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

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UPDATE: this offer is now sold out.

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

If you’ve never been in a helicopter, it is a 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 seven 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 a free RETURN helicopter transfer with a ‘flight and hotel’ booking. The full details are here.

British Airways free Monaco helicopter transfer

This offer has run in the past, but has improved from the previous iteration in 2022 as you now get a return transfer, not a one-way.

Here is the small print:

  • you must be a UK passport holder and/or UK resident (the BA marketing website contradicts the official terms – the former says UK passport holder, the latter says UK resident)
  • you must book a flight + hotel package with selected partner hotels for at least four nights (September) or three nights (1st October – 18th December)
  • you must book for 2-8 passengers – not available for solo travellers
  • you must book by 17th December (which presumably means that the 18th December deadline to stay is a check-in and not check-out date)
  • you must book seven days before departure

Note that the helicopter transfer is only available between 08:00 and 16:30.

You also get a free shuttle bus transfer from the heliport to your hotel and vouchers for “entrance to museums and attractions in the principality of Monaco”. 

Because it’s a helicopter, you are restricted in the luggage you can bring. You are limited to one standard sized bag per adult (60cm x 45cm x 25cm) which may not exceed 21kg, as well as one small handbag or briefcase. 

Columbus hotel monaco

Partner hotels include:

  • Fairmont Monte-Carlo
  • Hotel Hermitage Monte-Carlo
  • Columbus Monte Carlo
  • Hotel De Paris Monte-Carlo
  • Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel
  • Le Meridien Beach Plaza
  • The Metropole
  • Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort
  • Hotel Port Palace
  • Novotel Monte-Carlo

This is a really good deal, at least off peak.  I found three nights at the four-star Columbus Monte Carlo – photo above – plus BA economy flights plus the helicopter transfer for just £574 for two people (ie £287 each) in late October / early November.

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 nearer departure.

Your flights will earn Avios and tier points. If your booking is for 5+ nights you will also qualify for the double tier points offer on top!

Full details can be found on ba.com here.

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British Airways and Avios

Comments (66)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Andrew says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:24

    If
    – “travel must be started and completed within the travel window” (which ends on 18 December) and
    – “Not valid for bookings made within 7 days of departure”,
    Then a the latest departure date for a 3-night stay is 08 December.

    How can the booking window go through to 17 December?

    • Rob says:
      11 Sep11 September 08:25

      I know, makes no sense!

    • Andrew. says:
      11 Sep11 September 08:32

      They post out your “passport” for his Majesty’s tourist sites, so it’s probably simply because they can’t turn it around any quicker.

  • Andrew. says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:30

    I did this pre-Covid and it’s a great experience.

    One small thing for our trip to the Novotel though. The windows in our room didn’t open, and the hotel doesn’t run aircon in the winter months. This meant that even though it was February we were absolutely sweltering in the room.

    • tony says:
      11 Sep11 September 09:21

      The Crowne Plaza at Nice Airport was the same. And I was there half way through April. Not pleasant at all…

  • Aliks says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:39

    You may even share the heli with a rich and famous inhabitant of Monaco.

    I only got the heli transfer once as part of a corporate bash, but Michaeli Alboreto, the racing driver, hopped on board.

  • yorkieflyer says:
    11 Sep11 September 08:53

    Mmmm Monaco nowt to see and transfer on a mode of transport which is not inherently safe

    • Rob says:
      11 Sep11 September 09:00

      Wherever you stay, it will be a shorter walk to the station to visit somewhere else than it would be in Nice or Cannes!

      I mean …. in early November it’s £570 all in for a couple – flights, heli x 2, three nights hotel. Can’t argue with that.

      And I reckon if you ditch in the sea your chances of survival are OK! Only about 10 seconds of the trip is over land.

    • Andrew. says:
      11 Sep11 September 09:07

      Loads to see, can easily spend 3 days there, plus you can easily take the train out of Monaco and visit nearby.

      Biggest thing to see is the lack of litter and crime. It’s a real eye-opener when you pop along to Nice and see the absolute filth fest next door.

