John Mulaney Talks His Unconventional Jetlag Hack and the ‘Biggest Thing’ His Wife Olivia Munn Taught Him About Packing

John Mulaney You may have discovered the ultimate trick for traveling with kids. His keen ability to see the world through a playful lens transforms even the most mundane aspects of travel into a fantastic adventure for his 3-year-old son, Malcolm. On a recent weeklong trip between Dad and I to Ireland, the duo donned sport coats and tweed hats to board planes, foraged for green apples in hotel gyms, and fueled up on Irish pub food to chase leprechauns.

“A lot of things about traveling with kids can be a lot of fun if you tell them we can do this at home, but here at the hotel they will get frustrated if we don’t finish our rice and don’t wear this cardigan that I bought you and that I want to see you wearing,” said the 43-year-old comedian. Travel + Leisure. “There’s a bigger ‘they’ in the way. At home, they know there’s no authority, not even their parents.”

Luckily for Malcolm and his 1-year-old sister Méi, their entire family, including their mother. Olivia Munnspends much of her time traveling with dad while he continues his Lord whatever tour with dates across the United States through April.

Mulaney hopes to take the kids on more international adventures, especially to Japan and Vietnam, but for now, they’re racking up the miles on domestic trips. And no part of the country means more to the Chicago-born writer than the Midwest, where he grew up.

“I’ve always admired that Chicago is happiest at five in the morning on Fridays,” he said. “It’s like we’ve done enough days to be able to prepare for this moment and do this again.”

Fittingly, it was that mentality that led him to Yearsa non-alcoholic beer that feels like “what you get in a cooler in Michigan in July that’s not fancy, but it’s a great Pilsner.” After a public relapse in 2020 that he cleverly turned into the Emmy Award-winning special “baby j“, he was so excited to discover the product that he became a co-owner. “I’m so happy that there is something in the non-alcoholic world that you can drink in large quantities, crumble and throw away,” said the sober star.

Understanding the details of what makes a culture click like that has always been Mulaney’s superhuman ability, as seen in his 2024 six-night live Netflix special. They’re all in Los Angeles., where he lives now.

His advice to first-time visitors: “Don’t give up; it may not make sense at first,” he said. “He would give me a map of Los Angeles, not so I don’t get lost, but just to get an idea, or else you’ll constantly wonder if you’re leaving Los Angeles when you’re not.”

For the fresh Californian, it’s about delving into every corner to understand its rich diversity. He said he would spend a day in the San Fernando Valley, go to Ventura Boulevard near Laurel Canyon and have dinner at a sushi restaurant in Tarzana. Also on their list of recommendations: Chinatown, Koreatown and Long Beach.

“There are fewer landmarks and more neighborhoods,” he explained. “There will never be Times Square or Washington Square Park; there are the LACMA light poles, even though we’re not standing there. Just drive around listening to the Chinatown soundtrack. There’s a reason it’s a quintessential L.A. movie: it really syncs up.”

Before his days in Southern California, Mulaney had an important stint as a New Yorker, a city he still looks up to with hopeful eyes: “I can’t imagine visiting New York and not liking it.”

While his main advice is to take the subway (“I’m not saying it’s nice, but you don’t want to sit in Manhattan traffic”), he admits that things change when the visit turns into a move. “It’s going to be like you spend a week with a cool, fascinating, exciting person, and then you move in with them and you’re immediately punched in the gut,” he said. “Suddenly the steps you climbed so easily are higher and you feel less friendly. But then it clicks.”

The Broadway alum has had the unique perspective of seeing New York through a wide range of points of view. “I went all over New York, from the filthiest to the most luxurious, like I was going to a gala party at the Rainbow Room for SNL 40th and bought drugs in the worst places along the river in Williamsburg. Up and down, it’s great for everything.”

During the five years of his tenure in the Big Apple, Mulaney worked as a writer for Saturday night live at 30 Rockefeller, admitting that it was “tricky” to find a place to have lunch, often heading to a modest Chinese restaurant. Wu Liangye. At some point after Wednesday’s readings, Jason Sudiekis the routine of going to The round table in The Algonquin Hotelthe historic gathering place of the literary elite such as Dorothy Parker.

“But the most fun was not going near SNL and going downtown to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem,” Mulaney said, crediting writer Jim Downey for starting the Wednesday night tradition of an “impractical caravan to Dinosaur.”

Chinese food, barbecue and literary inspiration may have fueled some of Mulaney’s biggest SNL brands, from the Weekend Update character Stefon he created with Bill Hader to the “Mulaney Musicals” that first debuted in 2018, when he began his six-show hosting streak.

Arguably the most iconic was the travel-themed one “Airport sushi” from 2020, mocking the then-decrepit LaGuardia International Airport (LGA), which “was in a particular time where it was old, but was being renovated, making it old and ugly.” Among its “great indignities” were exposed ceiling wires and long walks to Uber pickup areas.

But then the food options took a turn. “We have this dilapidated, renovating airport trying to introduce finer foods,” he said of the Cibo-like concession stands selling hazelnuts, Chobani yogurt and four-row California roll sushi. “That was a big moment because LaGuardia was failing on every level.”

What a difference five years have made, since then LGA has been named Best Skytrax Regional Airport in North Americaamong many feathers in his cap.

“I went there a few weeks ago and it’s so nice you can’t parody it; in fact, I was mad at it,” the comedian said. “This is an airport where we take 15-minute plane rides to Boston and flights to JFK. It’s not like a hangout or forever airport. We don’t arrive four hours early for international flights to use the food court. It’s like a parking lot where beautiful art hangs.”

Still, Mulaney continues to travel around the country, preparing for his biggest show yet on July 11, 2026, when he will become the first comedian to perform at his hometown stadium, Wrigley Field..

With all this success, Mulaney is learning to slow down, let go and be a little more “Mr. Whatever.” That approach has helped him focus on the moments that matter, like touring with other comedians. Fred Armisen, Nick Krolland Mike Birbiglia.

“We were in a van together and I thought ‘this is the best thing ever’. There’s nothing as fun as this! And what exactly happens between stops? ‘Almost nothing, we’re all like 50 years old!’

That easy-going attitude has also translated into her packing style. “It’s not that I’ve got it down to a science; I’ve got selflessness down to a science,” he said. “There will be a Target, so stop saying ‘I don’t have soap’. No charger? Go to the hotel front desk and say, ‘I lost my charger.’ Can I search lost and found? And you’ll get five chargers!”

In the end, it all comes back to the family. “I’ve become a lot more careful about packing clothes because Méi Méi is in her crib, Malcolm is sleeping in bed with us, so I have to be able to find my outfit for the show during nap time or what I’m going to sleep in pretty peacefully,” the father of two said.

She also focused on the must-have items in her Away bag, opening it during our Zoom call to reveal wipes, sleep masks, power cords and paperbacks, including Akil Amar’s “Born Equal” (she released her Mulaney Readings book club this summer), his pass to the Mark Twain Prize event (held in March), Benadryl (“I think you should try to knock yourself out as much as possible”) and a Polaroid of him and Olivia taken at a Montreal restaurant.

But on top of it all there’s another golden trick for family travel: a roll of blue paper tape. “Kids can play with this for a long time; you can put tape around their food tray and make little things they can play with,” she said.

As you dig deeper into your packing list, you put everything aside. “One of the best things Olivia Munn has done for my life is pack an empty hot water bottle that the flight attendant fills with hot water on the plane,” the Peabody winner said. “I’m definitely here to celebrate Years, but if this article just turns into advice, I’d be happy. It’s absolutely great!”