airport to the Center of Rome (Termini Station):

• Single ticket: 5-6 EUR
• Return ticket: 9 EUR

Read my 3-day guide to Rome to learn more about this beautiful city.

Paris

The capital of France is number 2 in this list. It has 3 popular international airports nearby. The largest one is Charles des Gaulle airport, second one is Orly, and the one that is located about 100 km away from Paris is called Beauvais-Tillé. This one is a base of low-cost companies, thanks to which you can visit Paris for pennies. If you found some cheap tickets, find out how to spend a day in Paris for 50 euro.

Charles des Gaulle Airport (CDG)

Train (RER B) from Charles des Gaulle Airport (CDG) to the center of Paris

• Single Ticket: 11,4 EUR

Orly Airport (ORY)

Train (RER B) from Orly Airport (ORY) to the center of Paris

• Single Ticket: 13,25 EUR

Orlybus from Orly Airport (ORY) to the center of Paris

• Single Ticket: 8,7 EUR

Beauvais Airport (BVA)

Getting from Beauvais Airport to Paris can be expensive. This is one of the airports, where the flights to other parts of Europe cost less than the bus to Paris. To save money, you can use Blablacar car sharing service that was actually invented in Paris. So, here are the airport transfer prices.

Shuttle Bus from Beauvais Airport (BVA) to Paris

• Single ticket: 16-17 EUR
• Return Ticket: 29-34 EUR

The cheaper price is in the case if you book online.

London

Number one in the list of the most visited cities in Europe according to Huffington Post is London. It also has the largest number of international airports from all cities in the list. Here are the airport transfer prices from the most popular ones.

London Heathrow Airport (LHR)

Heathrow Express Train from LHR to London Paddington Station:

• Single Ticket: 21,5-26,5 GBP (24-30 EUR)

Heathrow Connect services from LHR to London Paddington Station:

• Single Ticket: 10,1 GBP (11,4 EUR)

Tube (Piccadilly Line) from LHR to Central London:

• Single Ticket: 5,7 GBP (6,5 EUR)

Regular Bus from LHR to Central London

• Single Ticket: 1,5 GBP (1,7 EUR)

London Stansted Airport (STN)

National Express bus from STN to Central London:

• Single Ticket: 8 GBP (9 EUR)

Stansted Express from STN to Central London:

• Single Ticket: 16,6 GBP (18,8 EUR)

London Luton Airport (LTN)

Shuttle Bus from LTN to Central London:

• Single Ticket: 10 GBP (11,2 EUR)

Of course, there are many other ways, but I chose the optimal options with a relatively low price and relatively high level of comfort.

If some of the prices are wrong, please, comment below.

Cheapest and Most Expensive Airport Transfers in Europe

After analyzing the airport transfer prices in 10 most visited cities in Europe, we can say that the cheapest ones are:

1. Milan Linate airport, where you can use the city bus for 1,5 euro to get to the city center
2. London Heathrow airport with a city bus for 1,7 euro
3. Barcelona El Prat airport, where you get use the bus for just 2,2 euro.

The most expensive airports to catch a shuttle bus or have any other transfer are:

1. Airport Shuttle from Amsterdam Schiphol airport to your hotel costs 17 euro.
2. If you want to get from Frankfurt-Hahn airport to Frankfurt am Mein you may pay from 5 to 19 Euro (mostly 16 online and 19 offline) for your ride.
3. Same service as in Amsterdam costs 16 in Athens.
4. Bus from Girona airport to Barcelona also costs 16 euro.

Now you know, what the cheapest and most expensive airport transfers in Europe are. Take it into account, when planning your next trip. Check my post with 50 tips on how to travel the world cheap. Travel more!