It’s a bit surprising to learn that Molly Shannon of all people spends most of her vacations in surfing hot spots around the world, as she tells Condé Nast Traveler. What’s perhaps less unexpected is that this beach bum is really, really polite to flight attendants. “Because I fly Los Angeles to New York a lot on one particular airline, I know a lot of the pilots and attendants. I’ve gotten to know them,” says the actress. “I feel like we’re all working together, so I say ‘Good morning!’”

Shannon, who’s currently a partner for the supplement Proactive Support from the Makers of Tylenol, chatted about her life in a surf family (her two children are in their early twenties), cowering from monkeys in Bali, and her first-ever first class flight, which was to Budapest.

Her priorities when planning a vacation:

When I’m traveling for fun, definitely the beach. I love the tropical vacation. That’s my favorite. Fun family dinners, reading, relaxing, swimming. I like to keep it simple.

What guides their choice of destinations:

We’re a big Hawaii family and a big surf family. My son and husband are really big surfers and my daughter does it too. I tried it a couple of times years ago, and it’s really not my thing—but I appreciate it. Taking a lesson was great. I was like, god, this requires such upper-body strength. I’m proud that I tried it!

How she spends her flight time:

It’s a nice, quiet time to read. Sometimes I download TV shows for the plane, but mostly I read. I’ll tear through a book. I don’t usually work on planes. Sometimes if I’m on my way to do a job, I have to memorize lines and that’s kind of a drag, so I won’t do it for more than an hour at a time.

The best vacation of her life so far:

Bali, Indonesia. My son Nolan surfed Uluwatu. My friend Tamra Davis knows a lot about Bali, so she was like, “You’ve got to go here, do this, eat at this restaurant.” It was everything I would have wanted and more—just a wonderful family vacation. We stayed at a hotel that was off-the-charts fantastic. There were so many monkeys trying to get into our room, so we were laughing and videotaping them. Sometimes [my family] would leave to go get breakfast and I’d be swimming in the pool and the monkey would come back around. Oh god, I was scared! But it was a magical vacation, with the best food. I would love to go back to Bali.

The most random place she’s been recognized:

Nothing too weird, but my daughter was doing a semester abroad in Madrid and I felt pretty relaxed there, walking around with a baseball cap or whatever. We were in a [clothing store], and two women were really staring at me while I was shopping. Looking at me like, “Do I know you?” Maybe they think I’m a school teacher. They were really staring! It took me by surprise.