Congratulations to Luciano Stabel, winner of our Flickr Cover Photo Contest for Chile! His beautiful photo of Puerto Varas will appear on our premier guidebook to Chile, due out later this year!

Want your photo to appear on the cover of our upcoming guidebooks?

VIVA Travel Guides is happy to announce FOUR upcoming Flickr Cover Photo Contests!! Whether you’re a professional photojournalist, amateur photographer or simply a wanderlusting backpacker with a good eye (and camera), we invite all travelers to submit their photos. Entering is free, and you can submit as many photos as you want!

Winner gets $100 and the coveted cover of the upcoming guidebook!

If your photos doesn’t win, don’t fret: Runners up get their name and photo inside the guidebook itself.

You already show off your amazing travel photos to your friends and family — why not gain a little exposure and help travel guide readers see the beauty of this world? Visit our Flickr Contest Pages below to read contest guidelines.

Ready, Set, Snap!

Upcoming Contests

• Cusco and Machu Picchu (Deadline: December 1, 2009)
• Ecuador (Deadline: January 1, 2010)
• Quito (Deadline: January 1, 2010)
• Galapagos Islands (Deadline: January 1, 2010)

Attention all travelers and photographers: VIVA Travel Guides has extended its Argentina Cover Photo Contest to November 1st!

You already show off your photos to friends and family - now you can help other travelers experience the allure of Argentina by submitting your photos for our premier guidebook to Argentina! Whether it’s a dramatic tango shot from Buenos Aires, a quaint capture of a winery around Mendoza, or a serene snapshot of the Lake District, we crave all photos authentic and aesthetic.

Winner gets $100 and the coveted cover of the travel guide! Runners up get their photo and name credited inside the travel guide.

Visit our Flickr Contest Page to read contest details and submit photos. Entering is simple and free!

Are you a well-seasoned traveler? Be sure to check out our Photography Contest Page for upcoming contests for future guidebooks

NEXT COVER CONTEST DEADLINE

December 1: Cusco and Machu Picchu

Snap & Snag

(The cover of our next guidebook!)

Nicaragua Cover Photo Contest

You already show off your Nicaragua photos to friends and family — now’s your chance share them with other travelers (and win cash, too!).  You still have one week to submit your Nicaragua photos for our upcoming travel guide, so hurry and enter at our Flickr page!

• Winner gets $100 and the coveted cover of our premier guidebook for Nicaragua

• Runners-up get their photo (and name) inside the guidebook

Are you a well-seasoned traveler? Then check out our Photography Contests page for more countries and competitions.

Upcoming photo contests:

• September 1: Bolivia
• October 1: Peru
• November 1: Argentina
• November 1: Costa Rica
• December 1: Southern Mexico
• December 1: Honduras

Travel. Write. Get Paid.

Line up, aspiring travel writers: V!VA Travel Guides is hosting its next Travel Writing Boot Camps!

• Antigua, Guatemala: August 10 - 14
• Cuernavaca, Mexico: August 17 - 21

V!VA’s camps offer a crash course on all you need to know to become a successful travel writer. We’re looking for an army of talented and adventurous writers to train out on the field. Now’s your chance to travel, write and get paid!

• Gain on-location, hands-on experience from professional travel writers and editors
• Find out what editors want, how to deliver, and how to get paid and published for your work
• Attend an introductory course on producing digital photography for the internet
• Get the inside scoop on today’s travel writing market and how to work with multimedia outlets
• Improve writing skills through daily critiques by peers and pros
• Stay “on assignment” in the host country after the camp and be a contributing author in our upcoming guidebook!

Emily is a former Boot Camp graduate, and is now a paid travel writer in Mexico. Here’s what she had to say about V!VA’s Travel Writing Boot Camps:

“I attended V!VA’s Boot Camp in September of 2008 in Oaxaca, Mexico.  I met some cool people and learned a lot.  It is a very intensive course that helps you focus on writing skills.  I stayed on assignment and earned some extra cash afterwards, and have done other assignments as well.  Writing for V!VA is a great way to earn cash to cut down on travel expenses while exploring a new city.”

Ready to hit the ground running as a real travel writer? Enlist here: V!VA’s Travel Writing Boot Camp

You already show off your Chile photos to friends and family — now’s your chance share them with other travelers (and win cash, too!). Today is the last day to submit your Chile photos for our upcoming guidebook, so hurry and enter at our Flickr page!

• Winner gets $100 and the coveted cover of our premier guidebook for Chile

• Runners-up get their photo (and name) inside the guidebook

Are you a well-seasoned traveler? Check out our Photography Contests page for more countries and competitions. Upcoming contests:

• August 1: Nicaragua
• September 1: Bolivia
• October 1: Peru
• November 1: Argentina
• November 1: Costa Rica
• December 1: Southern Mexico
• December 1: Honduras

Been to Chile? Hurry and enter to get your photo published on the cover of our Chile guidebook (and win $100)!

V!VA Travel Guides is still accepting photos for our upcoming Chile travel guide. The deadline is July 1st, so that means you still have one week to submit your photos! Enter by going to our Flickr Contest Page. (Also check the page for rules and guidelines.)

Even if your photo(s) don’t win the coveted cover shot and cash, they still have a chance to appear inside the travel guide. Second and third-place winners are guaranteed a spot inside the book!

V!VA Travel Guides continually runs contests for its guidebooks. Check out our Photography Contests page for more contests and countries!

At the tip of Baja California is a laid-back beach paradise simply known to locals as “Cabo.” Ready to hit the beach? Viva Travel Guides has the information you need about Cabo San Lucas.

That’s right! The long-awaited Viva Colombia book is finally ready. Don’t believe me? Check out the press release. The best thing about the book is that it’s comprehensive and all new: other guidebooks have been relying on old Colombia information for a while now. Why? I don’t really know, maybe their writers didn’t want to go to a “dangerous” place. Believe me, this is THE book to have if you’re visiting Colombia. You can buy it here or at Amazon or the retailer of your choice!

On August 25th to 29th, V!VA Travel Guides hosted a Travel Writing Boot Camp in San José, Costa Rica. Instructor Paula Newton reports that the writers who took part learned a great deal, enjoyed Costa Rica and all graduated. Monica Tobin, Dallas Boyd, Juliette Acker, Ruth Bell, Chantelle du Plessi and Maria Lundgren will all join V!VA as roving freelance contributors. Look for their work coming soon to the best travel website in Latin America! Congratulations!

V!VA Travel Guides is proud to announce that its guide to Ecuador has undergone its annual update and is now available! Our writers, along with travelers all over the world through our website, have changed prices, schedules and other vital travel information. You can check it out here, or at amazon.