Welcome to this month’s giveaways!

Each month we offer at least one giveaway to our loyal readers as a way to say thank you. These may range from anything from luggage to travel clothing to travel vouchers to photography gear.

We strive for these giveaways to be open to as many of our readers and subscribers as possible. However, given rules, legislation, and shipping restrictions, this is not always possible and many of the giveaways do have geographical restrictions (as well as other restrictions) so please be sure to note these before entering a giveaway.

**If you are a brand or company that is interested in featuring a quality travel or photography product or gift voucher, please contact us directly.**

Our Giveaways are Exclusive to our Newsletter Subscribers

We run regular giveaways that are exclusive to our newsletter subscribers. You must be a newsletter subscriber to be eligible for our giveaways. Please enter the giveaways using the name and email you use to receive our emails.

If you sign up to the giveaways and are not a confirmed newsletter subscriber, your entry will be discarded.

If you are not a subscriber and want to sign up to our newsletter, you can sign up using this form:

If you have any questions about subscribing to our newsletter, or don’t receive the confirmation e-mail, please contact us.

Current Giveaway Details: July 2019

This month we have two giveaways for you with a total of six prizes! Our first giveaway is from Vanguard, who we’ve partnered with to give away tripods and camera bags, a total value of USD $533. Our second giveaway is a travel router of the winner’s choice from our list of preferred travel routers, with a value of $20 – $45.

Giveaway #1: Vanguard Tripods (USA, Canada, UK, & Ireland only)

Brand/Manufacturer: Vanguard
Product Link: First prize: Vanguard VEO 2 GO 235CB carbon fibre tripod and a VEO GO 34M bag Second prize: VEO 2 GO 204AB aluminum tripod. 3x Runner up prizes: VESTA Mini Tripod
Approximate Value: First prize: USD $339.98, Second prize: USD $149.99, Runner up prizes: USD $43.99
Giveaway Open to: USA, Canada, UK, & Ireland

Other than our cameras and lenses, our most important piece of photography gear is our tripod. It lets us get photos that we would otherwise not get. You can read our reasons for why you need a tripod here.

Since 2014, Laurence has been an ambassador for Vanguard, a global brand that designs, manufactures and sells a range of tripods and camera accessories, including camera bags. We use and love the Vanguard range of products, which offer lightweight travel focused products all the way through to professional heavy-duty designs.

In 2019, Vanguard has launched a new lightweight range of tripods aimed at travelers – the VEO 2 Go range. We’re thrilled today to be able to give you guys the chance to win one of the top of the range VEO 2 GO carbon fibre models as the first prize in our contest. The first prize winner will also win one of the new VEO Go bags, which is designed specifically with this tripod range in mind.

That’s not all though! Vanguard have kindly supplied us with some more products to giveaway. The second prize is an aluminum VEO 2 GO travel tripod, and we also have three mini tripods for runners up. These come with a removable smartphone mount, and are perfect for compact cameras, small mirrorless cameras and smartphones.

How to Enter the Giveaway

Please read the rules below to enter the giveaway:

1 – You need to be signed up for our newsletter.

If you get our monthly newsletters, you are eligible! If you’re already signed up you don’t need to sign up again. Skip to #2.

If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up using the form at the top of the page, or on this page.

After you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll be sent an e-mail to asking you to confirm your sign-up. You’ll need to click the link in the email to confirm and activate your subscription before you are eligible to participate. Once you do that, come back here and sign up for the giveaway!

2. Check the rules of the giveaway

Before signing up, read over the rules (listed in detail below the entry form) to make sure you are eligible to apply. While we strive to have our giveaways open to all subscribers, some of the giveaways have geographical, residency, age, or other restrictions.

3 – Use the form below to enter the giveaway.

You must use the same e-mail address that you used to sign up to the newsletter with, as we’ll be checking e-mails this way to validate your entry. You must be an active subscriber when we make the draw to be eligible to win!

Enter the Giveaway!

 

Winners will be randomly drawn with 1 winner receiving a Vanguard VEO 2 GO 235CB carbon fibre tripod and a VEO GO 34M bag, with a total value of USD $339.98.  A second winner will receive a VEO 2 GO 204AB aluminum tripod, with a value of USD $149.99. Finally there are three runners up will each win a VESTA Mini Tripod with a value of USD $43.99 each.

Applicants must be 18 years or older, have a valid email address, and have a valid mailing address.

Winners will be contacted by the email provided (so please use an email to enter that you check regularly). If a winner does not respond to email within 72 hours, another winner will be chosen.

The winner will be contacted via email by us, and we will provide winners contact details to Vanguard solely for the purpose of fulfilling the prize.

Note you can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, but you must be an active subscriber when the draw takes place to be eligible to win. Draws take place within a week of the giveaway closing.

The data entered into the giveaway form will solely be used for the purposes of verifying your entry, checking you are an active newsletter subscriber and contacting you if you are a winner.

Winners (first name and last initial, and country of residence) will be announced on the bottom of this page and in our monthly newsletter.

We thank Vanguard for providing this awesome prize for this giveaway!

 

Full Giveaway Terms and Conditions

These are the full terms and conditions!

