Enter Our #PictureSC Contest!

From the incredible Mammoth Cave National Park and amazing rafting, kayaking, and waterfalls to the world-class food and culture in cities like Louisville and Lexington, it’s no secret that Budget Travelers love visiting Kentucky. Now, we’re giving you the opportunity to share what you love most about the Bluegrass State for a chance to be featured on BudgetTravel.com as our contributing Kentucky “Local Guide.” Tell us and SHOW us (with your fave photos) why you #LoveKentucky and BT editors will narrow down the field and put the top entries to an online vote to pick our contributing Kentucky “Local Guide.” There are four ways to enter, and we encourage multiple posts (since there are so many things to love about Kentucky, of course): * Post on Instagram and tag it #LoveKentucky * Post on Twitter and tag it #LoveKentucky * Post on Facebook and tag @BudgetTravelMagazine * Or click right HERE to tell us in 140 words (and upload a photo if you choose). Best of luck to all!

Mark your calendars: We're hosting our next #BT_Chat Monday, April 11, at 1 p.m. EDT all about European travel, and we want you to join us! The chat is sponsored by Contiki (@ContikiUSA), and we'll be joined by a multitude of participants who have an insider's perspective on travel to Europe. Here are three easy steps for following along and chiming in with our #BT_Chat. 1. Get Your Tweet On Log in to your Twitter account (or create one here) shortly before the chat starts at 1 p.m. 2. Join the #BT_Chat First, follow @BudgetTravel on Twitter. Then, in a separate tab or window, search for the hashtag #BT_Chat and click on "All" at the top of the page so you can see the questions and other people's answers as they come in. Depending on how chatty you are and how many people are responding to your answers, you may want to open a third tab or window to help keep track of notifications. 3. Chime In! Feel free to re-tweet our questions out to your own followers so they can participate, too! The most important thing is to add #BT_Chat to your answers so the rest of us can see them. Take this as a fun, informal opportunity to chat with other people who care about travel as much as you do. Use the questions we ask as a jumping off point for conversation and to make new friends over the Twittersphere, and above all, have fun!

Ready to explore Italy? Or Spain? Or maybe take a grand tour that takes you through several European capitals? Of course you are! So we’re psyched to share a contest that could make it happen: Contiki, the travel company for 18-to-35-year-olds, is offering a chance for travelers in that age range to win a FREE European vacation via its #BagTagContest. Visit Contiki.com/bagtag by April 27 to enter: You’ll watch up to six fun videos that each show the contents of a travel bag packed for a Contiki European vacation. Correctly guess which vacation a particular bag is packed for (that’s where the “bag tag” name comes from), and you’ll be entered for a chance to win that trip. Contiki will be announcing hints and clues on their site. One lucky winner will receive a free trip and more, and win or lose you'll likely be inspired to explore each and every trip on the list. To learn more about affordable vacations for travelers ages 18 to 35 in Europe and beyond (Contiki offers more than 270 of them), follow @BudgetTravel and @Contiki on Twitter and  join our #BT_Chat next Monday, April 11, at 1pm EDT, co-sponsored by Contiki.