Martin's 19 travel need knows, energy hikes, cheapest iPhone, 1% savings, 16 Ikea tips

Holidays & day trips are back on the agenda...
Martin: 'Covid uncertainty means booking's a risk. I've 19 need-to-knows to cut costs and protect your pocket in the UK and abroad'
Incl... cheap PCR tests, free Blue Peter badges, days out, 2for1s, cancellation help, cheap flexible flights, £29 hotels and more

The rules on holidaying are changing radically. Right now, in England, only stays away in self-contained accommodation are allowed, but from Mon hotel stays and sleepovers at friends are back.

And it'll then no longer be illegal to leave the country for a holiday, though in practice, for most that'll need wait a month or two.

So whether you're hoping for fish & chips in Biarritz or moules-frites in Blackpool, here are my mammoth travel need-to-knows...

Even after Mon, it's still unpracticable for most to go abroad. Yet many are considering BOOKING now for late summer or autumn trips, or for further ahead. So let me run through what to consider.

The rules below are for Eng, but while I was writing, it was announced similar will now apply in Scot from Mon as well. We await info for Wales and NI.

1. There are only 12 'green list' destinations (it'll be reviewed every three weeks), but most won't actually let holidaying Brits in yet. The Govt has divided the world into traffic lights - the system's in place from Mon and will be updated every 3wks (or sooner in emergencies).

- 43 RED destinations: 10-day hotel quarantine on return (£1,750 for a solo traveller), basically a no-go. Includes India and Turkey.
- 186 AMBER destinations: Up to 10 days self-isolation at home on return. Includes most of EU and USA.
- 12 GREEN destinations: No need to self-isolate on return. Includes Portugal and Israel.

Yet permission to go doesn't mean they'll let Brits in. Most green destinations have stringent entry requirements, eg, Israel says from 23 May it'll start letting vaccinated tourists in, but only in tour groups. Portugal says no holidays, but an announcement's expected tomorrow (Thu) that may change that. See our list of the top 15 holiday destinations' entry requirements.

Do also check Foreign Office country advice, which is about safety when away, so slightly different from the green list.

2. The best bets to book for future are likely to be the USA, Europe and other developed countries. The Govt's traffic light list is based on four factors - vaccinations, infection rates, variant prevalence, and how reliable the scientific data is.

No one has a crystal ball to predict future green destinations, but in my (non-scientist's) view, it's likely developed countries will fare better, as they are ahead in the vaccination timetable, which will hopefully feed into other factors too - though variants can happen anywhere. If you're booking for future months, the World Health Organisation's country vaccinations stats gives a decent, but not foolproof, view.

Again though, UK rules are only half the story - you also need to consider if you'll be allowed in. Some countries with consistently low cases have used tight borders as a part of it, and may continue to.

3. Travel insurance is crucial, but WON'T cover cancellations due to future UK or foreign govt no-travel rules. No mainstream policies that we know of cover cancellations due to official Covid travel restrictions or a need to quarantine at your destination or on return, which means in reality you can't go. Nor will they cover you for cancelling if rules will let you travel, but you don't feel safe.

Though many (not all) will cover cancellations if you catch Covid pre-travel or are told by the NHS to self-isolate, and will cover medical treatment for Covid abroad.

Yet frankly all the normal reasons to get travel insurance still apply, especially if you're ill while away (Covid is just one health risk). So get it ASAB - as soon as you book. Full options in Cheap Travel Insurance - in brief though, MSE's top no-frills picks (ie, those that meet our min cover levels, but we can't vouch for the service) are...

- Annual policies: These cover all of a year's trips, within reason. Try Coverwise (Bronze)* and Axa (Silver). Prices range from £13 for a 30-yr-old in Europe to about £70 for a family worldwide.

- Single trips: Try Coverwise (Bronze)* and CoverForYou (Bronze)* as they tend to come up cheapest, eg, from £10 for 7 days in Europe to £50ish for a week's family worldwide cover.

- Over 65 or had a past medical issue? Check our Over-65s' Travel Insurance or Pre-Existing Conditions Travel Insurance guides.

And do note, if you get insurance and your claim is unfairly rejected, you can take the provider to the free Financial Ombudsman.

4. As travel insurance won't protect you for Covid cancellations, bookings with flexibility are key. Look for those that let you easily change your mind or the date, or cancel.

a) Package holidays are cheap and give extra protection. This is where you pay for two or more travel services as one thing (ie, flight + hotel, or flight + car rental) via a travel agent / firm. For how to find the top deals, see Cheap Package Holidays.

Under the Package Travel Regulations, you're legally due a refund if the travel agent / firm or an airline / hotel / car firm etc goes bust. That also applies if you can't go because your destination has closed its borders to Brits, or you don't get the holiday you paid for.

