Get a free helicopter transfer when you book a British Airways short break in Monaco

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If you’re looking for something different for a weekend break this Spring, British Airways Holidays is offering free helicopter transfers if you book a break in Monaco.

If you’ve never been on a helicopter, it is a very cool thing to do.

I think I’ve only been in a helicopter three times, and one of those times was to transfer from Nice Airport to Monaco. (This was a corporate jolly, I wasn’t spending my own money.) It isn’t a long flight at just 7 minutes, but skimming along the sea with the French coast off to your side makes it a very impressive one.

British Airways has teamed up with the Monaco Government Tourist & Convention Authority to offer free return helicopter transfers with a ‘flight and hotel’ booking of just three nights.

This offer is, unsurprisingly, only valid during the low season. The smart thing may be to book as near to the end (or, in Autumn, the start) of the offer as possible to guarantee the best weather.

The dates are:

Now to 31st March

1st October to 31st December (exc Christmas Day)

You need to book seven days in advance. All bookings must be made by 31st January.

There is small print re the operating hours of the helicopter which you can easily miss as it is only available during the booking process:

“to qualify for the free helicopter transfer, flights must arrive into Nice between 08:00 and 16:45, and depart from Nice between 10:00 and 16:45, flights outside of these times will not receive the free helicopter transfer”

There is also a 23kg luggage limit per person.

You also receive “entrance to museums and attractions in the principality of Monaco”. Whilst it isn’t mentioned on the main page, you also get “shared shuttle bus transfer from/to the Heliport and your chosen hotel”.

This is a really good deal in March. I found three nights at Columbus Monte Carlo plus BA economy flights plus helicopter transfers for just £532 for two people (ie £266 each) for the last weekend in March.

Remember that the usual BA Holidays benefits apply. You earn 1 bonus Avios for every £1 you spend, and if you pay on a British Airways Premium Plus American Express card you will receive double Avios (3 per £1) from Amex. If your booking is large enough, you can just pay a deposit now with the balance due seven weeks before departure.

Your flights will earn Avios and tier points, but BA Holidays bookings do not qualify for On Business points in the BA small business scheme.

Full details can be found on ba.com here.

How to earn Avios points from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)

Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Cuchlainn says:

9 Jan9 January 21:19

Late December I booked for self and OH for this trip via BA Holidays, including Columbus Hotel but no heli transfer, for the Monte Carlo Masters tournament in mid-April.

What are the most suitable transfers for mere mortals from NCE to Monte Carlo ? TIA
- Rob says:
  
  9 Jan9 January 21:33
  
  Train? There is a station near the airport – walkable if you’re light on luggage – which saves you having to do into Central Nice, which is a horribly expensive taxi ride (or a painful bus ride).
  - Vitali says:
    
    9 Jan9 January 21:54
    
    Nah, don’t do the trains, it’s not your typical commute after all, it’s Monaco and should be done in style! Taxi ride is 100 EUR and helicopter transfer 140 EUR, you probably guess what carries more style :)) You are not walking across multiply roads, and across various barriers with NO visible navigation (it’s France!) with your suitcase wheels banging on those tram rails and annoying sidewalks!!!
    - Vitali says:
      
      9 Jan9 January 21:58
      
      pre-booked taxis are from 78 eur. why so much for 30 min ride you may ask, because every taxi driver is paying a 1000+ eur yearly license fee in order to be let in Monaco. and Uber is banned in Monaco, while perfectly fine in France.
  - Brighton Belle says:
    
    9 Jan9 January 23:19
    
    Tram now running from T1 & T2 into central Nice and over to the port in a new tunnel. €1.50
    Tram is free from airport to train at Nice St Augustin one stop west of Nice Ville.
DK says:

10 Jan10 January 11:05

Just booked 3 nights for £223. Thanks a lot for the heads up Rob
laineyling says:

10 Jan10 January 13:34

Thank you for the heads up on this. We were considering whether to take a helicopter tour in Dubai as my 2yr old finds them fascinating. Instead we will now get a holiday for not much more than the dubai 15min ride would have cost. Going that last weekend in March to hotel hermitage… Maybe see a few of hfp readers there?
Sue says:

10 Jan10 January 14:38

I have done this trip it is absolutely amazing my husband and I stayed in Monaco for Christmas one year fabulous the helicopter ride was the highlight we even had a chauffeur driven limo from the landing to the hotel we stayed at the port palace amazing
AppleW says:

10 Jan10 January 15:29

Just booked for 3 nights in the Columbus in October, which is running a ‘free night’ offer from 11 October. Paid a little extra to get an upgraded deluxe sea view room, but still great value !
Axel says:

26 Jan26 January 17:18

This appears to have expired early, sadly…
- Rob says:
  
  26 Jan26 January 17:22
  
  Thanks, agreed. I think HFP readers may have booked the full allocation!
eli says:

26 Jan26 January 21:29

which part of the offer has expired?
I booked this morning for December 2020 and it no longer showed in red “includes helicopter”… but since on the next page it still said eligible booking include helicopter… and my booking was eligible, I went ahead.
I got £412 for 3 nights at the Novotel flying out 7th December and back 10th December.

did I miss out on something?
- Rob says:
  
  27 Jan27 January 07:27
  
  Odd. Yesterday it wasn’t showing! I will have a look later.
  - eli says:
    
    27 Jan27 January 12:05
    
    as mentioned I booked yesterday early morning when it was no longer showing in red the helicopter transfer. I called BA holidays this morning and they said my booking is perfectly eligible. fingers crossed and i’ll get my helicopter transfer weather permitting in early December.
    
    (Also, after my trip to Monaco I will need to travel elsewhere. can I simply ditch the return flight back to the UK and just make my own way from Nice, would that breach my contract?)
    - AC says:
      
      28 Jan28 January 11:58
      
      Yeah well… I emailed them twice yesterday asking if it is still available… before booking it, no reply, then phoned and spoke to 3 people from BA in the afternoon, all assuring me after i specifically asked about this if it is still running and if I book now I will get it. So i booked… and this morning they just replied saying the offer expired in the morning. I mean. this is ridiculous. I specifically called them up to get confirmation it is there before booking, as otherwise I wouldnt have spent so much money on an expensive hotel in Monte Carlo, as the only reason was the offer made it worth it. Would have just booked for Nice, or another trip. This is very shitty customer service. Ive been using BA for years now and this never happened, or with other companies.
      You should be aware of your offers and when they expire, and if you aren’t then ask someone in the team who knows. But don’t just advise people to book things based on false information. I doubt they will give me my money back, even though I requested it and that should be the decent thing to do, or the voucher for the helicopter. Nice job, BA.
      - eli says:
        
        28 Jan28 January 15:15
        
        that is so frustrating!!!
        they should at least refund you based on misinformation.
        
        Having checked the website again they have now indeed removed all the Monte Carlo passport information and no mention of helicopter transfer.
      - AC says:
        
        28 Jan28 January 15:50
        
        yeah 🙁 i’ve been emailing with them all day. hoping they can do one or the other… the best bit about it all is that it’s my birthday that week and this is supposed to be my birthday trip :/ so yaaaay fun ! i’m waiting to see what they can resolve… i should have a final answer soon hopefully. Really hope they can do something about it :(….. yeah they also said it officially got removed yesterday morning…. even tho no one from their BA team seem to know that when i called them…