Travellers flying into the UK face sky-high transport costs to get into the city that are the most expensive in Europe by a mile, a study reveals.

The highest fares are into London, although prices in other cities across the country are likely to shock incoming tourists and visitors, the figures from travel search engine Gopili found.

Journeys from Heathrow are the most expensive, with a train fare costing £21.50 to get into the city, which is between three and 14 times more expensive than other European cities.

By comparison, the train from Paris Charles de Gaulle to central Paris will set you back ten euros (£7.20) and the trip from Rome Leonardo da Vinci to Rome city centre costs nine euros (£6.40).

A rail expense: Getting into the city centre from the airport can cost anything up to £21.50

The cost of the train into London is such that some cut price flights come out cheaper than the transfer cost into the capital.

To save a bit of cash, taking the coach is often your best shot, the study found, with fares from £2 to £7 across the UK.

However depending on the route what you save in cash you may lose in convenience or time.

Coach fares from the airport are cheaper than train tickets at all airport cities except Birmingham and Glasgow, the study found.

The coach from Heathrow costs £6.60 in comparison to £21.50 for the train, while the coach from Gatwick is £5 versus £17.70 for the train.

The cheapest coach transfer is in Newcastle at £2.20 – but the train is not much more at £2.70.

In fact Newcastle city centre is one of the cheapest places in Europe to reach from the airport.

The only bus that is cheaper is that from Charles de Gaulle to Paris at two euros and only the trains to Barcelona and Madrid beat Newcastle's rail fare.

Taxis almost everywhere are the most expensive option.

A tourist who hopped in a cab to central London from Gatwick would land themselves an eye watering £90 fare on reaching their destination.

The cheapest taxi fare in Europe is 30 euros from Madrid airport to the centre of town.

Adds up: Heathrow Express provides a convenient service from the airport into the City, but will set you back £21.50

Even sharing a taxi with three other people would come out more expensive than taking the bus, except in Glasgow, Bristol or Edinburgh when a taxi ride would be cheaper than four coach tickets.

Travel from Heathrow into London is set to be transformed from 2017 when Crossrail opens.

Are you a bus man on holiday? Taking the bus instead of the train is cheaper in many UK destinations

Crossrail will run a fast train service four times an hour for the majority of the day, providing direct services from Heathrow through central London, the City and Canary Wharf and out to Shenfield and Abbey Wood.

New stations will be created at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and the Isle of Dogs at Canary Wharf.