      Makes you wonder what London would be like if it had 1 police officer for every 80 residents instead of 1 for every 260.

      • Will says:
        11 Sep11 September 09:22

        It may have more to do with the residents all being incredibly wealthy than the number of police officers.

        What we can be sure of is that the police there don’t spend too much time looking into the financial dealings of the residents.

        • Dubios says:
          11 Sep11 September 13:58

          It is a misnomer to believe all residents of Monaco are incredibly wealthy. There are plenty who are not and as a consequence find the cost of living quite difficult.

          • will says:
            11 Sep11 September 16:25

            The average wealth per capita in Monaco is the highest in the world at over £1.5m per person.
            Contrast to the UK at about £300k

          • dougzz99 says:
            11 Sep11 September 17:24

            Do you understand how averages work?

            I think they’re are plenty of criminals there, just not the vandal type.

    • Michael C says:
      11 Sep11 September 10:05

      We did a daytrip a few months ago and thought it would be a lovely base to see some of the nearby coastal places on the great train service.
      Also a pretty good Fnac!

    • Gordon says:
      11 Sep11 September 11:31

      I took a helicopter ride through the Grand Canyon in April, my daughters manager was killed in a vehicle collision yesterday!

      Setting aside the facts, you could argue that whatever mode of transport you decide on there an element of risk involved!

      • Rob says:
        11 Sep11 September 11:40

        I’ve done one of the Grand Canyon ones. They are amazing but substantially riskier than skipping along with sea to Monaco, since the whole point is that you fly into the canyon and the pilot tries to get you as close to the walls as possible.

        • Gordon says:
          11 Sep11 September 11:46

          Yes it was definitely amazing, I went to eagle point on top of the canyon after to take videos of the other helicopters going through, Just to get a different perspective!

  • Nan says:
    11 Sep11 September 09:43

    Can I use Avios to pay for a holiday in Monaco?

    • Rob says:
      11 Sep11 September 09:51

      You can part-pay BA Holidays bookings with Avios, yes. It’s not a great ‘pence per point’ rate though (0.5-0.6p-ish).

  • The real Swiss Tony says:
    11 Sep11 September 09:56

    Note that in the extra small print, there’s another constraint on the timings of the helicopter transfer after Oct 20th. Instead of finishing at 4.30pm it’s 3.15pm, presumably because it’s getting dark. Not sure if that’s the STA of your flight or the last chopper departure. I presume the former as we flew at 7pm.

  • Concerto says:
    11 Sep11 September 10:04

    Re. the obligation to have a British passport, can I bring a second person who is not British (i.e. Germany)? This would be on the same booking.

    • Rob says:
      11 Sep11 September 10:22

      Presume so, yes. I also doubt they have anything against Germans either, they just don’t want French or Monagese residents who travel to the UK regularly taking advantage because, as noted elsewhere, the cost is so low it is still a good deal if you ditch the hotel.

  • Londonsteve says:
    11 Sep11 September 10:05

    You’d think the helicopter transfers even at cost would exceed the price of these off peak packages. Even if it’s quiet and they’re having to pay the pilot salaries and helicopter leasing fees either way, it still costs an arm and a leg to operate with fuel costs, and handling charges.

    My suspicion is that the Monaco tourist board foots the bill as a direct subsidy to the helicopter operator(s) to get them through the quiet months and they hope you’ll spend big when you’re staying in Monaco justifying the upfront investment.

    • Rob says:
      11 Sep11 September 10:21

      If you were going to spend big you wouldn’t be staying in the Columbus or flying BA Economy. The places serving the high rollers are fine all year I’d suggest. It’s the smaller tourist restaurants and shops which get very quiet out of season and benefit more from the sort of people BA is flying in.

      • JDB says:
        11 Sep11 September 12:43

        Yes the heliport and the Columbus are on the wrong harbour (Fontvieille) but that hotel does at least give someone more sensible options to go and eat inside France which is maybe a 10 minute walk.

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