1. The promoter is: Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats
2. Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats contributors, and their family members or anyone else connected in any way with the giveaway including helping to set up the giveaway shall not be permitted to enter the giveaway.
3. The giveaway is only open to active newsletter subscribers of the Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats monthly newsletter.
4. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this giveaway.
5. Route to entry for the giveaway and details of how to enter are via this blog post
6. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate in the giveaway.
7. You must fill out all the requested information in the entry from to be eligible. Incomplete entries will not be considered.
8. Closing date for entry is July 28, 2019 at midnight EST. After this date no further entries to the giveaway will be permitted. Only one entry may be submitted per participant. Multiple entries will not be considered, and will invalidate all entries by participant. Incomplete, incorrect or otherwise invalid entries will not be considered. The Promoter reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all participants.
9. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
10. The prizes are as follows: 1 winner will receive a Vanguard VEO 2GO 235CB carbon fibre tripod and a VEO GO 34M bag.  A second winner will receive a VEO 2GO 204AB aluminum tripod. Three runners up will each win a VESTA Mini Tripod.
11. The prize:
    1. is subject to availability
    2. has no cash value
    3. can only be claimed by the winner
    4. cannot be transferred to another person
12. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice and for any reason. Any changes to the giveaway will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
13. No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and the promoter reserves the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
14. Winners will be drawn at random from all valid entries. The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received. Promoters are not responsible for prize fulfillment nor for any technical failures. Winning entry will be verified. A list of winners will be displayed on this page and published in the monthly newsletter.
15. Promoter reserves the right to publish winner’s first name and last initial and country of residence. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
16. The winner will be notified by email within 10 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 72 hours of notification, the promoter reserves the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
17. The winner consents to providing their name, email, and mobile contact number to the promoters for the sole purpose of enabling their prize to be delivered.
18. The promoters’ decision in respect of all matters to do with the giveaway will be final.
19. By entering this giveaway, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
20. The giveaway and these terms and conditions will be governed by UK law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the UK.
21. Images included in the giveaway post may not depict the exact prize, and are for illustrative purposes only.
22. Residents of Canada will be required to answer a skill-testing question to claim their prize.
23. Void where Prohibited

 

Giveaway #2: Travel Router (Open Worldwide)

Brand/Manufacturer: Various
Product Link: Winner’s choice of any of the 5 routers list in this post
Retail Value: $20 – $45 USD
Giveaway Open to: Worldwide

One of the issues we often face when traveling is a poor WiFi signal. Although this isn’t the end of the world, we do work when we travel, so reliable WiFi is certainly a bonus.

The second issue we often face is that the WiFi connection we connect to might only allow us to connect one or two devices for free, after which there might be a charge. Once we start connecting phones, tablets, and laptops, we sometimes run out of available connections.

Thankfully there’s a solution to the above two problems, which is to use a travel router. We’ve been traveling with a travel router for years, and not only do they solve the above problems, they also create a secure WiFi network that your devices can connect to, giving you greater peace of mind when connecting to unsecured public WiFi such as those you might find at airports or coffee shops.

We’ve written a guide to some of our favorite travel routers, which lists the pros and cons of each device and additional features each one has. The devices are relatively inexpensive and also very small, so they don’t take up too much room in a suitcase or backpack.

We thought this would make for a great prize for those of you who regularly find yourself connecting to weak wifi, or even to use in your home to extend a WiFi network to a poorly served part of your home. So we’re giving away the winner’s choice of any of the travel routers we feature in our guide to the best travel routers. The winner will be able to choose one of the following options:

• TP-Link N300 Nano Travel Router
• TP-Link TL-WR902AC
• RAVPower Filehub Plus
• RAVPower Filehub
• GL.iNet GL AR300M Mini Travel Router

How to Enter the Giveaway

Please read the rules below to enter the giveaway:

1 – You need to be signed up for our newsletter.

If you get our monthly newsletters, you are eligible!

If you are not a subscriber, you can sign up using the form at the top of the page, or on this page.

If you’re already signed up you don’t need to sign up again and you can skip to the newsletter entry form. When you sign up for our newsletter, you’ll be sent an e-mail to asking you to confirm your sign-up. You’ll need to click the link to confirm and activate your subscription.

2. Check the rules of the giveaway

Before signing up, read over the rules (listed in detail below the entry form) to make sure you are eligible to apply. While we strive to have our giveaway open to all subscribers, some of the giveaways have geographical, residency, age, or other restrictions.

3 – Use the form below to enter the giveaway.

You must use the same e-mail address that you used to sign up to the newsletter with, as we’ll be checking e-mails this way to validate your entry. You must be an active subscriber when we make the draw to be eligible to win!

Enter the Giveaway!

 

Winners will be randomly drawn with the winner receiving one travel router of their choice from the list above.

The retail value of the giveaway is USD $20 – $45, depending on the prize chosen.

Applicants must be 18 years or older, have a valid email address, and have a valid mailing address.

Winners will be contacted by the email provided (so please use an email to enter that you check regularly). If a winner does not respond to email within 72 hours, another winner will be chosen.

The winner will be contacted via email by us and the travel router will be sent to the winner’s mailing address.