This is strong protection, worth having, though not all firms have offered the swiftest remedy, so check our firm-by-firm travel refunds survey (Dec 2020) info to see how past customers feel they've been dealt with.

Do note you're not due a refund if you're unable to go because you'd need to self-isolate on your return. So an extra step is to look for firms that offer free changes or easy cancellation when booking.

b) Many cheap flights now offer free date changes. Our full How to bag cheap flights guide takes you through ways to get cheap deals. You've a legal right to a full refund if the flight's cancelled, yet many airlines now offer flexibility if YOU choose to change too.

For example, Easyjet and BA let you make changes for free, nearly up to the last minute (though you'll pay the difference if it's to a more expensive flight). See airline-by-airline cancellation policies.

c) Hotels, even cheap ones, often give free cancellation until a couple of days before. Many give you until 24-48 hours before your booking to change your mind - some don't require payment until then too. Even forgetting Covid, this is useful as if you find the same room cheaper just before you go, check availability, rebook, and then cancel. See Cheap Hotels Tips for full info.

d) Self-catering is getting more flexible too. If you're booking your own accommodation, Airbnb for example now offers free cancellation up to 24hrs before on many properties (though do check). Far more help in Cheap Self-Catering Accommodation.

5. Flexible bookings protection may be useless if a firm goes bust, so pay via plastic for extra protection. Paying by credit card offers the strongest protection, as Section 75 refund rules mean the card provider is jointly liable for items costing £100+. So using a credit card (repaid IN FULL  of course, so there's no interest) is best practice, and also helps if the travel firm were to go bust.

All credit cards, as well as debit cards, also get the lesser protection of the chargeback refund rules. So this is also a decent protection if you don't pay on a credit card, or if you do but go via a travel agent (when Section 75 rules don't usually count).

6. Holiday abroad and you'll need Covid PCR tests - these can add £1,000 to a family trip, but some can get them from £20. Head abroad and you will need at least one full PCR test - not the quick lateral flow ones used in schools etc. The following table is based on England's regulations (others likely to be similar):

You can't use the Govt 'Test and Trace' system for the tests needed in the UK if you're holidaying, so you'll need to use a private test firm.

These can be costly. Our new cheapest Covid tests info will take you through the options, including travel firm discounts (eg, Tui is offering all tests for £20 to some custs), special airport prices and a comparison of UK private test firms.

I am worried though, that once overseas travel really opens up, I'll be writing here about a lack of private testing capacity, and people unable to get tests. There's currently less capacity than people who (pre-Covid) went abroad.

7. Check if you've a valid EHIC or GHIC. If not, get one FREE. If you plan to travel to the EU, these cards give you access to state-run hospitals or GPs at the same price as a local. So if it's free for them, it's free for you. Important right now.

If you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), do check it is still valid - 6.4m expire this year alone. If not, or if you don't have one, since Brexit it's been replaced for new applicants by the Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) and you can get one of these free.

8. Does your passport have at least six months left? Since Brexit, many EU countries have joined those requiring you to have at least 6mths of passport validity left (in some cases more) to be allowed in. So check yours now, as the Passport Office has warned of possible applications backlogs. See Passport rules and renewals.

9. The CHEAPEST way to spend abroad is on the right plastic - apply now. And breathe... I'm relaxing writing this bit, it's like the old pre-Covid days. As I've said many times before, the easiest and cheapest way to spend abroad is on the top specialist travel cards - you get the same near-perfect rates the banks do, smashing bureaux de change.

If you can't get a top credit or debit card, or prefer cash, our Travel Money comparison tool compares 14+ bureaux to show the best rates. This is fewer providers than usual, as many travel money services are paused - we'll add them back when they resume.

10. Vaccinated? Download the free NHS app (separate to the Test and Trace one). The Govt says holidaymakers will be able to use the existing NHS health app to show their vaccination status when abroad. Alternatively, you can request paper validation.

11. You CAN still roam like at home in the EU, but check your allowance. The legal guarantee of free mobile roaming in the EU ended with Brexit in Jan, but 10 of the biggest providers have told us they've no current plans to bring charges back. Travel outside Europe and costs rocket though - see Cheap Mobile and Data Roaming help.

PS: Also read our Cheap Car Hire | Cheap Airport Parking | 65+ Overseas Travel Tips.

Travel for those in England is back from Monday, as "minimise travel" changes to "travel safely".

You're allowed to go to hotels, and stay at friends' homes (max 6 people, or more if it's only two households in one home - see full UK nations' travel rules). So whether you plan a UK holiday or to stay at home and do days out, here are some tips for you:

1. Booking a stay away? Flexible terms are key. We all hope, possibly pray, that 'no more lockdowns' comes true. Yet there is sadly always the risk of a vicious variant, and change.

