Most weeks I participate in the #TravelSkills Twitter chat (Fridays, 12pm ET/9am PT, for one hour). They’re always around a topic related to travel, and people share great tips and interesting stories. Normally I’d just leave it on Twitter, but this past Friday had several tweets that really stood out to me, so I have to share.

The topic was about booking travel (specifically airline travel), so I’ve included some of the tips that were shared during the chat related to this topic.

I’m also including the top three tweets I liked the best (all in response to other questions asked during the chat).

Tweets with bucket list adventures:

(This first one also wins for funniest tweet)

That tube (and the water slide that you go on after the floor drops out from under you) is called the Wolf Tail, one of the water attractions offered at Great Wolf Lodges in New England, Southern California and Colorado Springs. Definitely makes me want to go to a Great Wolf Lodge even more than before. Is it weird to go if you don’t have kids?

How fun does this seem? It’s the Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster at the Blue Mountain Resort in Ontario, Canada. A little pricey ($16/ride) but it seems like it might be worth it!

The tweet that reminds me of a travel memory of my own:

While we weren’t driving with Elvis, we did talk to an Elvis on the road trip last summer:

He’s standing by the Welcome to Las Vegas sign, offering to take pictures with the photographer’s flash he brought, because smartphone pictures don’t come out well at night.

Before he takes the pictures, we tell him we aren’t going to be able to tip him, because we have no cash on us. He tells us in an extremely hoarse voice (he’d “just finished 3 shows”), that it’ll be fine, he’s willing to take the photo anyway. However, after giving us advice on how to “pose for the shot” (he’s also “an actor and photographer who’s worked with models and actresses”), he gets mad when he asks for a tip and we once again tell him we can’t, no cash.

“Even in your car?” he says, and makes a motion like he’s going to follow us.

And… we leave right away (…obviously! How creepy can you get?)

Readers: this is your warning – Stay safe from Vegas-Sign-Fake-Elvis-Who-Is-Also-A-Photographer-Actor-And-Singer!

Some tips on booking travel:

Get price alerts:

I love Airfarewatchdog for price alerts. I’ve set them up by departure city/airport (gives best deals to anywhere from that city), arrival city/airport (gives best deals from other airports to there), and specific routes.

Know the full price of your tickets:

You have to know how much it costs to travel in whatever way you like to travel. If you always travel with a carry on, you’ll need to add that to the price of the basic airfare if not already included. Some ultra low cost carriers like Spirit and Frontier don’t include a free carry on, only the smaller personal item; it may be cheaper to check a full-size bag than have carry-on luggage with these airlines. If you love getting a drink during a flight, you might want to check out the cost of drinks for the airline and seat choice you’re considering.

Know your price:

Once you know how much it generally costs for you to travel (based on what’s most important to you, average costs – use those price alerts!), and how much you have set aside to spend, you can come up with your “willing to buy” price – the price that is good enough that you’ll feel it’s worth it. When you see something offered for this price, get it! This keeps you from waiting for the once-in-a-lifetime magical unicorn of a special deal (and potentially missing out on the “good enough” ticket – it’s happened to me).

What is your best advice around booking travel?

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If you want to sign up for alerts (30 min before and 24 hours before) for the next #TravelSkills Twitter chat, you can sign up here.