Note you can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, but you must be an active subscriber when the draw takes place to be eligible to win. Draws take place within a week of the contest closing.

The data entered into the giveaway form will solely be used for the purposes of verifying your entry, checking you are an active newsletter subscriber, and contacting you if you are a winner.

Winners (first name and last initial, and country of residence) will be announced on the bottom of this page and in our monthly newsletter.

Full Giveaway Terms and Conditions

These are the full terms and conditions!

1. The promoter is: Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats
2. Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats contributors, and their family members or anyone else connected in any way with the giveaway including helping to set up the giveaway shall not be permitted to enter the giveaway.
3. The giveaway is only open to active newsletter subscribers of the Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats monthly newsletter.
4. There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this giveaway.
5. Route to entry for the giveaway and details of how to enter are via this blog post
6. You must be 18 years of age or older to participate in the giveaway.
7. You must fill out all the requested information in the entry from to be eligible. Incomplete entries will not be considered.
8. Closing date for entry is July 28, 2019 at midnight EST. After this date no further entries to the giveaway will be permitted. Only one entry may be submitted per participant. Multiple entries will not be considered, and will invalidate all entries by participant. Incomplete, incorrect or otherwise invalid entries will not be considered. The Promoter reserves the right to verify the eligibility of all participants.
9. No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.
10. The prizes are as follows: 1 winner will receive a travel router of their choice from the list in this post
11. The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the giveaway and these terms and conditions without notice and for any reason. Any changes to the giveaway will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.
12. No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and the promoter reserves the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
13. Winners will be drawn at random from all valid entries. The odds of winning will depend on the number of entries received. Promoters are not responsible for prize fulfillment nor for any technical failures. Winning entry will be verified. A list of winners will be displayed on this page and published in the monthly newsletter.
14. Promoter reserves the right to publish winner’s first name and last initial and country of residence. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.
15. The winner will be notified by email within 10 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or does not claim the prize within 72 hours of notification, the promoter reserves the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.
16. The winner consents to providing their name, email, mailing address, and mobile contact number to the promoters for the sole purpose of enabling their prize to be delivered.
17. The promoters’ decision in respect of all matters to do with the giveaway will be final.
18. By entering this giveaway, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
19. The giveaway and these terms and conditions will be governed by UK law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the UK.
20. Images included in the giveaway post may not depict the exact prize, and are for illustrative purposes only.
21. Residents of Canada will be required to answer a skill-testing question to claim their prize.
22. Void where Prohibited

We wish you the best of luck!

If you have any questions or concerns about the giveaways, please let us know in the Comments section below or email us directly.

Past Winners

Here is a list of our past giveaway winners:

June 2019

• Iain M. of Scotland, UK won a My Webspot Individual Edition WiFi Hotspot and a 20 day usage pass with a retail value of USD $299.

May 2019

• Gerri T. of Wales, UK was the first prize winner for the online travel photography course and Skylum Lumniar photo editing software, worth USD $168. Abbas K. of Turkey and Patsy B. of Canada also each  won a free copy of the Skylum Luminar editing software.
• William T. of Georgia, USA who won a Pad & Quill TechFolio Pro Cord Organizer worth USD $140

April 2019

• Rotem A. of Israel, Cassandra C. of Missouri, USA, and Carolina R. of Argentina, each of whom won a day tour of their choice for 2 persons from Iceland Travel worth up to USD $700
• Sheila H. of England, UK who won a Melifluos travel wrap worth USD $32
• Carolyn  E. of England, UK who won a Happyluxe travel wrap worth USD $56
• David S. of Wisconsin, USA who won 3 custom vintage travel posters from Just Go Travel Studios worth USD $135

March 2019

• Delyna B. of Australia, who won a Rabbie’s Tour in the UK or Ireland worth up to USD $500
• Goretti R. of Catalonia, Spain, who won a Sony compact camera valued at USD $200

February 2019

• Becky P. from London, England, UK who won a tour from Travel Talk worth up to USD $1,200.

January 2019

• Anissa E. from Washington D.C., USA, who won a USD $200 voucher for use to buy a backpack on the Arcido store
• Anke K. from South Africa, who won a USD $200 voucher for any walk product on the Take Walks website

December 2018

• Michelle B. from Germany, who won a Travelccessories Toiletry Bag & Travel Laundry Kit with a retail value of USD $100
• Russell C. from England, UK, who won a 5-piece Manta Sleep travel package with a retail value of USD $90

November 2018

• Toni K. from Kentucky, USA, who won OOO Traveling luggage with a retail value of USD $298
• Gary R. from Ontario, Canada, who won a Tinggly Best in the World travel gift card with a retail value of USD $119

October 2018

• Tracy C. from Australia, who won a free lifetime subscription to our travel photography course with a retail value of USD $99
• Vicki L. from the USA, who won a custom Passport Map with a retail value of USD $129

September 2018

• Toni A. of Evansville, IN, USA won a Vanguard VEO 2 235CB Carbon Fiber tripod with a retail value of USD $199
• Kevin C. of Wales, UK won a Thule Subterra Carry-On 55cm with a retail value of GBP £215