How to do a city-based comedy festival in 48 hours from a regional expert

This is not breaking news. Everyone loves a laugh, and Australia is home to one of the biggest comedy festivals in the world.

I've not long returned from a whirlwind trip to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival - one of the world's biggest, alongside Edinburgh Fringe and Montreal's Just For Laughs - where a gaggle of Wagga and Riverina comedians put themselves to the test.

Tucked into a room at Ballers Clubhouse usually hired out for karaoke hens parties, five faces Wagga comedy fans would recognise did themselves, the city and their fellow regional comedians proud.

Dane Simpson hosted Beat Around the Bush, where Josh Liston, Aidan Mungai, Sam Lloyd, Suma Iyer, Dave Cunneen, over a six-night run that produced many a magical moment.

With a poster of Audrey Hepburn (and, bizarrely, Rolf Harris later in the week) to their left, a freestanding bath tub complete with showerhead to their right, a backdrop of records from the karaoke stand that was the stage and an audience in front of them, the Riverina guys did the region proud.

Cunneen's delivery is increasingly as smooth as the anti-wrinkle cream he jokes about applying.

The image of Lloyd donning speed dealer sunnies for an incredible bit about bogan weddings is burned into my retinas.

Liston weaving moments of his time in the city into his prepared set built instant rapport with the very Melbourne crowd and meant there was little repetition over the two shows I took in.

Mungai was an absolute joy to watch and peppered with gasp-laugh gags, including one or two that elicited a "sorry, Mum".

It was easy to see how Iyer is a RAW national finalist, with her engagingly nuanced, finely-tuned take on life as the child of migrants while simultaneously declaring her unbridled love for potato bake and the power of French onion soup mix.

Simpson is now in the middle of a two-week run of The King and I - a show with his dad, Bow, who he embarked on The Amazing Race Australia with last year.

But there was more fun to be had - I managed to pack 25 comedians into my weekend - and few people can afford to take a whole month off for it.

Here are my tips on how to make the most of Melbourne Comedy Festival in 48 hours.

Have a rough idea of who you'd like to see, but be open to finding new faces to laugh with.

One of my favourite ways to find new people to see, or whittle down whose main shows to head for, is to hit a mystery gig. There is a plethora of ensemble shows with a revolving door when it comes to the line-up, so just like a box of chocolates and life, you never know what you're going to get.

Not only do these kind of gigs offer great bang for your buck, they are great samplers. The other hot tip is to listen out for who the comedians are seeing in their downtime.

Performers will hate hearing this, but I'm more likely to decide on the run who I'm actually seeing that day. Which is how I ended up with the delightful surprise of seeing Wagga's own Bron Lewis as she opened for Nick Schuller on the last night of my trip.

Airbnb, crash a mate's couch or find a hotel, but you'll not regret staying as close to the action as you can. I keep ending up at the Mercure on Little Bourke Street, because the location is just *chef's kiss*.

Melbourne is so walkable at the best of times, but when you're rushing from one show to another it's a godsend to be able to duck in and swap shoes, grab a jacket, dump the shopping... and you'll be so grateful at the end of a long night to be just a few streets or an easy tram ride away.

That means hydration and nutrition... or at least something like that.

There's no shame in being a little buzzed for a gig (but don't go overboard) and keeping the tum lined is important. I mean, when in Melbourne, right?

This trip, Thai Land on Bourke Street was a favourite new find, and Fonda is beautiful spot for a relaxed recovery lunch (or early dinner).

This hectic haven of humour is an absolute must for night owls and anyone looking for a hell of a laugh at a bargain price.

Wednesday through Sunday nights at Max Watt's (formerly the Hifi Bar) is absolutely the place to be late at night. The line-up will bend around Little Collins Street until the doors open around 10.30pm, and then it's on for young and old inside.

The most it'll set one back is $22 - the 10 Comedians for 10 Bucks nights are up there with the best value of the whole festival - and no two nights are the same. Think roasts, improv, lip sync battles, and comedy bonanzas so packed with the best of the fest you'll need a couple of Nurofen to get your ribs to settle down when you eventually get to bed.

Highlights from the past include losing my mind at (and discovering, quite late to the party) the hilarity of Guy Montgomery as he took us through the alphabet and watching Reuben Kaye's incredible recovery after falling down a steep flight of stairs mid-performance, and not missing a beat for the next 15 minutes.

No trip to MICF is complete without swinging by The After Party at the Exford Hotel, on the corner of Russell and Little Bourke streets.

You will find a free gig in the bar of the pub every night of the festival, run by the take-no-prisoners Chris Franklin, and the sheer joy of it is you never know who'll turn up. It doesn't start until 10pm and it's the perfect spot to drop into after late shows, on the way between shows, or just settle in for the night.

Over the years I've seen some big names wander in, crush on stage in front of one of the rowdiest audiences of the festival, then head off.

I was leaning against the bar with a double on a Thursday night last year and in sauntered Stephen K Amos. He was selling out gigs but I caught him for free at the Exford - and there's no way to put a price on that.

This year though, I dropped in to catch Albury-Wodonga product Oliver Hunter's first Exford gig - and it. Was. Awesome. So great, I can barely remember who else got up on stage.

It's owned by Rhys Nicholson, it's in the heart of the city, and there are gigs all night, every night. Enough said.

And luckily enough, in my very first MICF double dip, I'll be heading back before it ends this year.

What I saw: Fern Brady (UK); Nick Schuller (opened by Bron Lewis); Dane Simpson presents Beat Around the Bush (Josh Liston, Aidan Mungai, Sam Lloyd, Suma Iyer, Dave Cunneen), twice; Exford Festival Showcase (Mick Neven, Lehmo, Mike Goldstein, Shayne Hunter, Chloe Maddren, Sean Woodland, Nicky Wilkinson); Festival Club (hosted by Dane Simpson, with Danielle Walker, Jason Leong (MYS), Kirsty Webeck, Laura Davis, Larry Dean (UK), Joel Creasey, Nina Oyama and Shenoah Allen (USA); The After Party at the Exford