17 awesome August holiday savers - if you're going away or you've decided to stay

Incl new top travel card, £29 Travelodge, free airline seat choice, 2for1 UK days out, £40 PCRs & beam in a T-Rex

It's a summer like no other (OK, so last year's was strange too). Many who'd normally go abroad are staying at home and many others have left booking anything till the last minute due to the uncertainty. So whether you're holidaying in the UK or overseas, or just want ideas to have fun while you've time off without venturing far, we've 17 MoneySavers to help...

1) Keep an eye on the traffic lights... in case you need to hit the brakes on that overseas trip. Stay on top of regular changes to the traffic light system, which is due to be updated this week and governs UK quarantine, with our updated Covid Travel Rights guide. It's equally key to check restrictions in the country you're going to - see the Foreign Office's country-by-country advice.

2) New. Bag £20 when you get a top card for spending overseas. Most debit and credit cards add a 3%-ish 'exchange fee', so £100 of euros costs £103. Yet some credit cards, such as the Halifax Clarity (best to check eligibility chances first, or  apply*), don't charge this fee and give near-perfect exchange rates on spending, often making them the best way to spend abroad. 

Clarity is now our top pick overseas credit card, as it also gives accepted newbies £20 cashback when they spend on it within 90 days - though apply now if going away soon as the card can take a week or so to arrive.

Also remember to repay it IN FULL every month to avoid 19.9% rep APR interest on spending. If you use it to withdraw cash, you pay a small amount of interest till it's paid off (5p-ish per £100 per day), so try to minimise withdrawals. See Travel Credit Cards for more help and deals.

3) New. £29 Travelodge rooms & more cheap last-minute holiday-booking tricks. If you want to go away but you've not yet booked, Travelodge has just launched £29 a night rooms, with some flexibility, in most of its hotels. They're for stays from now till June 2022, though finding them may require trial and error - see full Travelodge sale info.

Obviously, there is a host of other holiday options, so see how to book cheap flights, cheap hotels and cheap package holidays. Given the current uncertainty, try to book something where you've flexibility to make changes. 

4) Days out discounts for UK holidaymakers & day-trippers, eg, 2for1 theme parks and cheap cinema & theatre tickets. Our Cheap Days Out listings have you covered, including:

- 2for1 on theme parks - eg, Alton Towers, Legoland.
- Tesco Clubcard 3x value at Eden Project, Longleat Safari etc.
- £2.50 cinema tickets for kids and grown-ups for selected family films.
- Free tennis coaching sessions for ages 12+.
- Half-price London theatre tickets, eg, Hairspray and Billionaire Boy, when kids and grown-ups go together.

5) Beat airlines' seat reservation charges & sit together for FREE on British Airways, Easyjet, Virgin etc. A family of four could pay up to £240 on return flights if they want to be certain they'll be seated together, so here's how to beat seat reservation charges for many airlines.

6) Relieve boredom with 1,000s of FREE kids' audiobooks - perfect for long car journeys or to entertain them at home. Most libraries let members download digital audiobooks via apps for free. Plus we've 14 more tricks to get free or cheap kids' books to entertain your little bookworms.

7) Need holiday currency? Find the best rates in seconds. Our TravelMoneyMax tool compares 15 currency bureaux to find the cheapest cash.

8) If staying put, try these 22 free (or very cheap) ways to create summer magic for kids, eg, fruit picking & beaming a T-Rex into your place. We've a raft of fun activities to wow little 'uns this month, whether the sun's shining or it's pouring with rain. Get inspired with Kids' summer magic tips.

9) Don't buy new sun cream before turning old bottles around. Opened sun cream can still be effective for up to two years. So whether you need some for home or abroad find out how to check how long yours lasts, and how to find £2-ish bottles, in sun cream tips.

10) Slash PCR test costs to £40. We've scoured the market to help you avoid £100+ tests, yet this only applies in England and Northern Ireland, as in Scotland and Wales, tests must be bought via official providers which can mean they're costlier. Full info in Cheap Covid tests.

11) If you're popping out for a bite or need holiday eats, we've restaurant deals galore - 2for1 meals for a year for £1, kids eat 'free' & more. We've rounded up top dining out deals, incl:

- A year's 2for1 meals at 1,000s of restaurants for £1 via our simples Meerkat Meals trick.
- Kids eat free with a paying grown-up at Asda, M&S, Morrisons & Tesco cafés.
- Pizza Hut £9 unlimited lunch buffet on weekdays till 3pm (£6 for kids).
- 20% off food for NHS staff at Frankie & Benny's, Nando's etc.

12) Book ahead to save £100s on airport parking or car hire - even the day before. We usually suggest you book as far ahead as possible for the biggest savings - and that's still best if you can cancel for free. This year, though, many have left it late in case they need to U-turn. If that's you, don't fret as big savings are still possible even a day ahead - just NEVER simply turn up on the day...

- Airport parking: Save £300+ booking the day before. Turn up at Manchester Airport's long-stay car park and it was £385 for the week beginning last Saturday. Booked a day ahead, parking was £69 for that week after one of our blagged discounts. To find them, go to SkyParkSecure* (5-35% off), Looking4Parking* (5-35% off), Holiday Extras* (10-26% off) or FHR* (5-20% off). Full info in Cheap Airport Parking.

- Car hire: Use our top-pick comparison sites to find the cheapest rentals. Booking as early as possible also nets savings, though such massive discounts are less likely. See Cheap Holiday Car Hire.

13) With petrol prices at an EIGHT-YEAR high, use a nifty tool to find the cheapest petrol & diesel if you're making a long trip. Speedily find the cheapest forecourt near you. Plus driving more efficiently can cut costs further.

14) Learn to talk like a local for free. Clever apps help you learn the lingo before you go and translate when you're there. Language-learning apps

15) Travel insurance from £9/week in Europe or £6/week in the UK. If you're going abroad, buy insurance as soon as you book so you're covered for cancellation, as well as while you're away. Our Cheap Travel Insurance guide tells you what's covered, incl for Covid, and has our top-pick policies. If you're holidaying in the UK, cover can still be valuable, but the need for it isn't as clear-cut. Our UK Travel Insurance guide helps you decide and includes the top picks.

16) Check you've a valid GHIC or EHIC for trips in Europe - more than 6m expire this year. These cards give you access to state-run hospitals or GPs in EU countries for the same price as a local - if they don't pay, you don't pay. If you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), check it's still valid. If not, most now need to apply for its post-Brexit replacement, the FREE Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). Go quick, though, as cards can take two weeks to arrive.

17) New. Driving to the EU? You no longer need an insurance 'green card'. The post-Brexit requirement for you to carry an international insurance certificate has been scrapped. See Driving in Europe help.