It's cheaper to fly out of some airports than it is to take the express train TO the airport

Last week, the internet's hero was a British travel blogger who discovered that it was cheaper to fly from Essex, England to Sheffield with a layover in Berlin than it was to take a train from Essex to Sheffield. When Jordon Cox learned that a single train ticket was £47 ($68), he somehow figured out that he could save £7.72 ($11.27) by taking two Ryanair flights and spending a couple of hours in the Germany capital (plus, he got to have currywurst in Berlin, which makes that extra 1,000 miles totally worth it). Cox told The Telegraph:

Cox might be on to something. According to Euronews, the average cost of just getting to and from some of Europe's major airports can be up to eight times more expensive per kilometer than the plane tickets themselves. The site uses the example of a flight from London Heathrow to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. A last-minute flight can start at €79 ($88), which doesn't sound terrible until considering that the Express trains to and from both airports will be an additional €46 ($51). The flight costs €0.22 per kilometer, while the Express to Heathrow and from Schiphol are a less cost-efficient €1.87 and €0.97 per kilometer, respectively.

Euronews suggests that travelers opt for public transportation, when and if available, instead of using the Express transportation options. Not only can public transport be cheaper, but in some cases — including in Amsterdam and Istanbul — it can also be faster. The news outlet says:

"We tend to think that the more expensive 'express or shuttle' services are worth it because of time saved; however that’s not the case for one of Europe’s busiest hubs. At Heathrow, you can save around 10 minutes by taking the express service rather than the London Underground which takes around 35 minutes. So, if time is money for you, know that the cost per minute/savings ratio [is] €2.40."

So it's up to you: you can get to the airport slightly faster or, like Jordan Cox, you could opt for the cheaper option and have money leftover for snacks.