Got a German hideaway you've been keeping quiet about? The Guardian Travel is running its weekly tip competition on Germany right now, and the winning entry nets a £200 voucher for a stay with Coolstays, a company listing more than 3,000 self-catering properties around the world.
The brief is broad on purpose. Germany is the theme, and the Guardian is inviting tips on anything from the sandy Baltic coast to Berlin's club and gallery scene, the castles of Bavaria, or walking routes in the Black Forest. In other words, if it's a German place or experience worth passing on, it qualifies — the more specific and personal, the better.
Tom Hall of Lonely Planet will pick the best tip of the week, and standout entries will be published in the Guardian Travel section and on its website, so there's a byline and bragging rights on top of the prize. Entries should run to roughly 100 words, and a photo is welcome but the judging is based on the writing alone.
A few rules worth flagging before you start typing: you must be a UK resident to enter for legal reasons, entrants need to be 18 or over, and you can submit anonymously if you prefer. The deadline is Monday 21 September at 10am BST, with submission via the form on the Guardian's site. Full terms and conditions and the privacy policy are linked from the competition page.
If you've ever raved to friends about a Black Forest guesthouse, a quiet stretch of Baltic shoreline, or an unmarked gallery in Kreuzberg, this is a low-effort shot at turning that enthusiasm into £200 of holiday accommodation. A hundred words is about two or three sentences of scene-setting and a concrete recommendation — think exact places, prices if useful, and what makes it special rather than generic praise.
For readers who aren't UK-based or miss the deadline, the prize draw is also a reminder of how much variety Germany packs into one country: coastal summer escapes, forest hiking, storybook castle country in the south, and one of Europe's most energetic capital cities — all reachable on the same rail network.