BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.

Hello, I'm Martin Lewis, and this is the cunningly named The Martin Lewis Podcast.

I do wonder what that's going to be about.

Now, usually much of it comes from my BBC Radio 5 live show with Adrian Charles,

and this one is extra special.

Oh, yes, indeedy, because I'm on a break, so it's a good excuse for a Best Bits pod.

The producers have put together what they think are some of the most pertinent and still

relevant elements of the podcast we've done so far this year. Let's just hope they're right.

Though worth noting, if I do mention specific products, do be aware they could have changed,

so double check before you take any action.

We don't want you listening to February's best buys once you're in August.

Appropriately, this pod is a holiday special.

With my holiday hacks, the cheapest way to spend abroad, car hiring insurance tips, and much, much more.

Play the theme tune.

Where do we start on holidays?

Well, let's do passports.

I think passports and G-Hicks, this is really important for everybody to understand.

So, if you are going abroad this year, I want you all to check yours and all members of the family's passports for two things.

For when you go, the day you arrive, will you have over six months left on your passport,

a validity, and will your passport be under, in fact, for the day you leave, not the day you arrive?

Will you have over six months left for the day you leave? So you've arrived, you've been there two weeks on that last day, and will you have under, your passport is under 10 years old? Now, those are two crucial facts that may not be the same. Now, the reason I do those rules is those are the most harsh rules that you've got out there. So let's just talk about the European Union, which is where the vast majority of people in the UK go when they go abroad. If you're travelling to the EU, your passport needs to be less than 10 years old on the day you enter. Some countries, it's the day you leave. And valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave. Now, this 10-year thing confuses people. You can't do it anymore, but what you used to be able to do is when you renewed your passport, you could renew it months early, and you could get the months that you had left on your current passport added to your next passport, so it's over 10 years old. But many countries now won't accept a passport that's over 10 years old, even if it's still valid. So there's two separate factors. How old is the passport and how long do you have left? Now, that's three months. In India,

to get into India, your passport needs to be valid for at least six months on the day you enter. You

...