Got a Great Travel Story?

One of the most fulfilling parts of travel is sharing your stories with people when you get back home. And that's what we'd like you to do. Our True Stories section is for your strange encounters, heartwarming tales, and funny anecdotes—the likes of which only seem to happen when you travel. So do you have a good story? Submit yours today!

First, here's what you can win:

Costa Rica
The best response we receive between June 27, 2009, and Aug. 28, 2009, wins a 14-night trip for two to Costa Rica from Planeterra Foundation. Spend five days volunteering on a sea turtle conservation project and 10 days exploring. Prize includes flights, lodgings, transport, and some meals. Trip must be booked by May 31, 2010, and must be completed by Dec. 31, 2010. For more info: 800/465-5600, planeterra.org.

How to enter: E-mail us at TrueStories@BudgetTravel.com or mail us at True Stories, Budget Travel, 530 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10018. Estimated value: $4,500. Taxes are the responsibility of the winner. Nontransferable; nonnegotiable; blackout dates may apply. Contest open to residents of the 50 United States and its territories, except Arizona. Full guidelines: BudgetTravel.com/truestories.

And a few things to remember before you submit:

• Write it like you would tell it at a party—keep it brief and lively (250 words max). We regret that we aren't able to include everything we receive, and we reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. All submissions become our property—intellectual and otherwise. (That includes photos.)

• Please send your story as the body of your e-mail—not as an attachment.

• Try to include a phone number for any establishment you mention. If we can't verify the place exists, we won't be able to print your story.

• The majority of submissions we print have photos, so send pictures—but try not to go crazy. Send only the best one(s). If you take digital pictures, shoot them at the highest resolution. Please send the original file from your camera, without cropping, color correcting, contrasting, etc.; the preferred format is JPG/JPEG (we will accept TIFF and EPS files). If you have prints or slides, please note that we will not be returning them (so you might consider reproducing your originals). If you need to send a scan, the image needs to be at least 5" x 7" at 300 dpi.

• Please send your photo as an attachment—not embedded in the body of your e-mail.

• We don't mind if you or your companions are in the shots, as long as you tell us who (and what) is in the photo.

• And we need to be able to get in touch with you, if need be, so include your daytime phone number and home address.

• If you or a relative of yours works at Budget Travel, you're ineligible. And speaking of Budget Travel, if you win, you and your travel companion are going to have to sign an affidavit of eligibility and release—sorry, but Budget Travel is the sponsor of this contest and we say that you have to do it if you want the prize.

• Unfortunately, we won't be able to pay you, but the reader who sends in the best submission, as determined by us, will win the trip as described above.

WHERE TO SEND IT:

• Email: TrueStories@BudgetTravel.com

• Mail: True Stories, Budget Travel, 530 Seventh Ave., 2nd floor, New York, NY 10018.