BudgetTravel

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:

Two new prizes:
Italy prize: Foreign Independent Tours
The best response we get between July 1 and July 31, 2008, wins a six-night trip for two to Tuscany and Umbria. The prize includes round-trip Alitalia flights from New York/JFK or Newark airports to Rome, Pisa, or Florence; a car rental; three nights in a superior room at Villa il Patriarca in Chiusi; three nights in a deluxe room at the Relais Ducale in Gubbio; a wine-cellar tour; a city tour of Gubbio; a chocolate-factory tour; two dinners; and breakfast daily. The prize has an estimated retail value of $5,000 and is valid from Dec. 1, 2008, to Dec. 12, 2009 (surcharges apply May through Sept.). Foreign Independent Tours: 800/248-3487, fittours.com.

Australia prize: Tourism Tasmania and Goway Travel
The best response we get between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31, 2008, wins an eight-night trip for two to Tasmania. The prize includes round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, San Francisco, or New York/JFK airports on Qantas Airways; hotel accommodations in Hobart, Strahan, Cradle Mountain, Launceston, and Swansea; a nine-day car rental; and a Goway self-drive kit. The prize has an estimated retail value of $6,000 and is valid from Nov. 1, 2008, to Oct. 31, 2009. Tourism Tasmania: discovertasmania.com; Goway Travel: 800/387-8850, goway.com.

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. For a complete rundown of the contest guidelines, please see BudgetTravel.com/truestories.

For both prizes: Blackout dates apply, and taxes (and fuel surcharges for Tasmania trip) are the sole responsibility of the winner. Subject to availability, nontransferable, and nonnegotiable. No purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Only one prize is awarded for each contest. Open to residents of the 50 United States and its territories, except Arizona.

And a few things to remember before you submit:

• Write it like you were telling it at a party. That is, keep it brief and lively (250 words max). We regret that we won't be able to include everything we receive, and we reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. And once you send it in to us, it becomes our property—intellectual and otherwise. (And that includes the photo.)
• 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 us the best pictures you've got—but try not to go crazy. Edit them down so we only get the good ones. If you're sending digital pictures, shoot them at 300 dpi at 3" by 5", and send them as a JPEG, TIFF, or EPS file. If you're sending prints or slides, please note that we will not be returning them (so you might consider reproducing your originals).
• 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.