So, much like with travelling abroad, hedge towards bookings which, in order of preference:

- Allow free cancellation (preferably with no or low deposit)
- Allow cancellation for a low fee, or loss of small deposit
- Allow free change of booking to a different date

The competition watchdog says providers should give refunds for cancellations where you're legally unable to travel, but that's untested in court, and not all firms are following it.

2. But flexible-booking protection can be useless if a firm goes bust, so pay via plastic for extra protection. No apology that this is exactly the same as I've written for travelling abroad, as it's a crucial tip... Paying by credit card offers the strongest protection as Section 75 refund rules mean the card provider is jointly liable for items costing £100+. So using a credit card (repaid IN FULL of course, so there's no interest) is best practice, and helps if the travel firm were to go bust.

All credit cards, as well as debit cards, also get the lesser protection of the chargeback refund rules. So this is also a decent protection if you don't pay on a credit card, or if you do but go via a travel agent (when Section 75 rules don't usually count).

3. How to find cheap UK hotels. We take you through it in our full 23 Cheap UK Hotel Tips guide. Here's just a taste...

Speedily use a comparison site to benchmark the best price. The same hotel room can be sold at a huge range of different prices, so check via Skyscanner*, Kayak* and TripAdvisor*.

Then call 'em up to see if you can beat that by booking direct with the hotel - it may offer you a better deal because it doesn't need to pay commission. Also check if you can get cashback, possibly of 10%, booking via hotel cashback deals.

And a final thought: don't think of hostels as dirty, think dirt-cheap - you could stay in a 19th century shooting lodge from £29/night. See MoneySavers' top UK hostel picks.

4. Travelodge 2m+ rooms £29. For stays between 17 May 2021 and 14 Mar 2022, incl coastal destinations such as Cornwall, Brighton and Great Yarmouth. See Travelodge sale.

5. Want to go self-catered? How to find 'em and keep costs down - eg, £400/wk cottage in Cornwall. Holiday rental sites have seen a surge in UK bookings this year, and it's harder to nab a peak school holiday bargain on the coast or in the country (cities are easier). Yet using the tips in our Cheap Holiday Rentals guide we did find a two-bed cottage in north Cornwall for £402/wk in mid-June.

6. Days-out discounts - 2for1, kids go free and more. If you're day tripping, our Cheap Days Out listing has latest deals incl:

- 2for1 on theme parks - eg, Alton Towers, Legoland
- Tesco Clubcard 3x value at Eden Project, Longleat Safari etc
- Free tennis coaching sessions for ages 12+
- 2for1 entry to 340+ gardens with £8.50 mag
- Edinburgh Zoo kids go free with ScotRail

7. You can get cheap UK travel insurance from £8/wk - but is it worth bothering? With many more people booking longer holidays in the UK this year, this has become a more common question. Full info is in our UK Travel Insurance guide, but briefly:

- What does UK travel insurance cover? It's usually for booked stays of 2+ nights at least 25 miles away from home. Though unlike foreign holidays, medical treatments in the UK are free as we have the NHS (or private medical cover), so medical cover, which is the key consideration when travelling abroad, is less of an issue.

- Are you covered for Covid cancellations? In a nutshell... yes if it's personal, even Covid personal, no if you need to cancel due to a lockdown. More details in UK Travel Insurance.

- OK, OK, Martin, just tell me if I should get it. Er, well, there's no right answer, but as many push me on this, let me tell you what I'd do. If it's a cheap weekend away, travelling without any valuables, with easy cancellation, I probably wouldn't bother. Yet if I'd booked a week away, as a full holiday - especially with excursions - and I could get some cheap peace of mind, I likely would.

- Already got an annual overseas policy? You're covered. It likely already includes UK travel (do check) - so you're set. If not and you may go abroad within the next year too, use our Cheap Annual (UK & Abroad) Travel Insurance guide to find yourself some cover.

- Cheapest no-frills UK single-trip policies from £8/wk. The full MSE top picks are in our Cheap UK Insurance guide. But in brief, for no-frills (ie, those providers that meet our min cover levels, but we can't vouch for the service) there's no one cheapest, so try Coverwise*, LV* and  Allianz Assistance*. If you're over 65, add in Tesco Bank. Also see our cheapest UK cover for those with pre-existing conditions.

And do note - if you get insurance and your claim is unfairly rejected you can take the provider to the free Financial Ombudsman.

8. How kids can earn a Blue Peter badge to get FREE entry to zoos, castles, aquariums etc. They can get free access to 200+ UK attractions via a Blue Peter badge. Find out how to earn one in time for summer and how it compares with other deals.

PS: As you've got to get there too, see Cheap Train Tickets | 50+ Motoring MoneySaving Tips |  Cheap Breakdown Cover.