These clever apps and gadgets can save you hundreds while on holiday

Holidays are a financial minefield. If you’re not sidestepping stingy mates underpaying you for the Airbnb, you’re breaking up fights at dinner about how to split the bill. Only then, of course, will you realise that your wallet has been pinched.

Fortunately, the gadgets and apps that have made your day-to-day life bearable kick into overdrive en vacances. Ever had your bank details lifted at a cashpoint? LifeVenture’s weather-proof wallet uses anti-RFiD material, which stops thieves scanning chip details. It also incorporates a pocket for stashing your smartphone, has an external slip pocket and space for two passports . Prosper is another vital tool: the app spots fraudulent activity in your bank accounts.

If you’re always losing that wallet, invest in a Tile or Trackr, two widgets small enough to attach to a keyring or slip in a pocket, which respond to a query from your phone by sounding an alarm or displaying its location on a map.

With currency exchanges in flux, Revolut, a smartphone app linked to a pre-paid Mastercard, enables consumers to spend in more than 90 currencies at the best possible rate. Travelex Money App helps you keep up to date with exchange rates, as well as helping you budget based on its research on fellow travellers.

Keeping track of who owes what is a headache. Apps such as Splitwise, which keeps a tally of money owed between phones, is more effective at conflict resolution than the UN.

SkipLagged finds flight deals between specified cities and helps you save with a “hidden city” option — a one-way ticket from City A to City B to City C when the stopover is really your final destination. By ditching the second leg you may save money and time.

On a budget? Journy maps out your days and makes reservations in more than 60 destinations and creates an itinerary with the help of chefs, travel writers and photographers. Priceline, meanwhile, recently released a new feature on its free iPhone app, Road Deals, that updates travellers with real-time information on discounts and deals on their route. Hotels are updated as you go along, with the option to make a booking in seconds.

Overspending is the holiday’s hand of doom: one lavish dinner too many and you’re catching an early flight home. Level Money shows you how much you can responsibly spend on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It starts with your bank balance and subtracts essentials such as rent and utilities as well as planned saving.

The real cost saver, of course, is doing things for free. Official tourist websites usually boast a handy compendium of activities.

Follow Samuel Fishwick on Twitter: @fish_o_wick