Note: We regret that we won't be able to include every submission we receive, and we reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. Once you send in your story or photograph, it becomes our property—intellectual and otherwise.
Take Our Cover Photo! We're looking for a fantastic travel photograph taken from 1998 or later. The one we deem the best will be on the cover of the June issue! Click here for details.
So You Want to Be a Travel Writer... A bunch of readers will get to report a big story for us. If you think you have the best story suggestion ever, send us a pitch. It can be anywhere in the world as long as the idea behind the trip is unique. Include some background on what makes the destination special (is it a place people don't know about? is something happening that we should know about?), why you think other people would care, and why you're the person to write it. Click here to submit your dream assignment.
Rather Be a Travel Photographer? We need readers to shoot not only our cover photo, but photos through the magazine! Show us your skills by posting your best travel images on a photo sharing site such as Flickr or Snapfish, and then send the links to Letters@BudgetTravel.com. We might send you to photograph a story!
25 Reasons You Love New York Everyone who has ever visited New York City has a different opinion about what is essential about the place. So let's hear it! What do you think captures New York's character or appeal? We want to know what you love about the city and why. The more specific, the better: Tell us about the restaurant, shop, attraction, or characteristic that makes New York so uniquely New York. Click here to make your case.
A $100 Bill Could Be Yours We're going to give a few readers $100 to spend in fascinating locales—as long as they agree to show us all the cool stuff they bought with it. E-mail us at Letters@BudgetTravel.com and explain where you're going and when.
Has a Trip Changed Your Life? Have you ever gone on a big soul-searching trip—the kind where you go into it hoping for a new way of looking at things? If you've had a truly eye-opening, life-changing travel experience, we want to hear about it. E-mail Letters@BudgetTravel.com explaining where and when you went, and what about the trip made it stand out from any other. The more specific and vivid your description, the better.
Pet Tips Every pet owner has tricks for pet travel. What are yours? E-mail your tip to Letters@BudgetTravel.com.
Guidebook Smackdown Are you an expert on Chicago? We're looking for Chicago residents to judge three guidebooks on their city. If you think you're up to the task, click here to make your case!
Been on a 40 Best Deals trip? We'd love to hear about any 40 Best trips you've taken over the years. Please drop us a line at Letters@BudgetTravel.com saying where (and when) you went, with which tour operator, and what it was like.
House Swappers Wanted Are you planning to swap houses on a trip in the next few months? If so, please let us know. E-mail us at Letters@BudgetTravel.com with an overview of your plans, and we might print your story in our June 2008 anniversary issue—written and photographed entirely by readers!
Are You An Expert Collector? Deep down, we're all collectors—a snow globe here, a floating pen there—but some of us have really become pros (some might say fanatics) when it comes to buying a beloved object in a specific part of the world, be it Turkish rugs in Istanbul or decorative eggs in St. Petersburg, Russia. Are you obsessed with amassing a certain souvenir when you travel? We want to hear about your tricks of the trade. Click here to tell us what you love to collect, where you always buy it, how big your collection is, and what your top three tips are for us novice collectors.
Start Hunting for Supermarket Souvenirs Love foreign supermarkets as much as we do? Next time you're abroad, pick up something and mail it to us along with your full name, where you found it, and any other noteworthy details: Budget Travel, 530 Seventh Ave., 2nd Fl., New York, NY 10018. We might photograph the item and include it in our anniversary issue!
Lessons Learned the Hard Way We all make mistakes—ever shown up at the wrong airport?—and learn from them. What travel insights have you picked up from hard-earned experience? We want to hear your advice—and all about the travel mishaps that you learned from. Send your tales to Letters@BudgetTravel.com and include your name, phone, and email (we'll only contact you if necessary, and we won't share your contact info!).
The Greatest Travel Innovations of the Past 10 Years Which innovation has made your travels more enjoyable? It could be a product, such as noise-canceling headphones. It could be a website that provides driving directions. It could be a service, such as electronic toll collection for highways (like EZ Pass in the Northeast). Or it could be a customer-service touch, such as hotels adding curved shower rods to their bathrooms. If your idea is picked as one of the top 10, you'll receive a copy of The Smart Traveler's Passport: 399 Tips From Seasoned Travelers. Remember, we're looking for innovations that became widespread since 1998. Click here to submit your innovation.
Where Do You Eat, America? If you could recommend one restaurant in your town, what would it be? We're looking for any info you can think of: When it opened, where it's located, what it looks like inside (great, quirky details are a plus), who the chef is, and of course, why you love the food (what's that one dish you always order?). Click here to submit it.
Is Your Hometown Special? Prove it! We're looking for someone to write an essay on their hometown (and by "hometown," we mean the place you grew up in). It'll really help if you have a strong point of view, if you can make a persuasive case for visiting the city/town, and if you can come up with the vivid details that bring the place to life. Think your hometown is a winner? Start by clicking here to submit a short and convincing description.
Please note that the deadline for all submissions is December 31, 2007. There is no maximum word count for the submissions.
