The beaches of Punta Cana

It’s officially March. The snow is gone (or well on its way to being gone) and people all over the country are dying to break out from the layers and into the swimsuits. Warmer weather is good news. The bad news is the fate of your spring break has probably already been decided. The opportunities to make more money or save more money in order to afford a tropical getaway are dwindling by the minute. You could take advantage of our money-saving tips for your spring break, or you might have one last chance to grab a vacation at an Oscar de la Renta-designed resort in the Caribbean.

American Express has announced they’ll be giving away one trip to Tortuga Bay in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. So far, the company’s been tight lipped about the details of the prize and the contest rules. What we do know is that the contest will run from March 1st through March 3rd and that details will be announced on their Twitter account at 8am on March 1st as part of the #TravelTuesday Twitter meme. To get the scoop, follow them @AmericanExpress.

American Express joins a large group of travel companies using Facebook and Twitter to giveaway great travel prizes to fans and followers. If Facebook is more to your social media liking, check out VisitBritain’s Unite the Invite contest.

Photo Credit

Orlando Photo from SeaWorld

Do you have a great picture of Orlando from a recent vacation?  Do you have a mediocre picture of Orlando and a lot of friends who will swear they think it’s great?  If you answered yes to either of those questions, you could win $100 from UpTake and the Orlando Getaway Crew!

Submit a photo taken in Central Florida before midnight on December 8, 2010 and you’ll be entered to win a $100 gift card.  Facebook users will vote until December 31st on which travel  photos are their favorite and the photo with the most votes on December 31st, 2010 will take home the prize.  (So tell your friends to vote for you!)

What photos qualify?  Any photo taken in Central Florida counts, so show us your hotel snapshots, your pictures from the beach and your favorite classic Disney moments!  Did you visit Orlando and skip Disney?  Show us what you did instead!  Entries can be taken from your cell phone camera, a fancy DSLR with a tripod, or your run of the mill point-and-shoot  - we want them all!

Head on over to Facebook to enter today!  (Be sure to checkout all the official rules, too.)

Photo by Britt Reints

There’s a new contest in town (town being the Internet) from the good people at gaytravel.com. They are looking for a Travel Guru and it could be you!  The site is running a contest “in search of America’s first gay travel guru to ‘travel queer anywhere.’”

Unfortunately, some of the dates have already passed, but here is the info from the official press release:

Following the launch of its new website, gaytravel.com announces the search for its First Gay Travel Guru – a travel enthusiast to city-hop, mingle, and report on the hottest gay destinations in North America. To launch the search, representatives from the site will visit nine cities across the U.S. for its Guru Launch Party Tour.

•    San Diego, CA – April 30
•    New York City, NY – May 7-10
•    Chicago, IL – May 13-14
•    Miami, FL – May 15
•    Boston, MA – May 20
•    Atlanta, GA – May 22
•    Los Angeles, CA – May 22
•    Las Vegas, NV – May 26
•    Los Angeles, CA – May 27
•    San Francisco, CA – May 29

From April 30 – August 1, interested applicants will write travel reviews, post photos, videos, tweets, and use word-of-mouth to demonstrate why they are the perfect candidate for the job. As the online resource for news about the most fabulous destinations in the world, gaytravel.com will use its own social community, Meet, other popular social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, public voting, and a questionnaire and job application to select its Gay Travel Guru.

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Enjoy the Los Angeles Nightlife - for free!

Are you on Twitter?  Then you could win a vacation for two to Los Angeles.

(Hint: if you’re not on Twitter, this might be a good reason to finally sign up!  While you’re there, be sure to follow UpTake!)

JetBlue Airways and Staples are giving away a vacation package that includes:

• Two round trip plane tickets to Los Angeles
• Two suite tickets to see “a major pop star perform on 8/11″ at the STAPLES Center
• a $500 Marriott gift card

(Another hint: check out the new JW Marriott LA Live if you win!)

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